AEGN

Catherine Brown OAM

Chair

Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation

Catherine leads the largest and oldest community foundation in Australia as the Chief Executive Officer of the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.

They tackle the tough issues facing Melbourne. Priority areas currently include affordable housing, sustainable Melbourne (energy, food and water), the health impacts of climate change, social cohesion and youth unemployment. The Foundation uses a climate lens to inform its work across all impact areas.

Catherine is a lawyer with a commitment to community philanthropy and philanthropy’s role supporting innovative solutions to tough environmental and social problems.

After several years in commercial law, Catherine worked in legal and management roles with the MS Society, Wesley Mission and the Brain Foundation Victoria, where she was CEO and then as an advisor within the not for profit and philanthropic sectors. She joined the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation in 2011.

Catherine is the author of Great FoundationsA 360° guide to building resilient and effective not-for-profit organisations (ACER Press, 2010). She has completed a PhD by practice related research related to philanthropic foundations and innovation at Swinburne University (Centre for Social Impact, Faculty of Business and Law).

Catherine has held Victorian Government Board appointments as Chair or Deputy Chair of organisations in health, women’s affairs and cemetery management.

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