CBAA Staff
Secretariat Staff
Michele Bawden - General Manager
Michele has over 20 years of experience in the community broadcasting sector starting as a volunteer at 3BBB and training as a journalist at the Victorian Public Broadcasting Association. She has since worked in programming and management for 3CR Melbourne, 2SER Sydney and 8KIN Alice Springs alongside extensive national experience through her involvement with the CBAA Board and the Community Broadcasting Foundation.
Contact:
Email: mbawden@cbaa.org.au
Alexis Roitman - Policy and Campaigns Manager
Alexis Roitman is responsible for policy issues, communications and advocacy campaigns for the CBAA. Over the last 15 years Alexis has worked in a range of public affairs roles for peak industry bodies, listed companies and professional services firms. She has also worked in Public Affairs research, conducting stakeholder interviews with MP's, media and opinion leaders to guide strategic planning. She started as a volunteer at Sydney's 2SER in 1996 and currently presents 2SER's Monday Breakfast program on 107.3fm.
Contact:
Email: aroitman@cbaa.org.au
Maria Walsh - Membership Manager
Maria has just finished a 5 year stint in country NSW where she took a running leap into the community media scene; founding and managing a community newspaper, and working in tandem with a local community radio station. Maria became a Board member for 88.9FM, sharing the airwaves, breaking news and interviewing politicians; and Vice President of the regional Mid Richmond Neighbourhood Centre, getting first hand experience of managing volunteer based organisations.. Prior to that Maria had a 'corporate life' as an anti-discrimination/HR specialist in companies such as Qantas and Channel Nine, and consulting for a wide range of government and non-government organisations. In the newly created role of Membership Manager, Maria is looking forward to interpreting the needs of the community broadcasting sector so the CBAA can offer the best representation possible of and to its members.
Contact:
Email: mwalsh@cbaa.org.au
Robin Carter - Finance and Administration Coordinator
Robin came to the CBAA from a professional photographic laboratory where he cared for the company accounts. This brought him into contact with many professional photographers and their work both in Sydney and overseas and reactivated his interest in photography. Robin’s accounting experience was initially acquired in the UK, where he worked for several large soft drink companies and included a wide range of projects with these companies both in the UK and overseas. Robin was born in Australia but educated in the UK. After time in Manchester and London Robin was more or less permanently frozen from the endless British winter and felt a change was needed. He returned to Australia in 2002.
Robin is the first point of call for all things accounting and financial.
Contact:
Email: rcarter@cbaa.org.au
Andrew Devenish-Meares - Information Technology Coordinator
Andrew joined the CBAA in June 2007. Prior to that he worked in a number of roles around the University of New England in Armidale, NSW.
Most recently he was Administrative Assistant at TUNE!FM, which always involved far more technical work than one might expect, and IT Support Office for Services UNE Ltd, and one of its predicessors, the UNE Students' Association. And that's the simple version.
Andrew looks after the office IT kit, and occasionally talks to stations about such things. He's also the one who looks after C pod.
He also spends some time doing IT related things at FBi.
Contact:
Email: adevenish@cbaa.org.au
Danny Chifley - Administrative Assistant
Danny has been involved in the sector since doing his Year 10 work experience at 2MCE FM in Bathurst countless years ago. On the second day of work experience Danny was asked to host the afternoon slot, and so flourished a lengthy relationship. He has a degree in Communications from CSU, Bathurst. Despite a college degree, he still collides into inanimate objects with alarming regularity.
Stations should contact Danny for all general enquiries as well as to let him know of any changes to your station's personnel or contact details.
Contact:
Email: dchifley@cbaa.org.au
Community Radio Network (CRN)
Martin Walter - CRN Content Coordinator
Martin joined the CBAA as CRN Operations Coordinator in June 2007. Previous to this he held various roles in the media monitoring industry, and spent five years in community broadcasting in NZ. Please be advised that due to accent difficulties it may be easier to contact him via email. Also this will reduce the chances of him engaging you in a long-winded spiel about the latest injustices done to the NZ cricket team. As a confessed cricket tragic he has been assigned by medical authorities to undergo personality correction through immersion in Sydney’s psych rock scene. Therapy is still in progress.
Contact:
Email: mwalters@cbaa.org.au
Ben Feggans - CRN Technical Coordinator
Ben Feggans is the CRN Technical Coordinator. He comes from an audio engineering background, and has previously worked as an engineer at studios 301 mastering, and audio lecturer at SAE (school of audio engineering) Sydney. He is actively involved with community radio, working with many independent music labels, and giving the occasional pro tools lecture at FBi. Ben is responsible for the technical aspects of the satellite, ensuring the audio quality and delivery of programs is consistent.
Contact:
Email: bfeggans@cbaa.org.au
Technical Services
David Sice
Contact:
Email: dsice@cbaa.org.au
Sector Projects Staff
Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (AMRAP)
Chris Johnson - Manager
Chris Johnson has worked in the music industry for over ten years as a sound engineer, radio maker and new-media developer. Chris was the station manager of Edge Radio in Tasmania, which he successfully managed over its first five years. Chris was on the national Digital Radio Standing Committee, supporting community broadcaster’s transition into the digital radio age. He is on the Arts Tasmania panel, allocating state government grants and loans to Tasmanian artists, and on the Music Council of Australia, a 50-member national peak music organisation for Australia. Chris is a qualified audio technician, bachelor of journalism graduate, and skilled new media strategist. He won the 'Career Achievement' category at the 2006 Tasmanian Young Achiever awards.
He is now the manager of Amrap – The Australian Music Radio Airplay Project. He was appointed to manage Amrap in late October 2008 when the project was revitalised with funding. He is developing the service to suit the changing needs of the music and media industries and places a high priority on getting music to broadcasters and stations that matches their tastes and interests.
Contact:
Email: chris@amrap.org
Brigitte Dagg - Communications & CD Mailout Coordinator
Brigitte joined the Amrap team as their Communications & CD Mailout Coordinator in May 2010. Previous to that she worked as the Executive Assistant and Editor of CBX at the CBAA for more than three years. Brigitte is a devoted supporter of community radio and currently produces 'All the Best' - stories about Sydney on FBi Radio.
Contact:
Email: bdagg@cbaa.org.au
Brooke Olsen - Distribution Coordinator
Brooke Olsen has been working for AMRAP since November 2007. She is the Distribution Coordinator - assisting musicians with national airplay opportunities.
Brooke has been volunteering and working in community radio for 7 years, undertaking a number of roles in that time including; freelance producer, presenter, production assistant, panel trainer and training course co-coordinator. She interned at ABC Radio National (The Night Air) and has a Communications degree in Media Arts Production (University of Technology Sydney).
Currently she co-produces and presents FBi radio's experimental sound hour 'Sunday Night At the Movies'.
When she’s not at AMRAP, Brooke is co-running an independent venue/art space in Sydney's inner west. She also randomly puts on experimental / noise music gigs and djs for a pittance under the moniker ‘Corporal Leper’.
For distribution enquiries email: mailout@amrap.org
Contact:
Email: brooke@amrap.org
Ben Briedis - IT Programmer
Ben joined the CBAA in August 2009 in order to implement various web-based services for AMRAP. He has worked as a computer programmer in the fields of IT management, biotechnology, media and telephony systems. Ben has a PhD in Computer Science and a BA(Hons)/LLB, both from UNSW.
In his spare time he writes songs and performs them in many fine Sydney drinking institutions.
Contact:
Email: ben@amrap.org
CBOnline
David Melzer - Acting CBOnline Manager
David lived in the Otways in western Victoria when he became enthusiastic about what was then called public broadcasting. He first volunteered at 3YYR in Geelong when it was a TCBL in 1988. When the station got its permanent licence, he was employed as part-time manager. He then went on to manage 3ZZZ in Melbourne - he managed to survive the politics of a station that broadcasts in 65 languages - but only just. He and his family then shlepped to Fitzroy Crossing - in WA's Kimberley region - where the ABC employed David to work with the local Aboriginal board to establish an independent station. David then spent 10 years back in Melbourne managing 3MBS and then a stint back with the ABC managing the Kimberley station from Broome. During his nomadic journey, David has completed research projects covering training, music and station management. He has spent many satisfying hours volunteering at community stations including 3CR, 3RRR, 3PBS and 3YYR because he says community broadcasting can improve the life of a community - but maybe he's just on happy pills. He says that he is convinced that the CBAA can provide the tools to stations that can enable them to develop their place in their community. These include communication tools, programming, training and marketing.
Contact:
Email: dmelzer@cbaa.org.au
National Training Project (NTP)
Nicola Joseph - Manager
Nicola Joseph has returned to the community broadcasting sector after a few years as station manager of SBS Radio in Sydney. Nicola will be managing the National Training Project for the CBAA which includes the roll out of management training around the country and the design of new broadcaster resources. For those who don't know Nicola, she has worked at 4ZZZ, 2SER, Radio Skid Row, NEMBC and was the Training Manager at the CBAA before going to SBS. She has also worked as an Executive Producer at the ABC and SBS. On her return, Nicola could be heard to breathe a sigh of relief saying "the community broadcasting sector is the only place I can truly be myself...uncut, uncensored and without commercial breaks.....It's good to be home."
Contact:
Email: njoseph@cbaa.org.au
Bruno Brayovic - Administative Assistant
Bruno has been involved in the community broadcasting sector for over 16 years, starting out at Radio Skid Row as a teenager and then serving time at FBi and 2SER both as a presenter and board member. During that time he has also worn various hats at the CBAA, where he currently sits in the National Training Project administration assistant's chair. Bruno dissects his time between the CBAA and university studies where he is undertaking a Bachelor of Education. He enjoys tofu, the colour red and writing in the third person.
Contact:
Email: bruno@cbaa.org.au
Digital Radio Project (DRP)
Kath Letch - DRP Project Manager
Contact:
Email: kletch@cbaa.org.au
Alex White – Digital Radio Project Assistant
Previous to joining the CBAA Alex worked in youth and community services for the past 12 years and in a voluntary capacity has coordinated Lion Mountain Studio based at Radio Skid Row, Directed Electrofringe Festival, Liquid Architecture Sydney Festival and Serial Space. Alex is also an audio engineer and producer, he performs laptop based noise / experimental music and co-produces the music series High Reflections.
Contact:
Email: awhite@cbaa.org.au
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