The current Chairman and Deputy Chair are Helen Silver, and Andrea Denholm. The Board meets quarterly.
Board of Directors
The governing body of the ACTF is its Board of Directors, the members of which all serve in an honorary capacity.
Chair
Helen Silver
Elected 01.08.2022
(Re-elected 28.11.2023)
Helen Silver is a highly experienced non executive Director who has worked at the highest levels of the public and private sectors. From 2013, for eight years, she worked for Allianz Australia where her last role was Deputy Managing Director. Prior to joining Allianz Helen had spent nearly 30 years in executive roles in the Victorian and Commonwealth public service, culminating as Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. Helen is currently a non-executive of PEXA Group Limited, and an independent Director the Crown Melbourne Board, a Trustee of the Arts Centre Victoria and Deputy Chair of the MSO. Helen is an elected member of the Board.
Deputy Chair
Andrea Denholm
Appointed 30.10.2013
(Reappointed 02.11.2022 for three years)
Andrea is a highly experienced creative and executive producer. She develops, finances and produces premium scripted content, working with internationally recognised creatives and exciting new talent. She is currently Executive Producer and leads development for Tony Ayres Productions. Her credits include Spooky Files, children’s live action comedy for ABC and BBC; multi-award-winning series Fires; International Emmy® nominated Wrong Kind of Black; innovative opera The Divorce; popular comedies How to Stay Married and It’s A Date; ground-breaking comedy 8MMM Aboriginal Radio; landmark documentary Sporting Nation with John Clarke; Tripping Over; SeaChange (1998-2000); After the Deluge; CrashBurn; Worst Best Friends; and Outland. Andrea started her career as a lawyer and has been a senior executive in local and international production companies. She is also on the Board of VicScreen.
Ian Booth
Appointed 09.04.2019
(Reappointed 10.04.2022 for three years)
Ian has over 20-years-experience in the Australian film and television industry and is currently a director of Indian Pacific Pictures and Home Fire Creative Industries. In May 2022 Ian was appointed the CEO of Black Swan State Theatre Co, Western Australia’s major performing theatre arts company. He was CEO of Screenwest, the Western Australian film financing body for over a decade, financing hundreds of screen projects, including Mystery Road, Breath, Red Dog, Satellite Boy, Paper Planes, Bran Nue Dae, Cloudstreet, SAS: The Search for Warriors, Outback Truckers, Lockie Leonard and many more. Originally a lawyer, Ian also worked at the ABC, and has served on the Boards of national screen agency Ausfilm, Awesome Arts and the FTI. Ian is a Commonwealth Government representative.
Gay Cumming
Appointed 27.11.2022 for three years
Gay is the Director of Teaching and Learning with the Department for Education, Children and Young People. With a wealth of experience in teaching and leadership roles across schools in Tasmania and Victoria, including fifteen-years as a Principal, Gay brings a deep understanding of schools and appreciation for teachers and students. Central to Gay’s work is enhancing quality teaching through a focus on what is taught, how it is taught, and how student learning is assessed, supporting Tasmanian children and young people to be successful in learning, life and work. In her position, Gay actively engages with state and national groups to stay informed and provide valuable insights on the Tasmanian perspective and direction in education. Gay represents the Tasmanian Government on the Board.
Michelle Lim Davidson
Appointed 11.06.2023 for three years
Michelle is a Korean Australian actor and writer. Since graduating from WAAPA she has worked extensively in Theatre, TV & Film. She has performed with numerous companies including Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company. Michelle is also known for her TV work, including being a presenter on Play School. Her performance in The Newsreader earned her an AACTA nomination. She has received nominations at the Sydney Theatre Awards and was the recipient of the Mike Walsh Fellowship. Michelle was awarded Equity Awards for her ensemble work in Utopia and The Newsreader. As a writer she has worked for ABC Kids and ABC ME. Her play Where We Love is Home was selected for Sydney Theatre Company's Rough Draft program. She is currently a resident at Griffin Theatre Studio. Michelle is a Commonwealth representative on the Board.
Mark Huxley
Appointed 10.01.2023 for three years
Mark is a passionate educator with over twenty years’ experience in leading delivery of service transformation and improvements to education, firstly as a teacher and school leader; then within the Education Directorate, across ACT Government; and in the Commonwealth public service. Mark has applied these skills at the executive level across a wide range of public administration functions including change management; digital transformation; Ministerial and Commonwealth-State relations; and most recently in driving a system wide School Improvement service uplift across ACT Public Schools. Mark is the ACT Government representative on the Board.
Judith King
Appointed 02.08.2023 for three years
As Assistant Executive Director – Professional Capability – Statewide Services, Judith brings to the position a wealth of educational leadership. Her previous system leadership background was as Director, Teaching Quality and Innovation where she was responsible for the development and leadership of the Quality Teaching Strategy and Teaching for Impact. Her school leadership ranges from working with children and families from affluent backgrounds to those living in extreme poverty, providing her with the skills, knowledge and capacity to lead in any educational setting.
In recognition of her outstanding leadership and innovative practices, Judith was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2018. Her research focused on how schools can change communities to create students that are ready to thrive and learn.
In her current leadership role as Assistant Executive Director, Judith leads the development, implementation and evaluation of a range of state-wide supports and services to students and schools. Judith is the Western Australian Government’s representative on the Board.
Kate Robarts
Appointed 30.11.2022 for three years
Kate is a Senior Director within the Teaching and Learning Services division in the Northern Territory Department of Education. Kate brings almost 30 years of experience with a unique combination of leadership experience of both school and corporate sectors. She is a passionate educator who provides clarity, direction, and purpose for system wide improvement of curriculum and service delivery across the Northern Territory. Kate is the representative of the Northern Territory on the Board.
Robyn Rosengrave
Appointed 14.01.2019 for three years
(Reappointed 15.01.2022 for three years)
Robyn is the Executive Director, Student Engagement and Alternate Learning within the Department of Education. For over 30 years, as a classroom teacher, curriculum developer and innovator, and as the Executive Director of curriculum, teaching and learning responsible for the implementation of curriculum across the 1258 state schools.
Her change leadership portfolio includes state-wide implementation of a range of initiatives that support all learners to achieve and remain engaged in learning. In addition, she regularly advises and contributes to numerous wide-reaching national and international educational initiatives. Robyn is passionately committed to ensuring every student experiences teaching and learning that helps them realise their potential and achieve success. Robyn represents the Queensland Government on the Board.
Sally Scales
Elected 03.03.2021
(Re-elected 28.11.2023)
Sally Scales is a Pitjantjatjara woman from Pipalyatjara in the far west of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in remote South Australia. Sally was the youngest person ever elected as Chairperson of the APY Executive Board Council in 2019. Sally has worked with the APY Art Centre Collective since 2013 in cultural liaison, elder support and spokesperson roles, as well as being Regional Programs Coordinator. Sally was instrumental in opening the APY Art Centre Collective galleries in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. Sally was a delegate to the First Nations National Constitutional Convention at Uluru, involved in drafting the Uluru Statement of the Heart, and continues to be a member of the Uluru Dialogues Leadership Group. Sally is an independently elected member of the Board.
Deonne Smith
Appointed 17.02.2022 for three years
Deonne Smith is the Executive Director of the Curriculum and Learning Division within the South Australian Department for Education. Deonne is also a member of the department’s Senior Executive Group (SEG) which supports the Chief Executive to set the strategic agenda and direction of the department and ensures that the department meets its strategic and operational objectives. Deonne has extensive experience in educational leadership in South Australia and New South Wales including, School Principal, Leadership Consultant, Regional Director, General Manager and Director of Curriculum Development. Deonne has led major policy initiatives in NSW in Aboriginal Education and Training, Disability Programs, Literacy and Numeracy programs, Multicultural Education, and Early Childhood Education and in 2009 was conferred Adjunct Associate Professor, Faculty of Education and Social Work at Sydney University. Deonne serves on the Boards of the Windmill Theatre Company and the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) Deonne is the South Australian Government representative to the Board.
Paul Wood
Appointed 03.02.2021 for three years
(Reappointed 04.02.2024 for three years)
Paul Wood is the Executive Director, Educational Standards in the NSW Department of Education. Paul is responsible for Leading and developing high quality evidence based strategies, programs and assessments for use across the system. Developing and monitoring policies and advice that require leaders and teachers to use evidence-based practice and achieve high professional standards in the delivery of curriculum, assessment and reporting. Paul has been a teacher, a principal of three schools and a system leader of educational programs at a state-wide level. Paul is a recipient of the Public Service Medal in the Australia Day Honours list in 2021 for his leadership of the state-wide curriculum support for schools through the COVID-19 pandemic. Paul has a PhD in educational leadership from the University of Sydney. Paul is the NSW representative on the Board.