Mietta Foundation Board Members Brief CVs

Julian Burnside QC, Chair of the Mietta Foundation, was admitted to the Bar in 1976, appointed Queen's Counsel in 1989, and has been involved in many cases concerning civil rights and industrial relations. He is Patron of Australians for Just Refugee Programs. He founded the Victorian Society for Computers and Law and is actively involved in teaching advocacy throughout Australia, and in Singapore, England and Scotland. His numerous publications have been in fields as diverse as children's literature, language and etymology, computer technology, intellectual property, and legal and court history. For many years, he has also been highly involved in supporting the arts in Australia, in particular the visual arts and chamber music, is a Patron of Duo Sol, President of Musica Viva Australia (Victorian Branch), Deputy Chair of Musica Viva Australia, Board Member of the Victorian College of the Arts, and Chair of 45 Downstairs Inc gallery and performance space. He regularly commissions works by Australian composers and collects contemporary paintings and sculpture.

Ralph Willis, Treasurer of the Mietta Foundation, is Chairperson of Cbus Superannuation - The Building and Construction Industry Superannuation Fund, and a Member of Cbus Investment Committee, Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee.

Craig Allchin is currently working on a variety of inner urban, regional and international projects. He was a founding director of the award winning Melbourne architecture practice Six Degrees. He has conducted much of his work in the area of integrated urban renewal strategies creating new uses in unused or forgotten parts of the city. Six Degrees were initiators of the revival of Melbourne's laneway culture, now a key strength in the revitalised downtown precinct. He was a board member of the Melbourne Fringe Festival from 1998 to 2002, and project architect and instigator of the recent refurbishment of Melbourne's unsung monument, the Capitol Theatre. He divides his time between working on projects in Melbourne and Shanghai and in his home base, Sydney, where he is also restoring a 46 ft timber cabin cruiser on Sydney Harbour.

Patricia O'Donnell is one of Australia's foremost hoteliers and restaurateurs. With her sister, Robin Moser, and Tony Knox, she established the Queenscliff Hotel in 1978 and ran it, as Owner/Manager, until 2002, earning innumerable hospitality and tourism awards during that time. More recently, she established the North Fitzroy Star as an inner city neighbourhood bar and restaurant. Amongst her many activities as a long time supporter of the Arts, she was Deputy President of the Queenscliff Carnival of Words and is a Member of the Library Board of Victoria. She is also a member of the Abbotsford Convent Foundation Board. She has been an active supporter of the Heritage project based on the "Farm Vigano", the family home of her grandparents.

Jill Reichstein is Chair of the Lance Reichstein Foundation and is actively involved in developing partnerships with the community groups the Foundation supports. She helped establish the first women's refuge in Victoria, went on to develop community based childcare for the City of Brunswick, and coordinated the Victorian Cooperative of Children's Services for Ethnic Groups. While Executive Officer to the Reichstein Foundation, she furthered its commitment towards progressive philanthropy and social change. Still actively involved in philanthropy, she acts as a consultant to a wide range of community groups on funding and organisational development. She sits on several boards including the Foundation for Young Australians, the Community Support Fund Community Advisory Council, Australia Centre - Melbourne University, Trust for Young Australians, Melbourne Community Foundation, Koori Heritage Trust and the Royal Melbourne Hospital Ethics Committee. She is a Past President and a Board Member of Philanthropy Australia.

Joan Spiller, Secretary of the Foundation, combines Board Directorships with consultancy work, as Managing Partner of Welsearch Pty Ltd. Her Board Directorships include Monash IVF, Monash Ultrasound for Women, and Monash Reproductive Pathology and Genetics. She chairs the Board of Flower & Samios Architects, and is a Director of the Australian Art Orchestra, and Secretary of the Mietta Song Recital Award. Past Board Directorships have included the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Victorian Rehabilitation Centre. She was a Member of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Board and a Trustee of the Melbourne Symphony Foundation. Her background is in public sector management and policy, particularly in Health and Communications and her consultancy work has included the fields IT services, Bio-tech, Building & Construction, Communications, Health care, Education and Defence.

Related CVs

Tony Knox, Ex Officio Adviser to the Mietta Foundation Board, is a photographer, writer, publisher and restaurateur. With Mietta O’Donnell, he established and ran Mietta’s Restaurant, from 1974 to 1985 in Fitzroy, then in Alfred Place, Melbourne, until 1995. The restaurant was a focal point for the arts in Melbourne, with an inimitable range of performances in The Lounge and The Bar, and fine dining in the Restaurant and private function rooms. With Patricia O’Donnell and Robin Moser, he helped to establish and build the Queenscliff Hotel in the late 1970s. In the late 1960s, he operated Poppyshop in Lygon St, Carlton, with Pat Knox, and was a co-founder of the Melbourne Times. Earlier, he worked as a cameraman for Tim Burstall's Eltham Films. In 1996, with Mietta O’Donnell, he developed 'Mietta's Eating & Drinking' guides, and a number of other publications including Mietta’s website.

Professor Emeritus John Poynter, Chair of the Mietta Song Recital Award Committee, has held that position since the second Song Recital Award in 1996. He is currently Honorary Professorial Fellow, at the Australian Centre, University of Melbourne. From 1975 until 1991, he was a Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne. Other positions held at the University were Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Cultural Affairs), Dean of the Faculty of Music, Visual and Performing Arts, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and the Ernest Scott Professor of History. Professor Poynter is or has been associated with a number of musical organisations, including the Melbourne Chorale, the Melbourne International Festival of Organ and Harpsichord, the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, Musica Viva, the Port Fairy Festival, and Les Editions de L'Oiseau Lyre. He is the author of numerous publications and, in 2003, published "Mr Felton's Bequests" which was received with scholarly and popular approval.