Two highly credentialed leaders have been appointed to the Don Dunstan Foundation’s Committee of Management, which provides day-to-day governance oversight of our work.
Julia Sumner and Kirstie Parker have been welcomed to the roles by Committee of Management chair Matt Clemow.
“We could not be more thrilled to be joined by two people of Julia and Kirstie’s calibre and experience,” he said. “It’s an enormously exciting 12 months as we enter 2026, the centenary of Don Dunstan’s birth, and we are so fortunate to have these two women and their respective skill sets.”
Julia Sumner has a mix of high-level experienced in business, the not-for-profit sector, and government. She has been the CEO of renowned Adelaide fashion business Acler for seven years. Previously, she served as a chief-of-staff and ministerial adviser to State Government ministers and held various senior roles with Oxfam Australia for more than eight years. She has a personal connection with the Dunstan years through her father Chris – well known as Attorney-General in the Bannon Government.
Kirstie Parker is a Yuwaalaraay woman from northern NSW. Kirstie and her immediate family have lived in Adelaide for many years. She is a highly-respected Aboriginal leader whose current roles include Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia and Head of First Nations at the South Australian Film Corporation. Her former professional roles include elected female Co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, CEO of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, Editor of the Koori Mail newspaper, and Director of Tandanya – National Aboriginal Cultural Institute. Kirstie also co-chaired the national Close the Gap Committee, the national Change the Record Coalition, and the National Health Leadership Forum. She is a signatory to the historic Uluru Statement from the Heart that was issued to the Australian people in 2017 as an invitation to walk together with First Nations towards a better future.
