Commission structure

Commissioner and Board Members

The governance structure of the Commission comprises a full-time Commissioner who chairs a board with six other members.

The Commissioner is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the affairs of the Commission, delegating management of operational matters to a chief executive officer.

The board is responsible for setting the organisation’s strategic direction. The board sets policies, priorities and strategies for the Commission in performing its functions.

The board members provide important links to the broader Victorian community, ensuring the Commission’s work remains relevant and responsive to the human rights issues that touch people every day.

Commissioner

Dr Helen Szoke - Commissioner, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission

Dr Helen Szoke is the Commissioner of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, and was appointed to this position by the Attorney General in 2009.

Helen was previously the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Conciliator of the Commission and held this position from December 2004 until her appointment as Commissioner.

She has previously held positions relating to management, community development, organizational development and regulation in the education and health sectors.

Helen is currently, Director of the Adult Multicultural Education Services and a Board Member of Multicultural Arts Victoria.

Previously Helen has been involved with various community groups including Women’s Health Victoria, VCOSS, Consumers Health Forum and was a Preston City Councillor from 1982 – 1984.

Commission Board Members

Ms Joumanah El Matrah - Executive Director of the Islamic Women's Welfare Council of Victoria.

Joumanah El Matrah has extensive experience in research has published works on Muslim women in Australia. Joumanah trained as a psychologist and has been active in the community welfare sector for ten years. She has contributed to many organisations involved with multicultural, religious and women's issues.

She was a member of the Ministerial Advisory Council for Cultural and Linguistic Diversity, Department of Human Services, Victorian Government and one of the Directors for the Victorian Women’s Trust.

Joumanah was an invited participant of the Ninth Annual Global Women’s Leadership Institute; Realising the Vision of Women’s Human Rights: Understanding the Intersections of Racism, Sexism and Other Oppressions.

She is also a Churchill Fellow, researching the impact of the human rights movement on Muslim women internationally. She has been a member of numerous committees and boards. Currently, she is a member of the Federal Australian Multicultural Advisory Council.

Mr Brendon Gale - Chief Executive Officer of the Richmond Football Club.

Brendon was born in Burnie, Tasmania, and has both a Masters Degree in Arts and Bachelors Degree in Laws from Monash University.

In his ‘previous’ life Brendon played 244 games of AFL football between 1990 and 2001 with the Richmond Football Club; captaining and vice-captaining the club between 1994 and 1997.

Upon retirement from professional football, Brendon worked with commercial law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques, practicing in the general commercial and banking and finance areas.

In January 2005 Brendon was appointed CEO of the AFL Players Association. As CEO Brendon was responsible for representing the collective industrial interests of all AFL players and in August 2007 after extensive negotiations with the AFL, Brendon finalised 2007-2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement which featured among other things, a player payments package of approximately $800 million over the term.

In August 2009 Brendon returned to the Richmond Football Club when he was appointed CEO. AS CEO Brendon leads a diverse team of over 120 people, a budget of approximately $40 million and is responsible for leading all aspects of the organisation.

Dr Paula Gerber - Senior Lecturer at Monash University and Deputy Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law.

Paula has excelled in the field of academia and research and is an authority on the use of human rights education as a tool to prevent human rights abuses. She has published extensively in the area including books, chapters in edited works, and numerous journal articles.

Paula came to academia after 20 years in private practice, during which time she spent five years working as a solicitor in London and five years as an attorney in Los Angeles before settling in Melbourne where she became a partner at a leading Melbourne law firm.

Prior to he appointment at Monash University, Paula was at the University of Melbourne where she was Director of Studies, Construction Law in the Law School and a Senior Fellow in the Faculty of Architecture Building & Planning.

Paula is unusual in specialising in two completely unrelated areas, namely Construction Law and International Human Rights Law. Paula has lectured extensively in both areas, including teaching Human Rights Theory at the University of Prishtina in Kosovo.

Paula completed her PhD in 2008, which examined the implementation of Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition to her academic career, Paula also sits as a sessional member of the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal in the domestic building list.

Michael Gorton AM is a partner with Russell Kennedy Solicitors, and has had many years' involvement in charitable and community organisations. He has particularly been involved in leadership roles with the United Nations Association of Australia, Greening Australia, Vision Australia, and Reconciliation Victoria Inc.

Michael was a member of the Equal Opportunity Commission from 1994 to 1999, and returned to the Commission as Chairperson in 2008.

Michael's other government roles include as President of the Health Services Review Council, Deputy Chair of the Infertility Treatment Authority, Chair of the Victorian Biotechnology Advisory Committee, Ministerial representative to the Monash Institute of Medical Research, and a board member of Melbourne Health (Royal Melbourne Hospital).

Michael's community service has been recognised with a number of awards, including the Paul Baker Prize for Administrative Law and Human Rights, Law Institute of Victoria. He was awarded the Pro Bono Award of the Public Interest Law Clearing House in 1998. In 2004 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia, particularly for his community service in relation to equal opportunity and aboriginal reconciliation.

Jason Mifsud - CEO, Australian Football League Foundation.

Jason is a Gunditjmara man from the small town of Ellerslie just outside Warrnambool. Jason has always had a great love of football and was drafted to St Kilda in 1993.

As CEO of the AFL foundation, Jason has seized the opportunities provided by AFL to bridge the gap between communities, government and the corporate sector and to develop young people’s leadership skills, self-confidence and connection to the community.

Jason is a prominent member of the Aboriginal community.

Jason became the CEO of Gunditjmara Aboriginal Cooperative from 1995-1996, before becoming a representative on Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) suicide prevention taskforce from 1997-1998. From 1998-2005, Jason was the Indigenous Program Manager at South West Healthcare.

Jason has held national Indigenous mentoring roles and was recently named one of 10 emerging leaders by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. He was appointed to the Victorian Aboriginal Economic Development Group in 2008.