Renae Ryan is a Professor of Biochemical Pharmacology and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the University of Sydney, Australia. She has over 20 years’ experience in the higher education and biomedical research sector and has received numerous awards for scientific excellence, mentoring and outreach. Renae received a Bachelor of Science (Hons) and PhD from The University of Sydney and is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). She is a globally respected leader and advocate for gender equity, diversity and inclusion, and a sought-after supervisor, mentor, and role model for women in science.

Board Director

Frank Archer is an Emeritus Professor within the Monash University Disaster Resilience Initiative (MUDRI), an academic unit located in the Monash University Accident Research Centre which hosts the World Health Organisation’s Collaborating Centre for Violence and Injury Prevention. Frank supervises Doctoral students, has taught in the Monash Master of International Development Practice, and is research active in the general field of community resilience in the disaster setting. He is engaged with both the professional and general community in this domain, with a special interest in gender in the disaster setting, Frank has postgraduate specialist clinical fellowships in general practice, immediate medical care, and public health medicine.

Candy Broad is a Ministerial-appointed Director and Board Chair of Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE. Previously the Chair and Board Director of Women’s Health Victoria, Candy has also served on the board of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors; as an Independent Trustee Director of First Super, as the Chair and Board Director of PrimeSafe, a Victorian Statutory Authority; a Board Director of housing and homelessness service Haven, Home Safe; Chair and Board Director of safe steps Family Violence Response Centre; and Board Director of Hepburn Community Wind Farm.

As a Victorian Government Minister for seven years, with a total of 15 years parliamentary experience as the Member for Northern Victoria and the Member for Melbourne North, her ministerial portfolios included: Housing, Local Government, Energy and Resources and Ports. Candy was Assistant National Secretary of the ALP prior to her election to the Victorian Parliament in 1999 and she has previous experience as an Adviser to the Victorian Government and Chief of Staff to the Premier of Victoria. A Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, Candy is a member of Women in Super and a founding member of EMILY’s List Australia.

Tarang Chawla is a recovering lawyer and activist, who co-founded Not One More Niki, dedicated to ending violence against women and children in memory of his sister Nikita. He serves as a Commissioner at the Victorian Multicultural Commissioner and is a sessional academic at Monash University. Tarang produced and hosted the award-winning podcast ‘There’s No Place Like Home’ on domestic abuse. He is a former Young Australian of the Year Finalist and his work has featured in all major Australian media outlets.

Alyssa Duncan is a Senior Legislative Services Adviser with WorkSafe Victoria, and has previously held positions as a legal policy adviser for the Department of Justice and Community Safety and the Department of Premier and Cabinet. Alyssa has also worked as a researcher in the field of women’s health, studying the gendered effects of disasters and assisting in the development of the national gender and disaster guidelines. Alyssa has completed a Masters of Law and Juris Doctor at Monash University and holds an undergraduate degree in geography from the University of Melbourne.

Piotr Klank is a Barrister, with experience as an advocate and advisor on a broad range of matters, including corporate, regulatory and tax. He has been involved in policy consultation and development, as well as legislative drafting on tax issues. Prior to joining the Bar, he spent a decade working in top tier law firms, a big four accounting firm and for an ASX listed multinational company. Piotr holds a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland and is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). He has presented on legal issues in Australia and overseas, been published in peer-reviewed journals, and teaches in the Melbourne Law Masters Program at the University of Melbourne.

Erin Liston-Abel is Executive Director, Governance, Planning and Intelligence at Triple Zero Victoria, bringing more than 20 years of senior leadership experience across government, emergency management, public safety and member-based organisations. She is a respected executive with expertise in governance, strategy, organisational performance, intelligence, stakeholder engagement and organisational transformation.

Prior to joining Triple Zero Victoria in August 2026, Erin served as Deputy CEO and Executive Director, People, Strategy and Performance at AFAC, the National Council for Fire and Emergency Services across Australia and New Zealand. In that role, she led People and Culture, Strategy and Organisational Performance, Collaboration, and the Office of the CEO, while driving initiatives to strengthen organisational capability, workforce performance and sector-wide collaboration.

A passionate advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, Erin has championed gender equality throughout her career. At AFAC, she led the organisation’s engagement with the Champions of Change Coalition and oversaw the AFAC Diversity and Inclusion Group, advancing inclusive leadership, cultural change and equity across the emergency services sector.

In her current role, Erin leads enterprise governance, strategic planning, organisational intelligence and performance functions, supporting evidence-based decision-making and organisational excellence across one of Victoria’s most critical public safety organisations. Erin is also Executive Champion of the First Nations Inclusion and Cultural Safety Steering Committee.

Erin holds a Master of Business Administration, a Graduate Diploma in International Relations and a Bachelor of Arts. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Erin joined the WAFA Board in 2024 and currently serves as Vice President and Chair of the Governance and Risk Committee, supporting WAFA’s mission to advance gender equity and increase the representation and leadership of women across fire and emergency services.

Graham has over 40 years’ experience working as a senior leader and CEO in the Banking, Finance, and Insurance industries, both in Australia and Asia. He has also had experience working in a global Trade and Investment role for the Australian Government. Recently he worked for five years as the CFO for The Fred Hollows Foundation which operates in 26 countries navigating the difficulties of capital management and operations through COVID. He has had accountability for profit and loss, people, operations, and organisational leadership in his roles.

Dr Catherine Orian Weiss is a lecturer in sociology at Charles Sturt University. Her areas of research interest include feminist theory, gender and sexuality, work, and migration; emergency communication and migrant and refugee communities; and translation and interpreting. Before entering academia, Catherine worked as a researcher in the women’s health sector where her work focused on gender and climate change, gender and disaster, and women’s poverty. Since leaving the women’s health sector, she has continued to work on issues related to gender and disaster in collaboration with GADAus, most recently through coordinating a small team of researchers to create GADAus’ Disaster Context Sheets.

Marc Haynes brings a depth of leadership experience spanning the university and nonprofit sectors, underpinned by a foundation in financial and compliance auditing and mathematics education. Currently serving as Chief Operating Officer at the Justice Support Centre and an Honorary Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Business, Government and Law at the University of Canberra, Marc combines strategic insight with operational rigour. Over the course of his career, Marc has held senior roles focused on financial stewardship, organisational transformation, and service delivery innovation. His governance expertise is complemented by his commitment to social impact, equity, and evidence-based decision-making.

Marc is a Chartered Accountant and an experienced mentor, passionate about building capability in people and systems. He is known for his clarity of thought, collaborative leadership style, and ability to navigate complex stakeholder environments. He joins the committee with a deep appreciation for purpose-driven organisations and a strong belief in the value of strategic governance to drive sustainable outcomes.