ABOUT THE ABORIGINAL BENEFITS FOUNDATION
The Aboriginal Benefits Foundation Trust (ABN 37 153 926 921) is a Public Ancillary Fund registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. Donations of $2 and over are tax-deductible in Australia.
It is managed by a board of directors as listed below and supported by patrons from the political and artistic spheres. Information on about patrons can be found here.
Jennifer Isaacs has worked with Indigenous artists and communities for 46 years. She was involved in conceiving and establishing the Art Centres in many remote areas, has mentored individual artists and guided stellar art careers, advised and curated the collections of significant donor collectors from acquisition to exhibitions and the eventual transfer of the works into major International museum collections. Isaacs writes on culture, art, history, biography, food and herbal medicine.
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Adrian Newstead is a former President of the Indigenous Art Trade Association and Director of Aboriginal Tourism Australia and is the immediate past President of the Art Consulting Association of Australia. An Aboriginal art consultant, dealer, and art commentator he has 35 years experience working with Aboriginal communities and indigenous artists.
Simon Chan is the Director of Art Atrium, an art gallery exhibiting contemporary Australian, Asian and Aboriginal art and also a practising architect and Director of SCA Architects. He holds several directorships and sits on various boards spanning the arts, multiculturalism, Chinese community and local government. In 2013, he was awarded the inaugural NSW Premier’s Multicultural Award for Arts & Culture in recognition of his work and expertise in this area.
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John Coffey recently retired from the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) where he was responsible for regulating remediation of contaminated sites. He is now consulting in this field, a part time farmer as well as President of the management committee of the North Sydney Community Centre.
Adam Flynn is a lawyer with over 10 years of experience in the private, not-for-profit and public sectors. He received an Arts Law Centre of Australia Pro Bono Print Commission Award in 2010 for providing legal services to artists and arts organisations and his art has been exhibited at the Manly Art Gallery and Museum.
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Shelley Indyk is Director of Indyk Architects, a practice that can range from bespoke carpet design to high end residential projects to large commercial cinemas to particular community projects in remote communities. Indyk Architects collaborated to design the concept for the Yirrkala Healing centre as part of one of the ABF projects in 2010.
Sonja is a senior communications and marketing specialist and is currently Head of Marketing for TCorp (NSW Treasury Corporation). She is committed to equality and justice for all and to mentoring people to be their best. Before joining TCorp, Sonja was a Senior Consultant for the Thinking Ahead Group at Willis Towers Watson UK, an investment think tank that researches the industry’s problems of tomorrow. She was previously Marketing Director for Towers Watson Australia, National Marketing Manager for Watson Wyatt, and Senior Analyst for The Boston Consulting Group.