Board TAS

Catherine Walker was elected to the Board of the National Trust Tasmania in October 2019. She returned permanently to Longford, Tasmania in June 2014 after a career in public policy and administration with the Commonwealth Government. She has had a long interest in the National Trust’s work in Tasmania.

For over twenty-two years, she worked with the Australian aid program and held senior development roles overseas, including in Timor Leste as the Chief of Donor Coordination with the United Nations Transitional Administration and in Solomon Islands as the Development Coordinator with the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).

As AusAID’s Deputy Director General of Global Programs, she served on the Executive of the Agency and led the large scale expansion of Australia’s aid program activities in Africa, the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as managing the Government’s humanitarian, emergencies and refugee program.

Before retiring from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2014, she was responsible for the aid program’s work in fragile and conflict affected states and humanitarian and emergency response, including disaster risk prevention and preparedness programs. She worked closely with whole-of-government partners in the planning and management of complex emergency responses, especially in the area of civil-military cooperation. She was appointed in 2011 by the UN Secretary-General to the United Nations Advisory Group on the Central Emergency Response Fund and served as its chair from 2012–2014.

Catherine Walker received the Public Service Medal in 2011 for her work in development and humanitarian assistance.

She has been a member of the Board of UN Women Australia since 2014.

Jude Franks joined the Board of the National Trust of Australia (Tasmania) in May as a Ministerial appointee under the National Trust Act 2006 for a three-year term commencing July 2023.

Jude is an accomplished and seasoned professional, renowned for her effectiveness as a Company Director.
With over 40 years of senior executive, consultancy and leadership experience, Jude has delivered innovative and strategic change, predominantly in the tourism industry in Tasmania.
Jude is currently an Executive Director of the Mt Wellington Cable Car Company and the Cartela Steamship Restoration Trust playing a pivotal role in planning, developing, and implementing these projects. Jude was a Director of RACT for seven years until November 2022, including roles on the RACT Autoserve, RACT Travel, and RACT Destinations boards. She served as a Director of the Port Arthur Historic Sites Management Authority (PAHSMA) for ten years until December 2021 where she contributed significantly to the preservation and management of the iconic site. Additionally, Jude has served on boards as diverse as Tasmania's Southern Regional Tourism Association, Ecotourism Australia, Tasmanian Convention Bureau (as Deputy Chair), and Woolmer's Estate (Archer Historical Foundation).
As Principal of Jude Franks Consulting, she has displayed proactive and insightful leadership. Her expertise in tourism, management, marketing, and strategic planning has led to successful outcomes in projects for Innkeepers Corporation, the Old Woolstore Apartment Hotel, Hotel Grand Chancellor /Federation Concert Hall, Callington Mill Oatlands. Jude also led a large team through a market-shaping era of acquisitions and the development of the Pure Tasmania brand and experiences at the Federal Group.
Jude is a proud Tasmanian who has worked extensively interstate and in South East Asia. She lives in West Hobart and is the proud Mum of three adult children and also has a new grandson ! The recent discovery of new information of her Convict and early settler ancestors has again ignited her passion for the deep stories of our amazing Island.

Elected to the Board in 2023, Alistair is a former journalist, communications manager and ministerial adviser to Tasmanian and Federal Labor governments and has extensive experience in public sector management and governance at a senior level. He has held senior positions in the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPAC) as Director of Local Government and in the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE – now Natural Resources and Environment) as General Manager of Natural and Cultural Heritage. Alistair has previously served on a number of boards including the Local Government Board, the Tasmanian Libraries Advisory Board and the management boards for both NRM North and NRM South, and is currently a director of Cricket North.
Alistair recently gained a PhD in Tasmanian history at the University of Tasmania. His thesis was the first study of the lives of the male juvenile convicts held at the Point Puer Boys Establishment near Port Arthur between 1834 and 1849. He found that for many of the boys, Point Puer was a place of unrelenting punishment and maltreatment. While some succeeded in establishing themselves in the colony after being released – living quiet, unobtrusive lives – most inevitably struggled to integrate into colonial society.
As a board member, Alistair has a particular focus on good governance and on ensuring that the National Trust is able to operate on a financially sustainable basis. He is also keen to explore opportunities for the Trust to continue to broaden its role to encompass Tasmania’s First Nations, convict, industrial and social heritage beyond its more traditional role in conserving buildings and places of historical and cultural significance.

An inclusive leader and tourism operator with an appreciation for Tasmania’s heritage, Kerry Houston has demonstrated management, marketing, human resource, leadership, and communication skills alongside a passion for reimagining heritage buildings and ‘telling their story.’
Kerry is skilled in corporate leadership, has a commitment to heritage preservation and understands small business in the tourism arena. From steering payroll and human resources for a significant organization to thriving small business ownership, her journey embodies strategic acumen, community engagement, and a passion for elevating heritage tourism experiences.
Growing up in regional Victoria, Kerry is now passionately Tasmanian. She has spent over a decade based in Hobart, and has spent the last five years in Stanley on the far northwest coast bringing strong regional perspective and insights from the north of the State. As owner operator of Ship Inn Stanley, she oversaw the renovation of the 1840s heritage listed property, originally an 1840s sailor's tavern built by Jo Lyons grandfather. Ship Inn Stanley has received multiple national and state tourism awards as well as media accolades.
As Vice President of the Circular Head Tourism Association, Kerry's contributions led to Stanley's victory in the Top Tourism Town competition. Kerry was instrumental in leading the submission for the Nut and volcanic features of the Stanley peninsula to be included on the national heritage list, and these sites have now been approved for priority assessment. Kerry was also instrumental in securing a grant to transform the street signage of Stanley to link it with interpretive material to Stanley’s Highfield Historic site.
Kerry and husband Alastair live in an 1840s stone bond store designed by John Lee Archer for the Van Diemen’s Land Company. This is another renovation in progress, using traditional lime and stone working methods. Kerry is passionate about preserving buildings and landscapes with a view to people engaging with them in a modern and relatable way.

Dr Peter Tucker has extensive experience in corporate governance as a director of three boards. He is past Chair (for ten years) of Holyoake Tasmania, a community care provider of counselling to people with addiction problems. He was also a director for six years of Natural Resources South a statutory authority established to promote the conservation of natural resources, particularly in the farming and irrigation communities. Currently he is Deputy Chair of Community Based Services, one of the Tasmania’s largest provider of home care to elderly and disabled clients.
Dr Tucker is both a Chartered and CPA accountant with many years experience in financial and internal audit. In addition he is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
He is a past State Director of the Heritage Council Secretariat, and has considerable experience in assessing work proposals against conservation management practices and the requirements of Historic Cultural Heritage Act and the Land Use Planning and Approval Act.
Dr Tucker holds a Batchelor of Business, a Master of Town Planning and a PhD (in political science) all from the University of Tasmania.