Tradeswomen Australia Staff & Board

Clea Smith joined TWA as CEO in January 2024. She has succeeded in previous leadership roles including CEO at The Mind Room, Interim CEO at Social Enterprise Network Victoria (SENVIC) and General Manager of Member Programs at the Australian Cricketers Association.  Clea is currently a Board Director of the Cricket Australia having also represented Australia in the sport for over ten years.  Now retired from cricket, Clea is attracted to opportunities and organisations which enable people to grow, develop and get the best out of themselves.

Margaret Ambrose is a communications and marketing professional, with over 20 years experience growing and engaging audiences for NGOs, including Council of Single Mothers and their Children, Refuge Victoria, and Social Security Rights Victoria. As an experienced journalist, Margaret is a strong believer that giving a voice to vulnerable or disadvantaged people via digital content is key to raising awareness and bringing about systemic change.

With 10 years of construction and related trades experience, and a double degree in Construction Management and Design (Architecture), Sarah Curley has enjoyed success on large multi-million dollar to small commercial projects working in Project Management, Estimating and Contracts Administration. Completing her studies in Administration, Technology and Business Management, Sarah is an award winning business administrator with extensive experience in office management, personal assistance and accounting in a wide range of fields.

Dr Paula Fernandez Arias is an accomplished social scientist with over 15 years of academic and applied research experience, and a strong track record of peer-reviewed publications, public speaking, and policy-relevant knowledge translation. Her doctoral research on African refugee resettlement under Australian multiculturalism was awarded the Professor Leon Piterman Prize for outstanding PhD work addressing the health and wellbeing of disadvantaged populations.

Abby Kempe is a national workforce equity strategist specialising in institutionalising psychosocial safety, retention economics, and structural reform across male-dominated industries. She applies design thinking and systems-based methodologies to develop original, bespoke strategies that translate complex policy and regulatory obligations into measurable cultural and operational change.

Ruma is a women’s rights advocate with over seven years’ experience working in community development, family violence and women’s rights-focused organisations. Her work is grounded in a strong commitment to social justice, intersectionality, and equitable access to services, particularly for diverse and underrepresented communities.

I’m a gender equality and violence prevention practitioner with a knack for getting things done. With a background in project implementation, I’m action-oriented, brave, reflective, and continuously learning. I’m skilled in partnership brokering—working with stakeholders to build strong, purposeful collaborations that drive real change. I believe gender equality is something we can achieve together.

Joeanne Fox is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, bringing extensive experience in leadership, workforce development, and strategic growth. Combining strategic vision with hands-on expertise to drive meaningful change, Joeanne is committed to creating equitable opportunities for all, fostering workplace cultures that value respect and collaboration. 

Amy is an engineer with private and public business experience. Skilled at growing people and business, Amy is often the foundation stone in times of change when teams and organisations are looking to scale, are scaling, or need to reshape. With more than 20 years of operations experience working in the building, construction and manufacturing industries, Amy has supported the growth and management of national and global organisations, delivering capital projects and engaging with key industry stakeholders and the community for successful delivery.

Charmaine has been a Partner at PwC for 15 years and is currently the CIO of PwC’s Advisory business, where she is responsible for creating and deploying leading Gen AI tools and digitising the way client value is delivered. Charmaine has held the role of Diversity and Inclusion leader for PwC’s Tax and Legal business. She is passionate about women, their education and workforce inclusion.

Richard Dent, OAM FAICD, has exercised leadership for a better world for more than 25 years. As a Chair, Board Member, CEO and Executive across multiple for-purpose organisations he has focused on inclusion, equity, governance, strategy and leadership. He has helped emerge a better world by bringing together key skills in leadership, advocacy, business, and social policy.

Bianca Shepherd is an accomplished Engineering Workshop Manager at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), with a robust background in electrical engineering. In her leadership role, she oversees a highly skilled manufacturing team responsible for producing critical components for Australia’s only nuclear reactor. 

Ashley is a Heavy Vehicle Diesel Mechanic. While many might expect her to come from a family engaged in the automotive sector, her introduction to the industry was serendipitous during her high school work experience. This pivotal moment sparked a life-changing career choice and fueled her passion for trade careers. With extensive experience across construction, mining, transport, and business ownership, Ashley has developed a deep understanding of the challenges faced by tradespeople, particularly women navigating male-populated industries.

Samantha Grant has over 15 years of experience across private, public and education sectors, where she has focused on creating equitable opportunities for underrepresented groups, strengthening talent pipelines and promoting workplace inclusion to inspire sustainable progress. As the National Manager, Building Women’s Careers at National Apprentice Employer Network, Sam is a passionate advocate for gender equity and current Women in Construction Lead at ACCIONA.

Kit McMahon is a C-Suite executive with 20 years’ leadership experience and an in-depth capacity for strategic planning and execution, including significant working knowledge of workforce development, workforce planning, skills (policy and practice), capacity and capability building at industry, organisation, individual, and community level, as well as broad ranging skills in community development, health, gender equality and primary prevention/health promotion.

Tony began his career as an apprentice electrician, gaining hands-on experience across domestic, commercial, light industrial, and telecommunications sectors. Over 40 years, he has held roles from Supervisor and Project Manager to Estimator and Business Owner. He was one of five owners of DESA Australia, a large national electrical and communications company, before moving into a global leadership role with Molex, headquartered in Chicago.