Staff & Board
Midsumma Festival Team 2023
Midsumma Staff
Midsumma is powered by a small team of hard-working community-and-arts engaged professional producers, managers, festival staff and work placements.
Midsumma Festival is also assisted by over 500 volunteers across the year, including one year-round volunteer (who has been with Midsumma for over 19 years!).
- Chief Executive: Karen Bryant ([email protected]) - she/her
- Partnerships Manager: Thomas Hunt ([email protected]) - he/him
- (Acting) Program Manager: Pieta Farrell ([email protected]) - she/her
- Head of Communications & Marketing: Timothée Nicot ([email protected]) - he/him
- Programming Producer: Martin ([email protected]) - he/him
- Artist Development Manager: Harriet Devlin ([email protected]) - she/her
- Head of Operations & Productions: Michael Ryan ([email protected]) - he/him
- Finance & Administration Manager: Priscilla Jeffery ([email protected]) - she/her
- Administration Officer: Flynn Smeaton ([email protected]) - he/him
- IT & Applications: Alan Drummond ([email protected]) - he/him
Victoria's Pride
Midsumma will again deliver Victoria’s Pride in partnership with the Victorian Government.
- Project and Program Manager: Bec ([email protected]) - she/her
- Community Engagement Manager: Ashlee ([email protected]) - she/her
Midsumma Board
At the organisation's core are community leaders dedicating their time to make change. Read on to learn about the current Midsumma Board.
Judy Small AM
Chair
Judy Small AM (she/her) is a lesbian/feminist folksinger/songwriter known as the Grande Dame of Australian Folk Music whose songs are sung all over the English-speaking world at festivals, clubs and concert halls. She is also a proud 78’er having been active in the LGBTQIA+ community since 1975. Judy worked as a lawyer for 22 years, including the last 7 as a judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, before retiring in 2020. She returned to the stage in early 2021. Judy joined the Midsumma Board in January 2019 and has served as Co-Chair since the 2019 AGM, and Chair since the 2021 AGM.
Michael Parry
Deputy Chair
Michael Parry (he/him) is Director, Melbourne Arts Precinct at Creative Victoria. He drives development and strategy for the Victorian cultural portfolio, leading the $1.46B redevelopment of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. Previously Michael was Project Director for Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, and earlier, Deputy Director at ACMI, Melbourne. He has led strategy and major projects for a wide variety of cultural organisations across Australia and North America. Michael joined the Midsumma Board at the 2020 AGM and has served as Deputy Chair since the 2021 AGM.
Michael Fuller-Smith
Treasurer
Michael Fuller-Smith (he/him) has a background in corporate tax advisory and currently runs his own tax practice, advising clients across a range of industries such as technology, hospitality, and retail. He primarily assists clients with structuring, tax disputes and managing their compliance obligations. Michael is passionate about community engagement and is actively involved in a number of organisations in addition to Midsumma, including StartUps Tasmania and the Environmental Defenders Office. Michael joined the Midsumma Board in June 2018.
Rhys Cranney
Secretary
Rhys Cranney (he/him) is a communications, change, Communication and Impact expert passionate about inclusion, sustainability, social change, First Nations justice and the arts. With a professional background spanning across education, government, business, non-profit and politics, Rhys is excited by complexity and always seeks innovative solutions to mobilise audiences behind important causes. Rhys has worked with RMIT University, City of Greater Geelong, Pay The Rent, Victorian NAIDOC Committee and provided community-focused consulting advice to developers, politicians and global health experts. Rhys joined the Midsumma Board in 2016.
Maria Dimopoulos AM
Maria has a legal background and is internationally recognised as an expert specialising in the intersections of diversity, gender equality and the law. She is the Chairperson of Safe and Equal, and a member of the Coronial Council of Victoria. Maria’s work has been instrumental in ensuring the meaningful inclusion of diverse women’s voices in legal reform processes. In 2020 Maria was awarded Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order Of Australia for significant service to women, cultural diversity, and prevention of domestic violence. In 2017 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement award by the Migration Council of Australia.
Rita Nehme
Rita Nehme (she/her) is the Social Impact and Sustainability Manager at Richmond Football Club. She leads Richmond’s Environmental Sustainability and Social Impact strategies and initiatives with her Diversity and Inclusion work focusing on multiculturalism, LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and people with disability.
Rita was born and raised in Lebanon and had the opportunity to live, work, and learn in the US, Jordan, India, and Australia, now calling Melbourne home. Previously, she worked with a range of not-for-profit, business, and for-purpose organisations including being Head of Operations at the Foundation for Young Australians.
Rita is passionate about the unique power of sports, arts, and culture to create spaces of inclusion, celebration, and conversation while being catalysts for positive social and environmental change.
Rohan Astley
Rohan (he/him) is a senior corporate affairs leader with experience across corporate, not-for-profit and government organisations. He is currently Head of Advocacy, Impact & Reputation at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, overseeing corporate communications, stakeholder engagement, corporate social responsibility and the Club Melbourne Ambassador program, which helps attract major global events to Melbourne. Previously Rohan was Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability at Yarra Trams, and has held senior communications and marketing roles at numerous cultural organisations, most recently the Australian Museum in Sydney. Formerly a non-executive director on the Board of Critical Stages Touring, Rohan joined the Midsumma Board in August 2022.
Emily Unity
Emily has worked for over 14 years as a mental health professional and software engineer. They are passionate about creating innovative solutions to systemic inequalities.
Emily grounds their work in their lived and living experience of mental health, disability, LGBTQIA+, homelessness, suicide, and being a young carer from a refugee and migrant background.
They were recently the Mental Health Advocate of the Year, Youth of the Year, and Young Non-Binary Person of the Year.
Emily endeavours to use both their professional and lived experience to help design a world for all people, regardless of background, identity, or intersectionality.
Jaclyn Booton
Jaclyn Booton (she/her) is an arts and cultural industries leader with a background across the performing arts and literary sectors. She is currently Executive Director of the Stella Prize, where she leads an annual program of initiatives that champion books and writing of women and non-binary writers. Jaclyn is passionate about supporting artists and connecting them with audiences. She joined the Midsumma Board in November 2022.
- Rohan Astley
- Jaclyn Booton
- Maria Dimopoulos AM
- Rita Nehme
- Emily Unity
Work With Us
With a small core team working from the Midsumma Office in Melbourne's CBD all year round, we increase our team size with seasonal staff, summer placements and volunteers from September to February each year.
Work With UsMidsumma Year-Round
Want to know what else we do (apart from run a fantastic arts festival each year, of course)! Check out our mentorship programs and year-round activities.
Midsumma Year Round