The Board
IABC Victoria is a registered not-for-profit association, managed by a volunteer board.
Our board members are high-achieving professionals from a cross section of communication disciplines. They generously give their time and energy to provide the best possible professional development, recognition and networking opportunities for IABC Victoria members.
The board represents IABC at a local level and works closely with other chapters across Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and internationally, to ensure we continue to deliver the best resources, research and opportunities to our members.
We are also fortunate to have a number of volunteers who work alongside the board on our many projects and events.
Meet the IABC Victoria Board
Julia Loughlin
Julia is an evidence-based marketing and communications professional with 15 years’ experience across logistics, utilities, legal, oil and gas, finance, government and small business.
Holding an MBA with a concentration in Marketing as well as a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of International Studies, Julia enjoys sitting at the nexus of business, marketing and communications.
A true strategist, she enjoys gaining a deep understanding of a client’s business and harnessing marketing and communications to drive the health of a brand and therefore long-term commercial success. Julia has a special interest in using insights from human psychology and behavioural economics to influence attitude and behaviour change.
Julia is the founder and director of Echomakers, a boutique consultancy based in Melbourne. Clients include Melbourne Water and Singapore Post subsidiary, FMH Group. She consults across corporate communications, employer branding, internal communications, external communications, brand strategy, content strategy, issues management, social media and PR.
PRESIDENT
Tiji Bardall
Tiji is a seasoned communication leader dedicated to making a meaningful impact for the people, organisations, and communities she serves. As Vice President of the IABC Victoria Board, she plays play a role in driving the growth of the association and creating value for our member community.
With a background in diverse industries and markets serving Government, Business and Consumer customers, she brings a broad range of communication experience, strategic expertise, and strong stakeholder engagement skills to the table.
In her pursuit of growth, she has embarked on an Executive MBA journey and earned a Bachelor of Business (Business Administration). She has also attained various communication and learning/development certifications, including an international Yoga Teacher accreditation.
VICE PRESIDENT & ACTING TREASURER
David Imber
David Imber is a passionate corporate public affairs professional and non- executive Board Director with over 25 years experience. He enjoys working with others to solve complex problems, usually those involving critical business or organisational priorities that require high level communications and stakeholder engagement. He has advised Ministers, Departmental executives, and their staff, on crisis and issues management, Government Relations, internal and external communications. He's regularly engaged as a trusted advisor by Chairs and CEOs in the corporate and not for profit sectors.
As Principal at David Imber Advisory, David seeks assignments in environments of complexity and crisis where the pressure of deadlines is high but the opportunity to succeed requires his best performance. David came to communications through policy roles, and this experience working in the public service and then NGO sector has seen him thrive in areas as diverse as Industry Superannuation, Climate Change, ESG, Transport and human services. He's communicated in various different sectors and contexts and can advise others how to successfully do so.
David never wants to stop learning, travelling and engaging in the field of communications. Recently certified as a Strategic Communication Management Professional he is a passionate believer in the importance of truth and transparency in communications. David will be speaking at IABC World Conference in Chicago in July and was also an MC and speaker at IABC's APAC Fusion conference in Bali in September 2023. David serves as Deputy Chair of the Victorian Pride Centre and is a Ministerial appointed Director on the Board of Holmesglen Institute of TAFE. He is a regular on the 774 ABC Melbourne Drive Segment Spin Doctors.
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Amy is a communications professional with a career spanning several industries including education, death care, superannuation and financial services. With over a decade of experience she’s worked in small and large organisations in roles that cover the full spectrum of communications, brand and marketing.
Driven by the knowledge that communications is an essential player in the success of a business, Amy is passionate about purposeful communications that connect people. Her strengths include building engagement through internal communications and always taking a creative approach.
As a communications leader, Amy values the variety that comes with the profession and thrives on new challenges. She holds a Masters of Communication and a Bachelor of Arts.
SECRETARY
Amy Sharpe
Taryn Schultz
Taryn is a dedicated Marketing Communications Executive with over 20 years of diverse experience spanning sports, entertainment, private consulting, government, and healthcare sectors. Anchored in a solid foundation of business strategy, digital transformation, and brand enhancement, Taryn has been privileged to apply marketing and communication strategies to many reputable brands within local, national, and international markets.
Qualified with a Masters in Marketing and a Bachelor's degree in Communications, Taryn seeks to integrate business, marketing, and strategic communications to support commercial outcomes and drive a seamless user experience.
Taryn is known for contributing to organisational success through humble, continuous learning and fostering meaningful connections.
MEMBERSHIP CHAIR
Lauren Andrews
A senior corporate affairs and marketing professional with 24 years of experience, Lauren is passionate about providing high-quality communication services and advice to internal and external stakeholders.
Lauren has worked across the retail, maritime, facility management, utilities and technology industries driving marketing and communications functions and providing advice to leadership teams.
Her diverse experience encompasses strategic planning, leadership, issues and reputation management, growth marketing, stakeholder engagement, branding, internal communication, content management, government relations, community engagement, sponsorship and sustainability programs.
Lauren gets the most fulfilment from working through the nuts and bolts of planning and strategy, mentoring colleagues and team members, collaborating with people and sharing inspiring stories.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CHAIR
Susannah Goddard
A communications professional with over 20 years’ experience, she has built a career across sectors in which she is personally interested and professionally challenged, working with great people on projects which matter.
From the arts to the death care sector, she has developed and delivered successful communications campaigns for a broad range of external and internal clients.
PARTNERSHIPS CO-CHAIR
Amanda brings 15+ years’ market, brand and client strategy experience to the fold, having worked with high growth companies in the property, private equity and professional services sectors in Australia, Europe and North America.
From listed to private, from start-ups to mature, she has worked with diverse leaders and organisations to drive growth through impactful strategic positioning, brand, marketing communications and business development strategies.
A proven and purpose led leader, she is passionate about connecting organizations, people and ideas to enable businesses to drive sustainable growth and realise their strategic aspirations.
Amanda Fong
PARTNERSHIPS CO-CHAIR
Camille is an experienced strategic comms professional who has worked for large and small businesses in technology, health, property, tourism and retail industries for over 12 years with clients including AIA Australia, Australia Post, Healthdirect, Doherty Institute, Telstra, Flybuys, IBM, Canon and Choice Hotels.
Originally from France, Camille started her career in the UK, honing her skills in PR agencies before making the move across the world to Melbourne where she continued working agency-side.
Highly organised, Camille is a strategic project manager and clear communicator who maintains a firm line of sight on what success looks like; managing stakeholders, partners and teams to drive results.
Camille holds a Master of Communications, Public Relations and Event Management from ISCOM Paris, France, and a Bachelor of Marketing from IT Carlow, Ireland. She joined the IABC Victoria board in 2023.
Camille Hanton
BRAND CO-CHAIR
Holding a Bachelor of Communication (public relations), Tara enjoys working within the marketing and communications space.
A connector and often described as a "people-person" with a vibrant personality, she enjoys collaborating with others and working towards strategic goals. Tara loves drafting and executing social media marketing plans/schedules and won't shy away from the opportunity to let loose in Canva!
This year, Tara hopes to make many new amazing connections throughout Victoria and is looking forward to giving back to the profession and IABC community.
As a generalist, Tara works across advertising, content creation, crisis communications, digital media, events, executive messaging, internal communications, marketing, public relations, social media, stakeholder engagement and thought leadership.
Tara Lupus
BRAND CO-CHAIR
Farida is driven by a lifelong passion for working with people from different backgrounds. Working closely with community leaders and organisations, she supports efforts to engage and empower communities through events, research and communications activities.
Farida is a firm advocate for people belonging to marginalised and disadvantaged communities. She harnesses her experience to analyse and determine the immediate needs of particular groups and effectively address them to create long-term change.
Farida was the president and member of the Noor Foundation Inc. Australia, where she facilitated projects to support and bring together newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers in Victoria. She is the Board Director at Freet to Feed, the board secretary of Same Skies in Australia, and is a member of the committee of management at the Afghan Australian Development Organisation. Farida has completed a bachelor of Arts/Global studies at Australian Catholic University majoring in Politics and Sociology.
Farida Malek
BRAND CO-CHAIR
Ana Asanovic
As an impact and values led communications professional, published author and public speaker, Ana thrives on uncovering and sharing compelling narratives that spark conversations and change, leading to positive outcomes for the community.
Ana is a strategic, big picture thinker and a creative with more than 15 years of combined global experience across communications, languages and storytelling. She has eight years’ experience in strategic communications in public and private sectors in Australia, after a decade-long career in translation, editing and localisation in Serbia.
Keen to expand her horizons, Ana moved to Australia and is now making an impact through integrated campaign management, creative and feature writing, storytelling, advocacy and public speaking.
As a migrant professional and a former refugee, she aims to inspire and motivate others through her work, as well as mentoring and volunteering activities. She is passionate about empowering women and she mentors migrant women and international students. She has recently contributed to two books of women’s stories – Unity and Undefeated, as an author and a co-editor.
She holds Master’s degrees in English language and literature, as well as strategic communications.
EVENTS CO-CHAIR
Katia Ostapets
Katia is a seasoned strategic communications professional with over 8 years of extensive experience in stakeholder engagement, digital content creation, and social media communications research. Her diverse career encompasses roles in both the public and private sectors, spanning industries such as fashion, automotive, infrastructure, FMCG, and tertiary education.
Originally from Canada, Katia launched her career by undertaking contracts across multiple ministries of the Ontario Provincial Government. Driven by her passion for fashion, she also freelanced as a journalist and events editor for Canada’s largest digital fashion magazine, later expanding its presence to Australia.
Katia holds a Master of Communications from RMIT University and is on the cusp of completing her Ph.D. in social media influencer health communication at the same institution. Her research contributions extend to projects for organisations like VicHealth and DFFH, and she possesses a noteworthy portfolio as both an academic and a journalist, with many published works to her name.
EVENTS CO-CHAIR