Briar Willard
President
Briar is dedicated to bringing about unity and harmony among people of differing backgrounds. Briar has lived in 5 different countries around the world and sees the beauty and richness that diversity brings to community. She grew up in Geneva, Switzerland with French as her first language.
Briar has been volunteering for over 40 years in a variety of roles and settings in the communities in which she lives with the emphasis on the oneness of humanity and collaboration across cultures and belief systems.
Briar has a Bachelor of Economics from University of Colorado, USA and Master of Social Work from Flinders University. She has qualifications and training in a number of different therapies. She was a research assistant at the International Labour Office in Geneva Switzerland in her 20s and was a senior researcher at University of Queensland. Briar worked for over 25 years in counselling, therapy and social work.
Briar is currently an elected member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the Sunshine Coast, a worldwide faith whose primary purpose is to bring about unity through working together free of prejudice.
She moved to Rosemount with her husband in 2019 to be closer to family. She loves the serenity, the open space and the gardens.
She joined the committee in order to be of service to her local community.
Lani wards
Committee member
Recently immigrated from New Zealand and with Hawaiian and NZ Māori ancestry, Lani's involvement in community development, and advocacy spans over 20 years. Her professional background began in Mental Health as a clinical social worker and led to multiple senior and executive roles in NFP organisations, NGOs and public health services, including CEO of Dress for Success, a global women's charity and National Service Manager of The Low Down NZ, a mental health and crisis intervention service for hard-to-reach communities.
With a Post Graduate diploma in Not-for-profit management and a Masters degree in Public Policy she majored in Social enterprise and Social impact development. She has sat on multiple community and NFP boards in NZ providing strategic governance and is looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about her new country and its unique communities while being able to utilise her skills and experience to add value where she can to make a difference.
Michelle Scott
Treasurer
Over my working career I have been blessed with countless opportunities, experiences and training that have given me a strong and diverse skill base. I am excited to share that experience and skill with others. Though I have worked in the public and corporate sectors, and NFP (not for profit) organisations, my passion has always been small business. My Business Hub Queensland is an idea that I nurtured for many years. With the opportunities provided by modern technology, cloud-based services, AI and social media there has never been a better time for small businesses to grow and succeed. My aim is to provide simple and practical solutions to empower business owners and assist them to leverage themselves into a balanced life/work situation. We offer services, support and training that give people the opportunity to focus their valuable time into areas that are of the most benefit in creating successful business.
sharon lenord
Committee Member
Sharon is nominating as a general committee member of the management committee and has the skills and experience to make a valuable contribution. She has qualifications in Education, Library and Information Science and Counselling and a strong interest in community services. She retired in 2018 following a career as a Librarian in special, public and academic libraries and has worked at the University of the Sunshine Coast for 19 years, the last 10 years as Library Manager.
Sharon held the role of Volunteer Coordinator at NCC for around 3 years and has a good understanding of the way NCC operates and the vital role it plays in supporting the community.
MARK POWELL
Treasurer
Mark Powell is Director of Education Services for Montessori Australia, and also teaches education classes at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He taught in Montessori and traditional classrooms for almost three decades in the United States and Australia, and has been a Montessori teacher trainer for 12 years.
Mark is widely published and has designed many classroom materials which are now sold across the United States and internationally. He has delivered workshops at national conferences across the US and Australia and has consulted for dozens of Montessori schools across the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Sue Broughton
Committee Member
Sue has a strong entrepreneurial flair built on 30+ years’ experience and qualifications in the corporate arena in management & executive positions ranging from NFP enterprises, education, telecommunications, construction, health, small business and book publishing.
Her experience in educating international youth and adults for the past decade, has given her an understanding of migrant issues whilst they integrate into their community. Very much an advocate for those sectors where individuals feel marginalised, she has a long history of volunteer work and community involvement due to personal interests in domestic violence and social injustice.
Sue is very interested in assisting the Nambour Community Centre in realising its goals and contributing to the wonderful work done by the centre.