Our Board

	Helen Geard: Chief Commissioner Helen's family has been involved with Guiding in Tasmania for many years. She spent 2 years at a Guide Unit, in a small country town and was hooked. In 1992 she became a Unit Helper and spent the next 12 years assisting with all of the fun activities including camping. As her involvement with the Rural Youth Organisation and Agfest (an agricultural field day) became less she had more time for Guiding. Helen was the Tasmanian Communications Adviser before becoming the State Commissioner in 2007. She is not surprised that Guiding has celebrated 100 years because of the amazing opportunities it provides for girls and women of all ages. Through her involvement with Guiding she has developed a diverse range of skills and enjoyed learning about everything from property leases to using wet rags for curling hair. She has made lifetime friends and has also been fortunate to travel overseas. She spent time working at a Girl Scout camp in America; attended a peace conference in Thailand; volunteered in Iceland for the Scout/Guide event- Roverway 2009 and in July 2011 attended the WAGGGS world conference in Edinburgh . Helen works part-time as a Natural Resource Management Facilitator with the Southern Midlands Council. She works on projects to ensure property managers have access to information and funding to achieve positive environmental benefits. Her work colleagues find it hard to believe what she does in her 'spare time' and are interested to hear about her Guiding adventures.
	Details about our other Board Members will be coming soon....
	Noella Kershaw: Assistant Chief Commissioner Watch this space for more information on Noella.
	Belinda Allen: State Commissioner NSW & ACT Watch this space for more information on Belinda.
	Robinette Emonson: State Commissioner VIC After a great Guiding life as a Brownie, Guide, Air and Sea Ranger, Robinette left Guiding until it was time for her daughters to join the Movement. She served as a Ranger Counsellor, District Leader, Division Commissioner, Commissioner Trainer and member of the State Training Committee, as well as serving on State Executive for a number of years. Robinette was the first Australian recipient of the Gregory Fellowship and travelled to an event at Sangam in India. Outside Guiding, Robinette has served as National Vice President of UNIFEM (now UN Women), co-ordinating the national International Women’s Day Breakfast program, overseeing the growth of the venture in its earliest days and has recently retired from the Melbourne Chapter Breakfast Committee after serving as Coordinator and Treasurer. Robinette recently retired from work as the manager of a three site, 14 doctor, ophthalmology practice as HR and Operations Manager. She holds a Diploma of Business (HR).
	Jane Dent: State Commissioner TAS Watch this space for more information on Jane.
	Michelle Stone: State Commissioner SA I have been a guide for most of my life beginning at age 7 culminating with presentations of the Queens Guide Award and the Olave Baden-Powell Award. I began my leadership roles with Belair Guide Unit gaining leadership and camping qualifications, was a member of Adelaide Gang Show and then moved to Victoria with my employment and joined Colac Guide Unit. I did further training in Victoria to update my camping qualifications and joined Melbourne Gang Show. At this time I married Alistair ‘Sandy’ Payne. Luckily he is a Scout so he understands the passion for the Game of Guiding. On our return to Adelaide I became the Koonkurri Ranger Guide Leader at Modbury where I completed my lightweight expedition training and water activities qualifications. I joined the State Team as first the Assistant Ranger Adviser and then the Ranger Adviser sitting on the Executive Committee. While I was heavily pregnant I was the chairperson of the Australian Youth Forum held at Arbury Park. After completing my term as Ranger Advisor I had a break from Guiding to look after our two children. I returned to leadership in 2004 when Magill Nightingale Girl Guide Unit needed assistance. Since that time I have completed Leadership Qualification, Indoor Camping, and water activities qualifications. I have presented at SALE and continued to increase our guiding presence in the Campbelltown City Council area. I was one of the Assistant State Commissioners and sat on the Board of Girl Guides SA inc prior to my election as State Commissioner. It is wonderful the skills you pick up in Guiding which have great practical uses in everyday life such as meeting, negotiating and IT skills, management strategies and marketing and public relations. In my other full time job I run my own dental practice in Adelaide CBD. My patients are always asking what I did on the weekend because it is usually exciting Guiding things that they love to hear about. The Practice participates in a program with the University of Adelaide and I tell the final year students that they need something other than dentistry in their lives to talk to their patients about but not as big a something as me!
	Brenda Hamlett: State Commissioner WA Brenda Hamlett started Guiding at age 7 as a Brownie, gained her Queen’s Guide award at 16 and become a leader at 17. At university she was involved in the Scout and Guide club and helped with a local Guide company. This was followed by two years volunteer work as a teacher in Sierra Leone where her role included establishing guiding at the local school. She went back to her old unit in the UK for two years before coming to Australia. Within 4 weeks of landing in Perth she was running a Guide unit in Bunbury and since then has been a Unit Leader, District Leader, Region Leader, member of the state and national training teams and Australian Training Adviser. She has travelled to a number of countries in the Asia Pacific Region as a member of the AP training pool, including Korea, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Singapore, The Maldives and the Philippines. In her other life she was a secondary mathematics and physics teacher before moving into teacher education at Edith Cowan University where she recenltly earned her doctorate. She has two children – a pigeon pair in their early thirties - and a very tolerant and supportive husband.
	Irene Kelly: State Commissioner NT Watch this space for more information on Irene.
	Monica Elliott: State Commissioner QLD Watch this space for more information on Monica.
	Margo Browning: Honorary Treasurer Watch this space for more information on Margo.