SDN Children's Services Inc. Annual Report 2010

Effie Bland
Chair of the History Committee
Cathy Sherry
BA LLB (Hons) USyd
Effie has been a Board Member since 1991,
but first joined SDN in 1989 and was elected
President of the Redfern and Waterloo Branch
Committees. She was appointed Chair of
the History Committee in 2001. Effie led the
planning for SDN’s centenary celebrations in
2005, and has overseen the task of preserving,
cataloguing and presenting SDN’s archives
and history as a provider of education and care
since 1905.
In 2002 the History Committee established
the SDN Archive at the History Room at SDN
Woolloomooloo, to preserve SDN’s records and
the broader history of the development of early
childhood education. The Archive is unique in
the early childhood sector in Australia and is
largely the result of Effie’s tireless commitment.
Effie brings extensive business experience to
her work on the Board. She worked for 40 years
in the business operations of S McN Bland Pty
Ltd, of which she is a Director.
Ruth Armytage AM
Diploma of the Sydney Kindergarten
Teachers College
Chair of SDN Child and Family Services
Board
Ruth joined the SDN Board in 1992 and has
more than seven years’ experience in early
childhood education. She is Chair of the SDN
Child and Family Services Board and is also
a member of the Governance Committee.
She was formerly a teacher and then Centre
Director at a Kindergarten Union centre in
Newtown, Outpost Newtown, which was the
first purpose-built preschool in the Southern
Hemisphere. Ruth also taught at a private
preschool in London for a year. She brings a
wealth of experience to the board and is also
a long-time personal supporter of SDN’s work.
Ruth is on other not-for-profit boards which
have a focus on early intervention for young
children and youth.
Theresa Collignon
MBA (AGSM) BComm(Marketing)
UNSW, Dip Financial Markets SIA
Theresa joined the SDN Board in December
2008 and is also a member of the Governance
Committee. She is currently the General
Manager of consulting firm Manidis Roberts.
Theresa brings to the board more than 20 years
of local and international experience in the
not-for-profit education sector, in leadership
roles with AFS student exchange, the Securities
Institute and the Australian Graduate School of
Management. Her early career in marketing
and product development provided a very solid
foundation for her commercial and business
management skills.
Theresa’s involvement in governance
started early in life with a role as youth
representative to the local parish council. As
part of her commitment to creating a more
civil society she has been involved in a range of
committees and boards in a voluntary capacity
over the years including St Vincent’s College,
Little Nicholson Street Playcentre and the
AGSM alumni. She is currently the President of
the Balmain Public School P&C.
Cathy Sherry became a Board Member in
February 2009 and is a Senior Lecturer in
the Faculty of Law at The University of New
South Wales. She teaches undergraduate and
postgraduate property courses as well as an
elective, Children and the Law. Cathy has
researched and written on early childhood care
and education and has a particular interest
in the effect of urban planning on children’s
wellbeing. She is currently a member of a
taskforce on children’s falls from residential
buildings at The Children’s Hospital, Westmead
and is a Board member of the National
Children’s and Youth Legal Centre.
Cathy is an editor of The Property Law Review
and has published extensively in academic
property journals in Australia and overseas.
She is also a contributor to the opinion pages
of the Sydney Morning Herald, and had a regular
column on work and family in The Sunday Age
for a number of years. Cathy completed the
final year of her degree at the Queen Mary
and Westfield College, University of London,
and is currently writing her PhD on strata and
community title.
All of our Board Members have made an enormous contribution to our ability to provide high quality early education and care, and strengthen families
and communities. Ginie Udy, CEO
SDN Annual Report 2010 41