Reputation management expert Karina, from Sydney, and Melbourne-based organisational development consultant and experienced HR professional Carol are the successful recipients of the WOB/BDO Australia ESG scholarships.
The full program scholarships were open to female NFP board members and were offered courtesy of public accounting, tax and advisory firm BDO.
The scholarships give Karina and Carol places on WOB’s new interactive workshop series ESG: Opportunities and Risks for Boards, which is being run in collaboration with Directors Australia and BDO.
Carol, whose son is deaf and was born with the rare genetic disorder, Treacher Collins syndrome, is on the board of directors for Deaf Children Australia and Carers Victoria and now works part-time to care for her son.
“I joined the board of Deaf Children Australia because of my son’s experience and with Carers Victoria I have felt the impact of being a carer of someone with extra needs and I want to make sure that carers out there have more support,” said Carol, who has professional experience and leadership accomplishments in business/HR management from a range of organisations including RACV, Suncorp, CGU Insurance CPA Australia and the Australian Human Resources Institute.
She describes herself as a “board newbie” and said she is trying to learn as much as she can so she can share her knowledge with her boards.
“I’m hoping to use my HR knowledge and experience with not-for-profit organisations while opening up my knowledge of ESG issues and see how we can, as a board, incorporate that in our reporting and strategic planning.”
Karina is on the Board of the Alcohol and Drug Foundation and the UN Women’s Committee for IWD. She runs her own business providing counsel to executives and Boards on reputation management and has more than 20 years’ experience in managing reputation for some of Australia’s best known brands including Cricket Australia, NBN Co, Vodafone and Telstra.
She said she is “super excited” about starting WOB’s ESG program. “ESG presents organisations with significant strategic opportunity if given the right focus. I believe a deeper understanding will help me drive value in my role on the Board of the ADF and for my clients, and I’m looking forward to learning,” she said.
Karina is also Interim Executive for Public Affairs with Australian Golf and said the sport presented a unique opportunity to implement change for the benefit of the environmental sustainability of some of the country’s most valued green spaces.
“Having a deeper understanding of ESG will no doubt be beneficial to my colleagues at Golf. We are custodians of this land and are committed to a sustainable future.”