Deborah Dearing is an architect with over 30 years’ international experience in urban design, planning and property development within both government and private organisations, including 15 plus years in management and executive roles. Dr Dearing is a District Commissioner with the Greater Sydney Commission, and sits on the Heritage Council of NSW. She brings a strong record of personal commitment to fostering positive, collaborative relationships within teams and with all stakeholders - in executive roles with Stockland and Architectus, and as an Executive Director, Place Development and Place Renewal with the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. Dr Deborah Dearing is the 11th President elected to the Board since it was first constituted in 1923, and the first woman to hold the role.

Sue has comprehensive experience in senior level planning, management, and the direction of broad based directorates in medium to large local governments in NSW and Queensland. Sue is currently Group Manager Outcomes and Development at Parramatta City Council in the centre of western Sydney, the twelfth largest local government in NSW, with the second largest CBD. As Group Manager, Sue is responsible for preparation and management of a budget of $12 million, and the management of 150 staff across 4 service units.

Abbie has worked for close to 30 years on public, educational, health, research and commercial projects that have been highly awarded, published and recognised internationally for bringing fresh approaches to common project types.

Projects Abbie has led have been the recipient of more than 40 state, national and international architectural awards including the RAIA Lloyd Rees Award for Urban Design Award, the RAIA Jack McConnell Award for Public Architecture and the RAIA Blackett Prize for Regional Architecture, in addition to personal awards such as the AIA Marion Mahoney Griffin Prize for a distinctive body of work in the field of Architecture.

Abbie has been involved with the profession, the Institute of Architects and the Board of Architects for many years, is a regular speaker at universities and conferences nationally and internationally and chairs and participates as an expert adviser in many design advisory panels, taskforces and awards juries.

Abbie is passionate about the public domain, and the ability of architecture and our built environment to positively affect human behaviour, the way people interact, and the manner in which institutions and organisations operate.

Andrew Nimmo is a registered Architect in NSW and the ACT. He graduated from the University of Queensland with Honours in 1986 and in 1994 Andrew established lahznimmo architects with partner Annabel Lahz in Sydney. The firm mainly concentrates on public and urban design projects, and has a special emphasis on education and library architecture. The firm’s work is widely published and has received numerous awards from the Australian Institute of Architects. Andrew maintains a special interest in architectural criticism and journalism and is a regular contributor to architectural journals. Andrew has delivered numerous professional lectures throughout Australia, is regularly invited to be a guest critic and lecturer at Australian universities and is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney. Andrew was elected to the NSW Chapter Council of the Australian Institute of Architects in 2013, and again in 2015. In 2017 he was appointed NSW Chapter President.

Melonie Bayl-Smith is a registered Architect in NSW and Victoria, and Director of Bijl Architecture. Over the past 15 years, Melonie and her practice have undertaken many design-led projects across residential, educational and public sectors. Her considered and purposeful approach to architecture and design is evident in Bijl Architecture’s award-winning and widely-published projects. Known as an outspoken advocate for architectural education, gender equity and good design, Melonie is Adjunct Professor at UTS School of Architecture where she teaches in the M.Arch. program, lecturing in professional practice and tutoring in the design studio. Melonie has recently completed a two-year term as Chapter Councillor for the NSW Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects (2015-17). Melonie is an active researcher; evidenced by the publication of peer-reviewed academic papers and presentations at conferences worldwide, includes “BuildAbility”, a large-scale international research project examining the future of construction education for architects and associated professionals. This project was supported by a Byera Hadley Scholarship (2009) and a NAWIC International Women’s Day Scholarship (2010). A Part 3 APE examiner for the ARB NSW since 2007, Melonie has a deep understanding of the processes and interactions around the registration process. In 2015, Melonie co-authored the new Overseas Qualification Assessment (OQA) process for the AACA and is an appointed assessor for the NPrA, LEP and OAA assessment and registration pathway.

Fabricio is an architect and elected member of the Board. He has 16 years post-graduate experience in residential and commercial projects across all stages of the development cycle having worked for small, medium and large companies. His qualificiations include a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning; and a Master Degree in Property Development. Since 2015, Fabricio has been practising as an independent professional, working mostly with renovations, new homes and small to medium scale multi-unit development. The daily challenges of managing projects independently motivated him to run for a place on the Board. He is especially concerned with the lack of understanding from the public regarding the role of the architects in the development process and a biased construction culture that often portrays architects in a negative way. Fabricio brings diversity to the Board after migrating from Brazil to Australia in 2007 and subsequently becoming a proud Australian citizen.

Rod is a senior partner at Hickson Lawyers and leads the Hicksons practices in disciplinary matters, commercial litigation, lenders mortgage insurance and title insurance. He has extensive specialist experience conducting legal proceedings, both in the Occupational Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the Supreme Court. A Harvard-trained negotiator, Rod has degrees in law and commerce and is admitted to practice in NSW, Victoria and the High Court of Australia. Rod is a regular speaker to industry leaders and clients. He also has a personal interest in mental health issues, particularly those in relation to aging demographics within professional services.

Sarah Marshall is the Executive General Manager, Operational Support, Engineering with Lendlease - one of the world's leading providers of fully integrated property and infrastructure solutions. Her role has oversight across the Engineering business for Human Resources; Industrial Relations, Environment, Community and Sustainability, Safety and Marketing and Communications. Sarah brings a hands on, consultative style with extensive experience leading multi-disciplinary teams (up to 20 direct and 60 indirect) and facilitating mentoring/coaching/training, as well as an understanding of different organisational cultures. Sarah is also a Board Executive Director of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, which is the peak industry body for advancing sustainability outcomes in infrastructure.

Milly Brigden’s career has been characterised by over 7 years’ experience as a Property Investment Specialist, Licenced Real Estate Agent as well as 20 years as a property investor. During this time Milly has developed a wide range of real estate knowledge, including the ability to identify and assess new opportunities for investment Australia wide. Milly is currently the Co-Founder and Licensee-in-Charge at Property Investor Solutions where she provides investment-grade property opportunities to approved industry business partners. Milly Brigden also assists relevant Stakeholders with the development and review of projects performing thorough and concise market research, analysis and due diligence across Australia.

Peter Salhani is a freelance editor, writer and curator, based in Bondi, in Sydney’s east. His interviews and articles exploring Australian architecture and design, urban space, sustainability and landscape, are published in magazines, journals, books and online. He is a former editor of Monument, Architecture Bulletin (Australian Institute of Architects NSW) and architectureau.com. In June 2017, Peter was invited to be Writer in Residence at the Australian Design Centre in Sydney. He was on the Sydney Architecture Festival curatorial team in 2014–2015. Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts (behavioural sciences / law) from Macquarie University, a Diploma of Company Directorship from The University of New England, and did post-graduate industrial and graphic design studies at UTS.