CAMFED Australia Board
Fiona Sharkie has had a career spanning private, public and non-profit sectors, to become an accomplished leader achieving social impact in areas including violence against women, international development, public health and disability. This work reflects her commitment to social justice and equity.
In the last 20+ years, Fiona has led the Office of Women’s Policy (Victoria), Quit Victoria and Amaze (peak body for autism) and Women’s Health East. In these roles, she has been part of major policy and legislative reforms including reform of the family violence system in Victoria, as well as some major “firsts” – the introduction of plain packaging of tobacco, the first education strategy for autistic students and the first social behaviour change TV campaign for autism. She secured the largest NDIS grant of $9m to create a national autism help line Autism Connect.
Undertaking post graduate qualifications in Social Impact (Swinburne) focussed Fiona’s interest and attention on the importance of working directly with the community and those with lived experience to design strategies that create impact and achieve positive change. This has become a foundational aspect of her approach to all her work.
Fiona is AICD qualified and experienced non-executive director having served as Deputy Chair of Plan International (Australia), President of the International Women’s Development Agency and Board member of STREAT social enterprise. She recently joined the board of CAMFED, an international organisation focussed on educating girls in 6 African countries.