From a background in farming, Hendy Cowan became one of the long-serving and most accomplished parliamentarians in the history of Western Australia. For 27 years he was elected a member of the WA Legislative Assembly in the seat of Merredin, including 23 as Leader of the National Party and eight years as Deputy Premier of Western Australia. During his two terms in Government , Hendy held the portfolios of Commerce and Trade: Regional Development and Small Business. His achievements included the establishment of nine regional development commissions across the State and major advances in WA's export capacity and infrastructure in areas such as manufacturing, science and technology. Following his resignation from Parliament in 2001, Hendy again pursued his interest in farming whilst undertaking appointments to various boards (including the Cancer Foundation and Notre Dame University) along with being a Director of the Exports Grain Council and IBC Australia New Zealand Pty Ltd. Hendy Cowan is a recipient of the Federation Centenary Medal and holds Honorary Doctorates in Commerce (Edith Cowan University) and Science (Murdoch University).

A Fellow Certified Practicing Accountant and Fellow of the Tax Insitute of Australia, Steve Abbott spent 20 years in public practice with Duncan McPhail & Co, until 1984 when he established what is now known as Abbott Business Consultants.

Steve has contributed to various committees and was state councillor for CPA Australia and the Taxation Institue of Australia. He has delivered many papers at state and national levels to accounting and legal professions and continues to contribute to the small business and local community. Steve is also a Board member of The Arthritis Foundation of WA and a Director of Arthritis Australia.

Ms Chalmers is a Director with Productive Edge, a management consultancy with operations in Sydney and Perth.

Her qualifications include: a Bachelor of Business, Western Australian Institute of Technology, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Accounting, Curtin University. She is a Fellow, Australian Society of CPAs and an Associate, Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ms Chalmers has wide experience in many business management and pubic sector areas. This experience has been gained working as a consultant in the accounting profession and in management consulting, and as an employee in both government and industry.

Her areas of expertise include: corporate governance; change management; business process re-engineering; Key Performance Indicator development; organisational assessment; strategic planning; and business recovery and insolvency management; Her experience spans both Government and Private Sectors.

From a background in farming, Hendy Cowan became one of the long-serving and most accomplished parliamentarians in the history of Western Australia. For 27 years he was elected a member of the WA Legislative Assembly in the seat of Merredin, including 23 as Leader of the National Party and eight years as Deputy Premier of Western Australia. During his two terms in Government , Hendy held the portfolios of Commerce and Trade: Regional Development and Small Business. His achievements included the establishment of nine regional development commissions across the State and major advances in WA's export capacity and infrastructure in areas such as manufacturing, science and technology. Following his resignation from Parliament in 2001, Hendy again pursued his interest in farming whilst undertaking appointments to various boards (including the Cancer Foundation and Notre Dame University) along with being a Director of the Exports Grain Council and IBC Australia New Zealand Pty Ltd. Hendy Cowan is a recipient of the Federation Centenary Medal and holds Honorary Doctorates in Commerce (Edith Cowan University) and Science (Murdoch University). He chairs the board of the National Tele-Testing Facility, run out of ECU, and is a director of the ECU Foundation. He was welcomed to the University Council in April 2004

A Fellow Certified Practicing Accountant and Fellow of the Tax Insitute of Australia, Steve Abbott spent 20 years in public practice with Duncan McPhail & Co, until 1984 when he established what is now known as Abbott Business Consultants.

Steve has contributed to various committees and was state councillor for CPA Australia and the Taxation Institue of Australia. He has delivered many papers at state and national levels to accounting and legal professions and continues to contribute to the small business and local community. Steve is also a Board member of The Arthritis Foundation of WA and a Director of Arthritis Australia.

Karen Macdonald is the former owner and operator of Bookcaffe; which is one of the largest independent booksellers in WA. She has a degree in Engineering and a Master of Business Administration. With twenty five years in small business and industry, Karen is seeking to utilise her financial and general management skills on government and industry boards. She is involved in her family business, operating a substantial cattle and olive farming enterprise in Cowaramup, where they produce superfine wool and award winning olive oil.

Kempton has been in his current role as Chief Executive Officer of Joondalup Health Campus ('JHC') since January 2002. Kempton was initially employed by Mayne Group Limited (currently Ramsay Health Care) in October 1998, based at Mount Hospital, and was appointed Executive Officer of JHC in January 2000.

Affinity Health Pty Ltd (and formerly Mayne Group Limited) managed JHC from June 1995 when, as Health Care of Australia, it tendered for the $86 million redevelopment of the former Wanneroo Hospital which quadrupled in size from 84 to 346 beds. JHC was the first hospital in WA to have integrated public and private facilities on the one Campus.

Born in Esperance, WA, Kempton was educated at Christ Church Grammar School and the University of Western Australia, where he gained a Bachelor of Commerce degree, majoring in Management & Marketing. Kempton has post graduate qualifications in Accounting and Finance, and is an Associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

He commenced his career in 1989 at KPMG, following which he worked with Banque Paribas in London and in senior financial roles with Vietnam Industrial Investments Limited and Axiom Properties Limited, both ASX listed companies.

Kempton is now involved with the proposed redevelopment of JHC, including the planning and design of a private hospital and substantial redevelopment of the existing facility. His current role involves negotiations and consultation with a range of stakeholders including government, staff, community and other health care organisations.

Kempton is also a member of the State Council of the Australian College of Health Service Executives.

Liz Prime is Director of Nursing at Joondalup Health Campus and has previously held a number of senior management and executive roles in the public and private health sector.
She is a Member of the College of Nursing and the Australian Nursing Federation. Active in the local community for many years, she has contributed to a number of community advisory panels and working parties concerning the development of social infrastructure in the northern suburbs and has been active in the local primary and high school P&C Associations.
Liz is a member of the Statewide Clinical Reform Group Paediatric Services Review and The Government Reference Panel for Review of Practice Protection for Regulated WA Health Practitioners.

Norman Ashton is currently, working part-time as required through Horos his consultancy business. In 2004 he returned to Western Australia after having retired from the position of General Manager of The Smith Family in South Australia. Immediately prior to that he was for two years Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Adelaide, having had particular responsibility for Internationalisation and Development. Before taking up that appointment in July 1999, he was Chair of the Academic (Professorial) Board and of the Academic Council at the University of Western Australia, and an erstwhile Head of the Department of Classics and Ancient History there. His BA (First Class Honours) is from UWA, and the PhD was done at UWA and Oxford. He is now a Senior Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia.

Rene Lucien Le Miere was appointed to the Court on 2 February, 2004. He was born in Jersey, Channel Islands, in February 1952, and migrated to Western Australia with his family in 1965. He attended Aquinas College in Perth.

Justice Le Miere graduated with a Bachelor of Economics at the University of Western Australia in 1972, a Bachelor of Jurisprudence with honours in 1977, and a Bachelor of Laws with honours in 1978.

He was admitted to practice in Western Australia in 1978 and became a partner with Dwyer Durack in 1981. He joined the WA Bar Association in 1988 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1993. Justice Le Miere was a member of the Council of the Law Society from 1983 – 1991, and President of Law Society in 1989 and 1990. He was a Commissioner of the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia 1988 - 1992.

He was a member of the Board of Perth Institute of Contemporary Art from 1993 to 1997.

Neil Douglas joined McLeods Barristers and Solicitors as a Partner is 2006. Prior to this he was a Partner with Minter Ellison, Lawyers and was head of the Government Division. For almost 25 years he has practised predominantly in the public law field, dealing with constitutional and administrative law issues affecting federal, state and local governments, statutory authorities, agencies and employees. Before joining Minter Ellison in 1991, Neil worked in various senior legal positions in the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department in Canberra and in the Crown Solicitor's Office in Perth. He was a part-time legal member of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal from 1992 to 1997.

Neil has honours degrees in Jurisprudence and Law from the University of Western Australia and Master of Public Law from the Australian National University. He is a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the High Court of Australia and is an accredited mediator. He has taught constitutional and administrative law subjects at the law schools of the Australian National University, the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University.

Simon Holthouse is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia and holds a Masters in Urban Design from Manchester University. Now retired, his professional experience includes many years as an architect and urban planner during which time he was involved in a number of major projects, including the development of Joondalup.

Mr Holthouse was Chairman of the Western Australian Planning Commission from 1995 - 2001. He has held numerous advisory positions and acted as chairman of committees in government, in the fields of planning, environment, education, water resources and sport and recreation.

Mr Holthouse is the Chair of ECU's South West Campus (Bunbury) Advisory Board.

Ms McComish has been a partner with KPMG since 1989. She specialises in external and internal audit, accounting advice, due diligence and investigative reports. Ms McComish has extensive audit experience in a variety of industries focusing particularly on financial services and the energy and natural resources sector.

Alan Needham is a Senior Lecturer in biological science and teaches across a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including the biological and environmental sciences and nursing. His research and community interests include work in the biology and conservation of marsupials. Alan has served on a number of faculty and university committees and is currently a member of the Academic Staff Representatives Group and the Academic Staff Joint Consultative Committee.

Professor Ron Oliver is Edith Cowan University's (ECU) Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Teaching & Learning). His key accountabilities relate to leadership and development of learning and teaching practices and policy to ensure high standards and performances in course delivery and course outcomes. He is responsible for the Centre for Learning and Teaching and the Library Services Centre. He has a strong background in teaching, having trained and taught as a secondary school teacher before moving into tertiary education. In his previous tertiary positions he taught in the undergraduate and postgraduate programs in education and communications and led research teams at ECU exploring the design, development and evaluation of technology-mediated and online learning environments. Professor Oliver has won a number of national and international awards for his university teaching and his research into technology-facilitated learning. He is a winner of an Australian Award for University Teaching and is an Associate Fellow of the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of Western Australia, Bachelor of Education from Murdoch University, and Doctor of Philosophy from Curtin University.

Valentina Bailey's current role is as a Professional Development Officer within the ECU Human Resources Service Centre. She is responsible for providing training and development programs to ECU staff. This provides the opportunity to interact with staff at different levels of the organisation, and enables her to bring to the Council relevant feedback and comments, particularly of those at operational levels. Having also worked in ECU International, Governance and Planning Services, and the University Preparation Course, Valentina possesses a good knowledge of the University's stakeholders, student journey, structure, operations, policies and priorities. With a strong commitment to professional and organisational development, she hopes that her term with the Council will allow her to better meet the needs of ECU's customers through enhanced understanding of the University's governance and decision making processes.

Shane started at Edith Cowan University in 2005 as a student in Social Sciences, majoring in Youth Work. As current President of the ECU Student Guild and former Chair of Equity, Diversity and Sustainability, he has dedicated years of his study to providing better support, representation and engagement for students at the University. He works daily in a variety of formal and grassroots collectives / committees to encourage a more vibrant, supportive and sustainable culture in his day to day experiences, including his position as Acting Co-Convenor of GALEWA. He is a member of a number of University Committees and working parties orientated towards improving student experience and engagement at ECU.

Henry Heng is the Executive Chairman of Refresh Group Ltd. He started Refresh in 1997 and successfully listed it on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2006. Henry trained in banking and finance and is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, London. He was a licensed securities dealer with the Singapore Stock Exchange. He previously held management positions in various multi-national corporations. Henry's experience extends to small and medium enterprises, being founding partner of a chain of child care centres and a distribution business in Singapore. Henry has always been active in social and community services and served on various committees in Singapore. In Australia, he was a volunteer migration agent and has served on the Board of Grace City Church for 11 consecutive years. Henry holds a Master of Business Administration, a Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management and a Professional Diploma in Banking.

Julie Proud is a graduate of Graylands Teachers' College. As well as living in Perth and country Western Australia, she has also lived in Papua New Guinea, Tasmania, South Australia and New South Wales. Julie worked as a teacher, a TAFE lecturer, in an administrative role in the mining industry and as part-owner of two regional newspapers. Her background has therefore given her a unique range of experiences to bring to Council. Ms Proud has been the director of a small private publishing company since 1997.

On 7 March 2006, Kerry Cox started as Vice-Chancellor and President of Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. Prior to joining ECU, Kerry Cox had been Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Ballarat for five years, after being Deputy Vice-Chancellor (at Ballarat) and Pro- Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Head of Faculty of Science and Engineering, and Dean of Biological Sciences (all at Flinders University of South Australia). He has been a research scientist at leading institutions in Stockholm, London and Melbourne in his field of microbiology/immunology.

Kerry Cox has a strong record of establishing linkages with government, industry, business and research partners. He has broad community interests and involvement. As a University Head, he promotes a pronounced service orientation and high standards of integrity. Committee/Board/Council memberships include the National Council of Environmental Education in Australia; the Business-Higher Education Round Table; the Australian Society for Microbiology (former President); the Australasian Society for Immunology; the Victorian Education Research Network; the Grampians Rural Health Alliance Network; the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee and the Australian Higher Education Industrial Association (President).

Dr King is ECU's Executive Director (Governance & Planning). She has responsibilities relating to governance processes, policy and planning, executive support, as well as line management of the Equity & Quality Unit.

Dr King joined ECU in 2000, after early experience as a school teacher and then an academic, followed by a wide-ranging public sector career. The latter spanned policy roles with the Commonwealth Office of Youth Affairs, Commonwealth Schools Commission and the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET), and resource management roles with DEET and the WA Department of Training.

This mix of policy and resource management experience and experience in the schools, vocational education and training (VET) and higher education sectors is an advantage in the diverse role Dr King now holds at ECU.

Prior to joining ECU in 2003 David was Director of Research and Performance for the WA TAFE System and Deputy and Acting Chair of the national forum responsible for performance analysis and reporting in the Australian Vocational Education and Training System. David has 17 years experience in educational administration in the higher education, TAFE and industrial training sectors.