OUR BOARD

Baringa is proud to be a not-for-profit, community organisation and registered charity.

Family, staff and community members make up our Incorporated Association. The organisation is governed by a skills-based, volunteer Board, with Board Members bringing a range of expertise to enhance early childhood education for the community.

+ TINA CHAWNER
Board Member

Tina Chawner joined the Board and became Deputy Chair in 2021. She is the Managing Director of Yellow Hat Consulting.

For over 18 years, Tina has specialised in change management, strategic communication, and facilitating stakeholders to solve complex problems through codesign. This included working with many Boards and Executive teams, to design long-term strategies, their business plans, and the cultural values to support the communities they work within.

Tina has a Bachelor of Arts (Economics), Diploma in Management and a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Relations. Her two children attended Baringa since they were babies, have since graduated and Tina continues to be actively involved in the strategic governance of the organisation.

+ SAUL ZHANG
Board Member

Saul Zhang joined the Board as Finance Director in 2022. He is a Senior Advisor at Proximity, a leading consulting firm for government and large organisations.

As a qualified Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with a master degree in Accounting, Saul has over 13 years experience in management consulting, audit, assurance and tax across public and private sectors.

Outside of office, Saul is supportive of contributing back to the community including in his volunteer roles with RSPCA and OzHarvest. Saul finds joy in his personal life, being a loving husband and proud father to their two young sons. His 2 year old has been attending Baringa and will be joined by his baby brother in 2026.

+ BARB LIVESEY Board Member

Barb Livesey joined the Board in 2021. She is the Executive Director of GAPP Consulting Services.

Barb has been CEO of Reconciliation Australia where she introduced the Reconciliation Action Plan program that continues to grow. She is a former senior Commonwealth public servant with expertise in social policy, Indigenous Affairs and financial services, and has been Head of Government Relations, Australian Red Cross working across the Pacific and in Myanmar. Barb also worked in the Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste mentoring local leaders and teams and gaining further insights into working cross-culturally.

Barb is an Associate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and held board positions with the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre and the Community Housing Forum of Australia.

In 2020, Barb supported the Board and Management to develop the new Baringa Strategic Plan. She was impresed with the commitment to delivering great outcomes for children and families. Barb was driven to nominate for the Board and was successfully elected.

+ TODD MCCOY Board Member

Todd McCoy joined the Board in 2024. Todd has been a Deputy Principal since 2017, with expertise in strategic planning, policy, human resourcing and financial management, as well as School Board governance.

Prior to this, he worked as a primary school teacher for 15 years across a number of ACT public schools, including two in the local community. He brings professional knowledge in education and governance to support the Baringa Board on its improvement journey.

Working in partnerships with families and building a strong sense of community are incredibly important to Todd. He brings to the Board experience in early childhood education, leading preschool teams in maintaining compliance and promoting progress through developing annual Quality Improvement Plans.

Todd's family has been part of the Baringa community since 2022, with his two daughters now attending Baringa.

+ LACHLAN CLOHESY Board Member

Lachlan Clohesy joined the Board in 2024. As Secretary of the ACT Division of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), he has a keen interest in education and lifelong learning.

Lachlan has previously been an academic and a union organiser, with governance experience as a Current Executive member of both the NTEU and UnionsACT. His strengths include industrial relations and labour law expertise, experience as an educator, experience in government relations, lobbying and advocacy, and governance experience related to budgeting, administration and strategic planning.

Lachlan has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Education, a Masters degree in Labour Law and Relations, and he is also a Doctor of Philosophy.

His young family has been proud to be part of the Baringa community since 2021 with their two young children now attending Baringa. He is driven to ensuring that the excellent Baringa experience his family has enjoyed can be shared by generations of families to come.

+ ELINOR ARCHER Board Member

Elinor (Eli) Archer is a proud Palawa woman with connections to Oyster Bay and Ben Lomond country in Northeast lutruwita (Tassie), who grew up in the Canberra region on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country.

Eli joined the Board in 2024 after teaching some of Baringa's Early Childhood Teachers when she was a lecturer at University of Canberra in Teacher Education focusing specifically on Indigenous Ways of Knowing in teaching and learning. She has also been a classroom teacher in Arts and Humanities for over 10 years.

Eli worked alongside Uncle Spilly and brutha Benny Wilson where, through their work in Country as Teacher, they aim to reinvigorate this old pedagogocial process and push for Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing in schools in order to help students and families to become great local citizens, knowing about their places and being committed to caring for them.

Before studying postgraduate Education and becoming a classroom teacher, Eli worked for many years in Koori Arts and as a Graphic Designer and Illustrator for several Aboriginal and government organisations in the ACT and NSW.

Eli lives in North Canberra and has three children. She now works at the ACT Education Directorate in Aboriginal and Torres Straig Islander Education. She is also part of other boards including Learning Creates First Nations education, National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition, ACT NAIDOC Committee and the ANU School of Music Reference Group.

+ MARY ELLEN MILLER
Board Member

Mary Ellen Miller joined the Board in November 2025, reconnecting with Baringa after her own daughter attended the centre in the late 1990s.

Mary Ellen is an experienced, senior public servant with a long-held interest in early childhood issues. She started my career as an Early Childhood Teacher, with a Bachelor of Education from University of Canberra and taught for almost 10 years in the ACT Education System.

She then moved into the Australian Public Service. As Assistant Secretary, she worked in a variety of policy areas which overlap with early childhood care and education (ECEC), including Indigenous Affairs, international development and managing Australia's bilateral relationship with a number of Western European countries.

In 2017, Mary Ellen was appointed as Australia's Ambassador to Denmark, Norway and Iceland by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. During this time, she observed a range of effective policy models for ECEC that support positive outcomes for children. She is passionate about the importance of universal, high quality, affordable access and bring deep public sector experience and the attributes to contribute to sound decision making and good governance.

Mary Ellen completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors course in governance and recently returned to Canberra after serving at the Australian Embassy in Rome, Italy. She has three adult children and two grandchildren.

+ ERINA MIKUS
Board Member

Erina Mikus joined the Board in November 2025. She is an Indigenous woman, lawyer, and academic at the University of Canberra.

Erina's daughter attends Baringa and through her, she developed a deep appreciation for the nurturing, inclusive, and community-focused environment that Baringa provides.

Her professional background centres on children's and missing persons' legal rights as well as Indigenous policy implementation in the workplace, and she is passionate about ensuring that all children are supported to thrive in safe, caring, and empowering settings.

As both a parent and researcher, Erina brings a unique perspective that combines legal insight, academic rigour, and a strong commitment to community wellbeing.

She is excited by the opportunity to contribute a fresh voice and a new lens to Baringa's ongoing growth and success.

Erina believes her experience in advocacy, policy, and education can help strengthen our shared vision for high-quality, inclusive early childhood education that values diversity and belonging.

She is honoured to represent families and contribute to Baringa's continued excellence and community spirit.

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