Staff Members
Click on a name to go to the staff member of your choice.
Belinda Drew - CEO
Ian O'Malley - Social Investment Manager
Ingrid Burkett - Social Innovations Manager
Peter Ball - Social Investment Business Manager
Cassandra Sheppard - Project Manager (Community Economic Development & Community Finance)
Ingeborg Brochmann - Office Coordinator
DREW, Belinda (B Teach, B Soc Wk (Hons))
CEO
Belinda Drew has worked in the community sector in Queensland for over a decade in the areas of homelessness, disability, child protection and housing, holding a number of positions in social policy organisations. Belinda is the Chief Executive Officer of Foresters Community Finance Ltd. This role involves the day to day management of the organisation as well as leading the development of the Foresters program areas, which include community asset building. Belinda is interested to raise the profile of the work undertaken at Foresters based on a belief that much can be gained from individual and collective action that synthesises social, community and economic objectives, in the ways that the program work of Foresters attempts to do.
O'MALLEY, Ian (Adv Dip Financial Services (Superannuation); Dip Superannuation Management; FASFA)
Social Investment Manager
Ian has been working in the finance industry for nearly 20 years. This includes 4 years in insurance, 13 years providing assistance and advice to trustees of industry superannuation funds and 3 years with Foresters. Ian completed the Advanced Diploma of Financial Services (Superannuation) in 2005 and is a Fellow of ASFA. He has also completed 7 of the 8 subjects in the Advanced Diploma of Financial Services (Financial Planning). Prior to working in the finance industry Ian was an Assistant Secretary in the Commonwealth Department of Industrial Relations and worked as a Professional Officer at the International Labour Office in Geneva.
BURKETT, Ingrid (B Soc Wk (first class honours), Masters of Business, PhD)
Social Innovations Manager
• Board of the International Association for Community Development: Vice President and Oceania Representative
• Upatree Arts Co-operative: Chairperson
Dr. Ingrid Burkett is the Social Innovations Manager for Foresters . She has practiced, taught, researched and written about community economic development for over 15 years, both locally and internationally. She has worked across government, community and corporate sectors, and taught community development at the University of Queensland for eight years. Ingrid is the Oceania representative on the board of the International Association for Community Development and is recognised as one of Australia’s experts in the fields of community and micro finance.
Social Investment Business Manager
Peter has a diverse background in the banking and finance industry spanning over 12 years. His varied senior roles with major finance institutions covered product distribution, private wealth management, business and corporate banking, project management and the retail network. Over the last two years Peter has worked to build innovative business and technology strategies to benefit the nonprofit and community sectors throughout Australia. Peter has a devoted passion to help design and develop the emerging markets of social innovation and "true" social investment to increase capacity in vital nonprofit and community groups. Peter is currently completing further studies at the Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies within QUT.
Project Manager - Community Economic Development and Community Finance
Cassandra joined Foresters in 2005. Her current work involves development and implementation of complex Community Capital Raising Campaigns alongside Foresters’ community-based partners. These campaigns are integral to Foresters’ community asset building work. She is also involved in action research, which provides the foundation for the development of new and innovative community finance products. She has worked on a number of microfinance projects, including the development of a small mutual aid fund and working with savings and loans groups. Prior to joining Foresters, Cassandra worked for a public relations consultancy in Sydney and Hong Kong, worked in Tanzania with orphaned children and completed a Masters in Development Practice at University of Queensland.
Office Coordinator
Ingeborg joined the organisation in 2002 and works in information technology and project coordination aswell as the administration of the Mutual Funds and the Community Investment Fund. Ingeborg has a diverse work history, beginning with the Maritime Union of Australia, as a Provisional Integrated Rating at sea. Ingeborg then moved into managing a Natural Therapies Clinic and then administration for a Print Brokering Company. Part of Ingeborg’s cultural background is Polynesian and so she has an affinity with the practices of Microfinance within her own culture and within the context of Foresters and Australia.