Directors
Jenni Colwill - President
Jenni Colwill is the Managing Director of Leapfrog Leadership Pty Ltd. Before establishing Leapfrog Leadership, Jenni worked in executive search for a multi-national company and was a senior executive in the Commonwealth public service. She also was the Vice-President of the National Foundation for Australian Women, where she was involved with a successful paid maternity leave campaign.
Vicki Buchanan - Vice-President
Currently a consultant working on reviews and projects, Vicki also provides mentoring and support for a number of managers and newly graduated younger women. She was the State Director of the Tasmania Office of the Status of Women, and has worked in other public service organisations such HREOC, Prime Minister & Cabinet and Comcare. She was also the Area Manager for Centrelink in Western Sydney. Vicki now lives on the central coast of NSW.
Jo Gaha
Jo lives on a property in NSW where she raises alpacas and at the same time manages a successful career as a senior executive in the Commonwealth public service. Before joining the public sector, Jo was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle in the Department of Social Work. A passionate feminist, Jo believes that the feminist principle that 'personal is political' equates to 'individual is social'. As President of the Association of Australian Social Workers, she encouraged the introduction of gender studies into social work education.
Madeleine Love
Madeleine is the General Counsel of Southern Cross University and its controlled entities in Australia and overseas. She is also the Company Secretary of the Australian Plant DNA Bank and the National Marine Science Centre and Chair of the University's Tender Board and Privacy Officer for the University. She is also the director of The Next Project; a legal, governance and business advisory service and is working on a leadership and mentoring program for young people living in regional Australia.
Madeleine has worked as a corporate and commercial lawyer both in Sydney and regional NSW in private practice and in-house roles. In 2007, Madeleine was named the Australian Corporate Lawyer's Association Young Achiever of the Year for her outstanding leadership skills and achievements and in 2009 was nominated for the Future Summit Leadership Award. She was invited to attend the United Nations Development Fund for Women meeting in Sydney in 2009, and is often invited to speak and has presented many papers and seminars at many conferences around Australia.
Madeleine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws in Corporate, Commercial and Taxation Law and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice. She is also fluent in English and Modern Greek and speaks conversational French. She has worked as a volunteer in various committee roles for not-for-profit associations, including the Salvation Army and a volunteer with community radio stations, the Law Society of NSW as a magistrate for its Mock Trial competitions and does pro bono legal work for various community organisations.
Jan Otte
Jan lives in Tasmania where she works in the public sector. She has two children, one was adopted when he was 4 years old and the other child was born in the same year that the adopted child arrived. Jan has also worked in small businesses for many years. It is Jan's desire that women of different backgrounds and religions come to understand and learn from each other better, and then to be able to share that learning throughout our communities, producing harmony, trust and collaboration.
Claire Sullivan
Claire Sullivan is a policy adviser within the Attorney General's Department. She has worked for the Department of Defence and the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and for a multi-national human resource solutions company. In her spare time, she is the Secretary for the Old Geelong Grammarian's Canberra network, and she is working with a team to establish the Hospital of Hope in Timor Leste. Claire is strong advocate and mentor for young women in the workplace.