Chris Klingbeil
Chair
Founder and Managing Director of Touchstone Consulting Executive Search, Chris Klingbeil is one of Australia’s leading senior executive search consultants. Chris has worked with several top 100 and multinational corporations, federal government departments, and not for profit organisations in Australia and the USA. Chris holds a BA – Comm from Washington State University, USA. Chris is a dedicated music fan, a guitarist and hails from the grunge music capital of the world, Seattle. Chris has been part of Aardvark’s board since its inception and Touchstone Consulting not only donate to Aardvark annually but have also provided office space for over ten years and ongoing mentoring of Aardvark’s staff.
What is your day job? Business Owner/Executive Search Consultant
Why did you become an Aardvark board member? When I saw that Aardvark was delivering something incredibly unique, I had to be a part of it. I love music and I love watching young people realise their potential, so it was a great combination!
What was your first concert/gig? The Beach Boys (I think)
What are your top 5 artists/bands? Pearl Jam, Neil Young, Tom Petty, James Taylor, Foo Fighters
What is your favourite instrument? Guitar
What is your favourite place to visit? The Corner Hotel band room. Or Seattle if you want a city
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Mary Robb
Vice Chair
Mary is an experienced community development practitioner who champions, leads and drives change. For over 30 years Mary has worked across a wide number of organisations, groups, local government and the education sector to achieve systemic change, build capacity, create opportunity and achieve equity. Mary is passionate about working in communities, facilitating and enabling people to work together and decide how to move forward. Mary loves to create opportunities for people to shape the ways in which their community responds to the needs and aspirations of local people. Mary is an experiential learner and strategic thinker whose skills and knowledge include community governance, facilitation, project management, negotiation, consultation, influence and partnership management. Some recent projects Mary has worked on are: The design and introduction of strategic community place based engagement programs at the University of Melbourne, to achieve social, economic and cultural impact and a successful state-wide Neighbourhood House campaign, achieving a recurrent budget increase of over 100% and the first capital works allocation for purpose built facilities and upgrades.
What is your day job? Associate Director, Indigenous Partnerships, University of Melbourne.
Why did you become an Aardvark board member? I was introduced to Aardvark by a family member and I was impressed with the philosophy and innovative approach of the program, the quality of the people working for Aardvark and what the organisation was achieving. I enjoy working with grassroots organisations and I felt that my experience in community governance could contribute to the organisations aspirations to grow and reach more young people.
What was your first concert/gig? Electric Light Orchestra
What are your top 5 artists/bands? Waifs, Missy Higgins, Leonard Cohen, Paul Kelly, Norah Jones
What is your favourite instrument? Cello
What is your favourite place to visit? Ardyloon, Djarindjin, Lombadina and Beagle Bay – Dampier Peninsula – North West Coast of WA
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Alistair Brown
Treasurer
Alistair is the CFO for Save the Children Australia. A finance executive with over 25 years experience in a variety of senior finance related roles in Australia and internationally, particularly Asia. Alistair spent the first 10 years of his career in Chartered Accounting at Deloitte, has a Bachelor of Commerce and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia. Alistair also enjoys playing keyboards with his band Epstein’s Mother.
What is your day job? CFO, Save The Children
Why did you become an Aardvark board member? Great way to mix my passions for music, helping others and finance (as Treasurer). What Aardvark does really hit the sweet spot for me.
What was your first concert/gig? First concert – Elton John 1979 at Festival Hall, with just him and, for the second half, his percussionist. I don’t think I truly appreciated what I was seeing at the time.
What are your top 5 artists/bands? Van Morrison, Ray Charles, Dr John, Stevie Wonder, HER
What is your favourite instrument? My Kawai Grand Piano!
What is your favourite place to visit? Any good beach, preferably with nice waves.
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Sophie Coleman
Secretary
Sophie is a lawyer who works with Save the Children Australia, one of Australia’s largest aid and development agencies dedicated to helping children. Sophie made the move from a commercial law-firm because she believes that every child has the right to be protected from harm, and to access quality education and health services. Sophie holds a Bachelor of Arts/Law with Honours from Monash University, and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Melbourne Business School (University of Melbourne). In 2011, Sophie co-founded School’s A Gift, a not for profit organisation helping to increase school enrolment and attendance in deprived areas of Ethiopia. In her spare time, Sophie is an avid and long-suffering Melbourne Demons supporter, who is cautiously pessimistic about their chances in the next few years.
What is your day job? Lawyer and Company Secretary at Save the Children Australia
Why did you become an Aardvark board member? I love being able to assist wonderful organisations that support young people who are having a tough time. And I love music. It’s a win-win.
What was your first concert/gig? Pink Floyd 1988 at the Tennis Centre. I was 6 years old.
What are your top 5 artists/bands? Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Old Crow Medicine Show, Beethoven, Mike Oldfield, Daft Punk (yes I’m aware that’s 6)
What is your favourite instrument? Cello
What is your favourite place to visit? Wilson’s Prom
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Andrew Deane
Board Member
Andrew Deane is the Associate Director, Development & Partnerships for Asia Society Australia.
Andrew is passionate about listening to and working with individual and corporate stakeholders to understand values and interests as the best way to identify opportunities for exciting, meaningful and long-term partnerships. He is also passionate about ensuring greater equity of opportunity for young people, especially when it leads to young people finding their own voice.
Andrew’s professional experience stems from 10 years in fundraising and relationship management in the tertiary education and not-for-profit arts sectors in Melbourne and Sydney, in addition to 10 years of previous project management experience in Australia, Japan and China across in education, research and legal services.
Graduating from the Australian National University with a double degree in Economics (Economic History major) and Asian Studies (Japanese major) highlights Andrew’s interest for Asia and Asian languages and culture. Andrew has lived some 6 years in both Japan and China, and has studied and speaks fluent Japanese, highly functional Chinese (Mandarin) and basic Indonesian.
Given his interest in people, Andrew became a Commonwealth registered marriage celebrant in 2018.
What is your day job? Associate Director, Development & Partnerships for Asia Society Australia.
Why did you become an Aardvark board member? Sarah Summers. I also have a passion for young people having access to opportunities that help them thrive and expand their world view.
What was your first concert/gig? C&C Music Factory in 1991
What are your top 5 artists/bands? Kylie Minogue, Eartha Kitt, Soul II Soul, George Maple, Dolly Parton
What is your favourite instrument? Piano
What is your favourite place to visit? Supermarkets and grocery stores when travelling interstate or overseas.
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Andrew Dillon
Board Member
Andrew is the General Counsel and General Manager of Legal, Integrity & Compliance for AFL Victoria. Andrew Completed Articled Clerkship at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and then worked as an in-house legal counsel at Village Roadshow Limited prior to joining the AFL in August 2000. Was appointed AFL General Manager Legal & Business Affairs in June 2004 with responsibility for legal and business operations of the AFL. From November 2011 to July 2013 was AFL General Manager – National and International Development & General Counsel before taking us his current role in July 2013. Current board member of Champion Data Holdings Pty Ltd, AFL Northern Territory, Australian Football League (Victoria) & AFL Sports ready.
Why did you become an Aardvark board member? Being heavily involved in sport for a job at community level and seeing what it can do to bring communities together and assist people I was really interested to see how music can do the same and to play a small role in enabling that.
What was your first concert/gig? U2 – 1984 at the sports and entertainment Centre in Melbourne (now Collingwood’s training venue).
What are your top 5 artists/bands? U2, Rolling Stones, Kiss, Hilltop Hoods.
What is your favourite instrument? Saxophone (can’t play it though)
What is your favourite place to visit? Broome, WA
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Cameron McFarlane
Board Member
Cameron is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of The Bucha of Byron. He has 23 years global marketing experience in FMCG food and beverage companies including Bacardi, Fosters, Heinz, Nestle, General Mills. Cam’s last role in corporate was as the Regional Marketing Director – APAC for Bacardi, based in HK. Cam has also spent two years working in a health and well-being start up brand.
What is your day job? I run a Kombucha business
Why did you become an Aardvark board member? I had long heard about the program through my friend Chris and greatly admired the work. I have always loved music and to see Aardvark harness it to genuinely change people’s lives for the better was inspirational.
What was your first concert/gig? INXS – Listen like Thieves
What are your top 5 artists/bands? Radiohead, Ween, Foo Fighters, Eminem, Violent Soho
What is your favourite instrument? Guitar
What is your favourite place to visit? Tokyo
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Elly Scrine
Board Member
Dr Elly Scrine is a Registered Music Therapist, a lecturer and early career researcher at the University of Melbourne, and an electronic artist. Elly’s doctoral research investigated the role of music to explore gender with young people in high school and examined how schools in the settler-colonial context function as a site of power and regulation in young people’s lives. Elly has a strong interest in challenging narratives of pathologisation and risk, particularly in relation to queer and gender diverse young people. Having contributed multiple academic publications on these topics, Elly’s academic and clinical work seeks to identify connections between trauma and perceived vulnerabilities with systemic injustice. Outside of research and clinical practice, Elly is an electronic artist and producer in experimental pop outfit Huntly.
What is your day job? Musician and Lecturer in Music Psychology and Music Therapy at the University of Melbourne
Why did you become an Aardvark board member? I’m super passionate about the benefits of group work and community building through music for young people who are having a tough time. I was previously the music therapist facilitating the sessions at Aardvark which I absolutely loved, so this is a way I can stay connected!
What was your first concert/gig? The Black Eyed Peas at the Brisbane Riverstage ❤
What are your top 5 artists/bands? Lauryn Hill, Solange, Blood Orange, Frank Ocean, Erika de Casier (chronological order of historical favourites to most recent!)
What is your favourite instrument? The voice
What is your favourite place to visit? Berlin, in summer, on a bike!
