• Bios

  Lynley Crosswell, Chief Executive Officer & Director, Museums Victoria

  

  Lynley was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Museums Victoria in February 2017 and is responsible for providing executive leadership in, and being accountable for, the operations of Museums Victoria. Lynley is Senior Patron of Women at the Museum and supports Diversity and Inclusion Programs at Museums Victoria. Prior to joining Museums Victoria, Lynley was CEO of the International Division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She also served as Director of ABC Commercial and as Director of ABC New Media and Digital Services. Lynley is a future focussed leader with extensive experience in disrupted industries. She has demonstrated strengths and skills in creating transformational strategy, business development, governance, stakeholder management including political and government, with a proven history across Asia Pacific. Lynley is a non-executive board director with public experience and is a key-note speaker on the changing landscape and how it impacts media, arts, science – in particular disruptive technologies, the cultural sector and digital business. She has served as a non-executive director of Questacon – National Science and Technology Centre in Canberra. She is also Chair of the Council of Australasian Museum Directors and a representative on the World Heritage Steering Committee for the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens.

  Maxine Briggs, State Library Victoria 

  

  Maxine Briggs a Taungwurrung/ Yorta Yorta woman. Maxine is currently the Koori Librarian at the Victorian Indigenous Research Centre (VIRC) at State Library Victoria. Having worked in both corporate and grass roots organisations over the years, Maxine has acquired a broad knowledge of the Aboriginal networks across Victoria and Australia. In the early 1980s, Maxine was employed at the Koori Information Centre in Fitzroy, where she began researching the archives of the State Library Victoria and the Museum of Victoria to uncover the traditional symbology and design features of Victorian Aboriginal culture. In 1986, she was working at Koori Press, was part of the team there that produced a draft of a Health book for Victorian Aboriginal communities for the state-wide Victorian Aboriginal Health Council. From 1986 to 1992, Maxine was the Assistant Manager of the Koori Unit at the Department of Health and from there started to work in community Arts, she was a member of a group called the Koori Arts Collective, a collective of arts workers in the Performing Arts, the Visual Arts and Multimedia. As a part of her role at SLV, Maxine gained her Librarian qualification from RMIT and began to work on building a safe space for the Aboriginal community to do their research within the library, on the SLV’s Collections. The VIRC is now a model for grass roots research within any of this country’s Collecting Institutions along with it’s own Gallery space and staff that include a Manager, Librarian, Support Officer, Curator and Community Outreach Worker.

  Dr Zoë Condliffe, Her Place Women’s Museum 

  

  With a PhD in digital feminist activism and a career dedicated to amplifying the voices of women and marginalised groups, Zoë brings a unique blend of expertise in storytelling, research, place-based installation art and project management to her role at Her Place Women's Museum. Zoë is also the Founder of She’s A Crowd, which developed the world’s largest geospatial database of gender-based violence, leveraging crowdmapping technology to inform gender equity policy and urban planning. Her work has influenced landmark projects, including the Gender Equality Act, and has earned accolades such as the 2024 Women in Digital Data Leader of the Year, the National Winner of the Telstra Best of Business Awards for Accelerating Women and induction into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women. As Project Manager for the Her Place Finding Her Research Hub, Zoë is committed to ensuring the initiative honours women’s contributions to history while fostering inclusivity, innovation, and sustainable storytelling practices. 

  Shae Graham, Museums Victoria 

  

  Shae Graham works on projects that support the collection management and bibliographical data enhancement of Museums Victoria's Library. Shae's work includes cataloguing and rare book collection care. Shae is an elite Australian Wheelchair Rugby player with drive, determination and ambition to succeed. Shae has a background in marketing and public relations which has enabled her to successfully manage being both an elite athlete and career professional. Shae's recent athletic achievements include: 2024 Paris Paralympic Games - bronze medalist; 2022 Wheelchair Rugby World Champions; and 2020/2021 Tokyo Paralympics - fourth place.

Accessibility

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