National Trusts of Australia Board

MEET OUR BOARD:

Lachlan Molesworth, Chair

National Trust of Australia (VIC)

Qualifications: MBA (Distinction) (Oxon), LLB (Melb), BEng (Melb), Grad Dip Leg Prac.

Experience: Lachlan is an Australian lawyer and barrister in corporations and regulatory law, with experience in heritage law. Lachlan Molesworth was previously a solicitor and in the Commonwealth Treasury portfolio.

Lachlan currently holds positions as Deputy Chair of the National Trust of Victoria, Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and is a Director of the Law Council of Australia.

He has extensive experience on boards of not-for-profit organisations and has taught extensively at the University of Melbourne law school, where he is currently a Senior Fellow. 

Graham Goerke

National Trust of Australia (WA)

Qualifications: B.JURIS, LLB, GAICD

Experience: Graham practised as a property lawyer at Jackson McDonald for over 30 years until the end of 2015. He was chair of the partnership board for ten years from 2001 and head of the commercial/property practice team from 1995.

Graham was a member of the Division Council of the Property Council in WA for over 12 years; an adjunct professor for six years with the law school of Murdoch University; and has been a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors since 1991.

Graham was a Council and Board member of Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) from 2006 to 2022 and Board Chair from 2013 to 2019. EREA currently governs over 50 Catholic schools and flexible learning centres around Australia. Graham was a member of the Board of the WA Sports Centre Trust (VenuesWest) from 2007 to 2022 and Board Chair from 2018 to 2022. VenuesWest is currently responsible for 13 sports and entertainment venues on behalf of the WA Government.

Graham became a member of the Council and Executive Committee of the National Trust in Western Australia in 2016 and is currently serving as Deputy Chair. He was appointed a Director of the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT) in August 2016 and served as Chair of the ACNT from November 2019 to October 2022.

Stephanie Keays

National Trust of Australia (QLD)

Qualifications: BArch, Cert 4 in Assessment and Workplace Training

Experience: Stephanie is an active National Trust of Australia (Queensland) member based in Toowoomba, and brings to the Board grass roots representation for members; business acumen; lived understanding of regional issues; and first-hand experience of the operation of National Trust Property, the Royal Bull’s Head Inn.

With over 25 years experience as a specialist architect in both environmental and heritage conservation, Stephanie has a strong understanding of the responsibilities associated with leadership in the fields of conservation and heritage.

Stephanie’s advocacy and significant community involvement with the National Trust as coordinator of Toowoomba Open House and liaison officer for Toowoomba’s Festival of Rail are evidence of her passion for the work of the National Trust. Stephanie is proud to be working to make the National Trust and its mission come alive for the public and for the organisation’s network of volunteers and members.

Gary Kent

National Trust of Australia (ACT)

Qualifications: B Com, LLB, Grad Dip Pub Law, Grad AICD

Experience: Gary has been a member of the National Trust (ACT) since 2013. Since 2018 he has been a member of the National Trust’s Council and was elected President in the same year.

Gary has served for nine years on the Committee of the Friends of the National Library, including five years as Chair.  He was a co-founder in 2010 of the Inner South Canberra Community Council, of which he served as Chair for seven years. He was President of the Liberal Party of Australia (ACT Division) from 2000-07 and has been the Convener of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy (ACT & Region) since 2011.

Gary has had a long career in the Australian public service, including chief of staff roles to several Federal Ministers and Company Secretary of the Defence Housing Authority. Now semi-retired, he currently consults on ethics and privacy matters.

He is a keen genealogist and book collector, specialising in books, manuscripts and ephemera published in colonial Victoria. He is currently co-authoring a biography of Dr Arthur Andrews, the Albury historian, and a bibliography of Australian private libraries.

Paul Leadbeter

National Trust of Australia (SA)

Experience:

Paul has been a Councillor of the National Trust (SA) for four years and for the last two years, also President. Paul is a qualified lawyer and legal academic whose specialty is Environmental and Land Use Planning Law. He has an adjunct role with the Adelaide Law School and is a member of the State Commission Assessment Panel. In 2023 Paul was made a Member of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites). He has held previous roles on the governing boards of the Australian Conservation Foundation, the SA Environmental Defenders Office and the Conservation Council of SA.

Paul believes conserving SA heritage buildings and places for the benefits of present and future generations is essential and supports adaptive reuse of appropriate heritage buildings provided the building’s recognised heritage values are protected. He is keen to try and increase the interest of younger people in heritage and the work of the National Trust.

David Pratt

National Trust of Australia (NSW)

Qualifications: FCA, MEc(Macq), BEc(Syd)

Experience: David Pratt was born in Sydney with a family line that goes back to the very early days of colonial settlement. This and his keen interest in Australian history, architecture and horticulture are what aligns him to the National Trust (NSW).

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants with a Masters of Economics degree from Macquarie University. His extensive career as a partner at PwC in management consultancy, specialising in restructuring, risk and financial management optimisation, are the skills and knowledge he brings to the leadership team of the National Trust.

David Pratt has been a member of the National Trust (NSW) FARM Committee since 2018, has been a Director and Treasurer of the Australasian Pioneers’ Club since 2015 and was previously a Director and Treasurer of the Arthritis Foundation of NSW for over 10 years.

Catherine Walker

National Trust of Australia (TAS)

Experience

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.

Douglas Wright

Qualifications: ChartPR, FAICD, FAIM, FCPRA

Experience: Douglas leads specialist public relations and corporate advisory firm, Wrights. Previously, he headed Ogilvy Public Relations in Australia. He is an expert in marketing and communication.

Douglas has extensive experience in the governance of organisations. He was chair of the Asia Pacific region of the Worldcom Public Relations Group, vice-chair of St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, a board director of Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre and chair of the Victorian Government Small Business Advisory Council.

He has a continuing commitment to small business development, a strong passion for supporting medical research and an active interest in heritage. Douglas has served on the Australian Bankers’ Association Small Business Forum and was a founding director of the St Vincent’s Institute Foundation. He was formerly on the advisory boards of the Mansion at Werribee Park and the Australian Racing Museum.

Douglas’ contribution to commerce has been recognised by his peers and he is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Public Relations Institute of Australia, the Australian Marketing Institute and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (UK) and the Counsellor’s Academy of the Public Relations Society of America.

Edward Webber

National Trust of Australia (NT)

Experience:  Eddie has been a National Trust member since 1989 and was elected to the Gulf Branch Chair position of the National Trust in the Northern Territory in 1996-97. He has been actively involved in the branch in various roles since that time. He was also awarded life membership of the Gulf Branch in 2011.