CUDA is governed by a board of eight directors who meet monthly. Currently four directors are from New South Wales, three from Queensland and one from Victoria.
Jane Bringolf: BSSc, MBA, PhD, Churchill Fellow.
Jane has worked in community services for more than thirty years and has a broad understanding of the sector, particularly ageing and disability. A recipient of a Churchill Fellowship in 2004, Jane travelled overseas to investigate organisations pursuing universal design, accessible environments and assistive technology. She later completed a PhD in urban studies focusing on universal design in housing. Jane gained her grounding in universal design as Executive Director with the Independent Living Centre NSW, and put this knowledge to use more recently as Liveable Communities Project Manager with Council on the Ageing NSW (COTA NSW). Jane is a founding director and Chairs the board.
Phillippa Carnemolla: BIndDes, MDes, PhD
Phillippa is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Design Architecture and Building at UTS. She is an Industrial Designer with extensive experience in design practice, research and education. Her PhD, completed in 2016, investigated the impact of home modifications on caregiving and health-related quality of life. Phillippa’s research interests focus on human-centred and inclusive design of housing, urban infrastructure and new technologies for older people and people living with disability. In 2018 she was awarded the National Association of Women in Construction International Women’s Day Scholarship.
Phillip Taylor: BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD
Philip is Professor of Human Resource Management at Federation University Australia and a Professorial Fellow at the University of Warwick. He has more than 30 years of experience as an expert researcher, policy writer and governmental and NGO advisor on workforce ageing. His interests include individual orientations to work and retirement, employer behaviour towards older workers and international developments in public policy aimed at extending working life.
Penny Galbraith: FAIB, FRICS, PhD
Penny is a built environment professional with a career long interest in accessibility and universal design. Consultancy roles have covered a range of clients and built environment forms including: Underwater World, State Library of Queensland, Princes Pier, master planning senior living villages, NW Rail Link, and more recently helping the City for Greater Geelong determine ‘what accessible looks like’. Strategy, research and futures thinking underpin Penny’s work.
Sarah Davidson
Sarah has a strong background in education and training, particularly in the community sector relating to health and ageing. Working for peak bodies she has extensive experience in working with volunteers, leading teams, and peer education. Sarah has also worked in senior management roles and business development. She is particularly interested in consumer and stakeholder engagement and capacity building within an education framework.
Emily Steel BOccThy, MSc(Hons), PhD
Emily has worked as a clinician, manager and researcher in Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Her research has investigated policies and practices for implementing disability rights and providing assistive technology in Europe and Australia. Emily is involved in the drafting of new international standards for cognitive accessibility, promoting universal design strategies to make products and systems easier to understand and use. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2020, which she fulfilled in 2022-23.
John Evernden: BSc (Tech) Civil Eng; BAppSc Ecotourism
Over many years John has used his civil engineering background at local government level to help create public domains that consider all aspects of equitable and dignified access for people of all ages, capabilities and backgrounds. His skills also include ecotourism and the sustainability of the natural environment as well as the built environment. John is also an accredited access consultant.
Nikki Jackson: BSc (Hons),
Nikki works as both an access consultant and licenced building certifier. Before coming to Australia she worked on London Olympic Games projects as a design advisor. Her projects span basic domestic extensions to multi-million dollar skyscrapers which include healthcare, commercial, retail and transport sectors to name a few. Nikki set up her own company in Australia and has worked on transport projects and the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast. She also works on access policy and action plans.
