Management Committee Members 2017
The Lillian Howell Project Inc. Management Committee are highly experienced local community members who undertake governance responsibility for the organisation.
Helen Campbell, President, has been a member of Lillian’s Management Committee for four years. Helen Campbell is the Executive Officer of Women's Legal Services NSW, a statewide specialist community legal centre for women. She is a lawyer with over 20 years' experience in the community and public sectors. In addition to her legal qualifications she is a Master of Women’s Studies and holds a Diploma in Frontline Management. Previously Helen managed Redfern Legal Centre, and has also held a wide range of voluntary appointments including Chair of Community Legal Centres NSW, Director of NCOSS and consumer representative on the Council of the Energy and Water Ombudsman. In 2011 Helen was awarded a medal in the Order of Australia for services to the law and to the community of Redfern.
Ann Watchirs, has been a member of Lillian’s Management Committee in various positions since 2005. She has worked as a Language, Literacy and Numeracy teacher to adults for thirty years in a variety of settings, e.g. women’s refuges, migrant resource centres, fashion outworker community venues and prisons, She is currently working as an ESOL teacher at Ultimo TAFE. She is passionate about education as an opportunity for social change, social justice and environmental sustainability. Her work in these areas has been awarded and she has also participated in many community action campaigns, e.g. No Shelter, asylum seeker and local environmental issues. Her other interests include community gardening, swimming (ocean if possible) and meditation which she has studied and practiced in Australia and India for over 30 years.
Victoria Bell, Treasurer, has been a member of Lillian’s Management Committee since January 2015. Victoria has 14 years’ experience as a budget manager in ABC Radio National and in Television Management where, as business analyst, she was responsible for the oversight of more than 60 cost centres. She has a Diploma in Community Welfare and from 1992-94 worked with Leichhardt Council Meals on Wheels program. Victoria was a board member of the Twenty10 Gay & Lesbian Youth Refuge before becoming its president for 3 years. Victoria has always been committed to the protection and wellbeing of women and girls.
Jessie Waratah is a Gamilaraay Warlpiri woman born in Sydney. Jessie has a lifelong association with Lillian’s and formally joined the management committee as their youth representative in 2021. Jessie is a visual and performing artist and lead singer in the band Subtle Mullets. Jessie regularly works with young people as a freelance artist in schools and with NGO’s. This includes hosting weekly cultural art workshops in primary schools, and designing installations and murals. In 2019 Jessie completed a Certificate IV in Visual Cultural Arts which led to new opportunities including collaborations with MadWings and a number of private commissions. Jessie is a confident public speaker, having MC’d on numerous occasions for the NSW Department of Education and Training and the Sydney LHD. A longstanding member of Youth Block’s Youthfrontline Committee advocating for young peoples’ social and emotional wellbeing, in 2019 Jessie was recipient of the City of Sydney’s Betty Makin Youth Week Award, Community Minded. .
Karen Lindley, has been a member Lillian’s Management Committee since 2014. Karen has had her own successful business as a Gemmologist for 40 years and has held numerous voluntary appointments in her industry and is currently on the Board of the Jewellers Association. Previously Karen was appointed to the Small Business Development Corporation Board where she served for 9 years. In 2014 she was awarded the Adult Volunteer of the Year for her voluntary work through the Sex Crimes Unit and Bravehearts. Karen’s expertise lies within generating income and development of strategies for positive outcomes. Since 2012 she has also overseen her own Foundation known as the Purple Angel Society who use their funds to support and educate young people.
Naomi Crago, Secretary, has been a member of Lillian’s Management Committee in various positions since January 2004. Naomi currently works as an Archivist for the City of Sydney, preserving the history and memory of the local area. She has previously worked at Muru Marri, the Indigenous Health Unit, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW and has participated in many community action groups, more recently No Shelter and the Save Sydney Park campaign. She has also works in a voluntary capacity for community organisations such the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Goldfields Aboriginal Language Centre in WA, and has previously volunteered for Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR).
Nicole Graham, has been a member of Lillian’s Management Committee since 2017. Nicole is the founder of Sydney-based property advisory firm Property Guidance and has previously worked for some of Sydney’s highest profile agencies including McGrath, Belle Property and Di Jones and Ray White, spanning over 25 years. Nicole’s clients also appreciate her warm personality and boundless energy and optimism. She has assisted Lillian's over the years when it comes to sourcing property items and became a Management Committee member in 2017 and brings the same energy and optimism to Lillian's. The concept of social justice is one that was entrenched in Nicole as child. One of seven children, her whole family would regularly be involved in working on fund-raising ventures for community needs and it is something that Nicole instills in her own children. She is excited about the future for Lillian’s as it fills an essential need for young women in need.