Our Board
The Board is the body elected by members to set policy for, and oversee the affairs of, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.
The responsibilities of the Board include setting and reviewing the CBAA strategic direction, monitoring organisational performance, appointing the CEO, and deciding on key policy positions to take on behalf of the community broadcasting sector.
The Board consists of up to eight directors. The procedure for appointing directors can be found in the CBAA Constitution.
Current Directors
President - Jacquie Riddell
Jacquie started her media career as a volunteer producer and announcer, and then station manager of a large campus-based community radio station in New Zealand. She then served as the inaugural Director of the National Association of Student Broadcasters. After moving to Australia, she was involved in the organising committee for FBI Radio in the lead up to gaining a licence. Until recently she was the Director of Public Engagement at the Art Gallery of NSW, where she oversaw all the public operations and functions of this large art museum. Previously she held executive leadership roles at Barangaroo, SBS, XYZnetworks’ music channels (Channel [V], Max, Country Music Channel and Club [V]), and the Triple J network.
She is experienced in not-for-profit governance, having worked both as a board director and alongside high-profile boards throughout her career, and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Vice President - Peter Rohweder
Peter is the Manager for 4MBS’s Silver Memories service. He is the Chairperson of Broadcasting Park Pty Ltd. Peter has been involved in community radio since 1994. He started at 4ZZZ and worked in all areas of the station from, administration to broadcasting to governance. From 2002-2017, Peter was the Station Manager at 4EB as well as voluntarily managing the transmission site for five friendly stations in Brisbane.
Director - Gavin Brett
Gavin has been involved in community radio for 10 years. Starting his career at Hope Media Ltd as Group Sales Manager and established the national sponsorship platform Media Sales Australia. He now is the CEO of Christian Media Hub which partners with and manages 6 community stations across regional Australia, five in NSW and one in northern Victoria. He served on the CBAA Audience Research Advisory Group for two years. He is committed to local community radio that is relevant, sustainable and professional. Gavin believes the community radio in regional locations can be the number one station of choice for the community.
Director - Quinn Glasson
Quinn Glasson has been the General Manager of Curtin Radio since 2005. Quinn is critically aware of the need for the sector to increasingly engage with their communities of interest as well as to gain a greater understanding of our respective audiences.
Director - Louisa Graham
Louisa Graham has extensive experience in not-for-profit management and governance and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is currently the CEO of the Australian Scholarships Foundation and was most recently Chief Executive Officer of The Walkley Foundation for Journalism. Louisa has worked in community broadcasting at 2XX and 2SER and began her career in journalism at Network Ten.
She has worked in senior leadership roles for the Australian Institute of International Affairs, the Sydney Writers' Festival and UNWomen, and has led awareness campaigns for White Ribbon Day and the Australian Public Movement. She has also served on the boards of the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom, Media Diversity Australia, Taikoz and the Copyright Council.
Director - Dave Houchin
Currently Station Manager at Melbourne's 3RRR, Dave has experience working within metro and sub-metro community broadcasters in Victoria and Western Australia, starting as a volunteer presenter in 2000.
Dave has been a Not-for-profit CEO and Director since 2007. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and holds Bachelors Degrees in Commerce and Arts.
Dave is passionate about the work of not-for-profits, independent media, music, arts, culture, education, community engagement, and public spaces.
Director - Sewar Mitanis
Sewar has over ten years’ experience in community radio and is currently on the Board of Directors at Radio 4EB FM, Brisbane’s ethnic community radio station, and is a member of its Governance and Risk sub-committee. Having migrated to Australia over 16 years ago she is committed to supporting diverse languages through community broadcasting and engagement.
Through her role as Director at 4EB Sewar has established a rapport with diverse language groups and has acquired a strong knowledge of the community broadcasting sector, as well as of various local communities’ cultures and values. As a result, she has developed a reputation as being a committed and approachable member of the Board at 4EB.
Director - Hannah Rogers
Current Board Observers
In 2024, CBAA are participating in The Observership Program. The Observership Program places talented young professionals aged 25-40 on not-for-profit and Government appointed boards for a period of 12 months as Observers. It is a powerful tool to engage emerging community leaders, giving participating boards and opportuinity to participate in the development of the next generation of directions and to engage new people in the work of their organisations.
We are delighted to welcome Laura and Megan to the board as our 2024 Observers.
You can find out more about The Observership Program here.
Laura Bacon
Laura Bacon is a Senior Policy Adviser at the Australian Institute of Company Directors, with expertise in governance, ESG, corporate law and regulatory affairs.
Laura is responsible for developing the AICD’s public policy agenda, advocacy and contemporary governance practice initiatives, engaging with government and regulators, legal experts, directors and senior leaders from both the private and public sector.
Prior to joining the AICD, Laura provided corporate law and board advisory services at KPMG and began her career as lawyer at Gilbert & Tobin and Russell McVeagh (NZ).
Laura has experience in both for-profit and not-for-profit governance and community services, as a current board member of Bendigo Bank – Milton & South Coast Community Bank and former Chair of Kogarah Community Services in Sydney. Laura is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Megan Williams
Megan is the Station Manager at 2DRY FM in Broken Hill where they oversee operations, training, volunteer support and sit on the programming committee. Megan began broadcasting in 2018 at 3CR In Melbourne and they now host Out in the Outback and Water Watch on 2DRY FM and Earth Matters on the Community Radio Network.
Megan strongly identifies with the struggles of both women and gender diverse people and they are passionate about understanding and addressing the barriers to participation for all members of our community.