Meet the Board of Directors

Girl Guides NSW, ACT & NT's Board of Directors provides governance, strategic planning, sets policy, ensures accountability, approves and monitors significant projects and expenditure.

Emily Milton Smith
Board Chair & State Commissioner
Emily Milton Smith is the 20th State Commissioner of Girl Guides NSW, ACT & NT.

At 29 years of age, this appointment which coincidentally coincides with the celebrations of a century of Guiding in NSW, is illustrative of the Association’s commitment to its centenary theme, empowering future women.
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Irini Agollari
Co-opted Director & Chair of the Risk Committee
Irini is a trained lawyer, with a postgrad in Economics. She brings extensive experience in risk & compliance management and has worked in the private & public sector, both in Australia & overseas.

Fluent in 4 languages, Irini is a strong people-leader with a passion for digitising & building scalable systems that drive active risk management.
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Aine Leonard

Elected Director

Aine currently acts and has acted as a Director in multiple organisations across different sectors and jurisdictions.  Aine has also held Committee of Management and Treasurer roles in organisations in the Not-For-Profit Sector.  She is a Company Secretary and Chief Financial Officer.  Aine offers rich experience in governance, strategy, finance, compliance, legal and risk management and is working with a number of start-up and scale-up businesses in both For Profit and Not For Profit Sectors to evolve these functions at a Board level, as well as within their operations. Aine is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Chartered Accountant and holds several qualifications in Governance.  As well as her rich professional experience, Aine has demonstrated a consistent passion for Guiding.  In Ireland, she was a Brownie, Guide and Ranger Leader, served as Grant Secretary, a Member of the Finance Committee and the Program and Development Committee and has represented Irish Girl Guides at world events over many years.  She is currently a Junior Guide Leader in Haberfield.

Bev Orr OAM

Elected Director

Bev has been a Girl Guide Leader and Manager for over 30 years. She has concurrently held leadership roles at local, regional, state and national levels, including as a Board Director and Company Secretary.
Bev holds a number of post-graduate qualifications in governance, leadership and business applicable to the corporate, not-for-profit and government sectors. She uses her expertise and knowledge to improve the quality of governance within organisations and mentors women throughout their governance journey.
Bev is also a recognised subject matter expert in child safety and protection. She has led and participated in domestic and international research and influenced policy development and strategic change processes as well as evaluated local and national programs and systems. Bev practically applies her expertise through her contribution to child safety by designing and implementing policies and frameworks that support child safe organisations to ensure the safety of children and youth. Her work includes her contribution to the development of the Child Safe Child Friendly Framework for Girl Guides Australia.
Outside of Guiding, Bev has been a foster carer of more than 300 children and provided support and counselling to countless others in her work as a therapeutic counsellor. Bev is a passionate advocate for marginalised and vulnerable children, working to improve their quality of life and outcomes through her involvement with several national child and family organisations.
Bev has been recognised at state and national levels for her community sector work. She was awarded ACT Woman of the Year twice, ACT Australian of the Year Local Hero, ACT Senior Australian of the Year nominee, and has received an Order of Australia Medal.

Cecily Zhu

Elected Director

Cecily has been involved with Girl Guides since she joined as a youth member and she continues to serve today as a leader of her local unit. Outside of Guiding, Cecily is a nationally accredited mediator and admitted solicitor, with degrees in Law and Finance. She is the director of a dispute resolution firm that specialises in commercial and workplace conflict. Cecily helps individuals and organisations to resolve disputes effectively through mediation, facilitation, and training. She is also a lecturer of Business Law and Mediation, both in Australia and throughout Asia.
As a young member from a CALD background, Cecily has a special interest in championing diversity and brings a unique perspective to the Board. Cecily takes enormous pride in her involvement with Girl Guides as she has observed the real and positive impact of Guiding on girls and their communities. She is committed to contributing to the governance of Girl Guides NSW, ACT & NT to ensure the organisation can continue empowering girls and young women for generations to come.

Charlotte Weatherall

Elected Director

Charlotte holds a Master of Business Psychology and has extensive experience working and volunteering in several Not for Profit organisations. As well as having completed training in building corporate partnerships, Charlotte has a decade of experience connecting with Rotarians across the State and around the world. Charlotte has been a member of Girl Guides for 18 years. She is highly passionate about innovation, inclusion and the leadership skills that will empower Girl Guides members to continue thriving in all areas of their lives.

Jo Higgins

Co-opted Director

Jo has held a number of corporate roles in the UK, Singapore and Australia, developing capabilities across corporate strategy, marketing & brand strategy, risk & governance, product, data, privacy, organisational design and operational HR.
She’s fascinated by innovation and human-centred design. Having participated in a start-up accelerator program, she currently mentors high school and university students as they explore the innovation ecosystem.
She’s also passionate about diversity and inclusion and is proud to support a number of NFPs looking to drive a broader conversation about equity and belonging. Through her role on the Board, she’s excited to support the Girl Guide mission of empowering the future generation of female leaders.

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