Sefa welcomes Dr Catherine Brown OAM as new Chair of the Board

Sefa is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Catherine Brown OAM as the new Chair of our Board. With a long-standing commitment to developing innovative solutions for complex social and environmental challenges, Dr Brown brings invaluable expertise to our mission of providing flexible finance and tailored advice for impact-led organisations. 

Dr Brown is widely respected across the philanthropic and impact investing sectors. She currently serves as an Enterprise Professor at the Melbourne Business School, where she leads the blended finance for climate initiative. Her governance portfolio includes board positions with Philanthropy Australia, Impact Investing Australia and InfoXchange, an organisation dedicated to technology for social justice. Until recently, she also served as Chair of the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network, guiding strategic environmental philanthropy at a national level. 

For 12 years until early 2024, Dr Brown led the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation (now Greater Melbourne Foundation). Under her stewardship, Australia's largest community foundation placed a strong emphasis on applying a climate and gender lens to its work, as well as integrating impact investment into its asset allocation. Her tenure saw the foundation prioritise critical impact areas such as affordable housing, economic inclusion, social enterprise, and climate change mitigation and resilience. 

Beyond her executive and board roles, Dr Brown has been a prominent advocate for the social finance sector. She served as a member of the Social Impact Investing Taskforce, advising the Federal Government on strategies to strengthen the impact investment ecosystem in Australia. She is also a recognised thought leader and the author of Great Foundations: A 360° guide to building resilient and effective not-for-profit organisations. 

Underpinning her strategic leadership is a robust professional foundation. Dr Brown is a lawyer and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In 2020, her significant contributions to the community were formally recognised when she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her services to charitable organisations. 

We are truly honoured to have Dr. Brown take on the role of Chair. Her extensive experience, proven leadership, and unwavering dedication to the not-for-profit sector make her invaluable to Sefa. We are confident that under her guidance, we will surpass our growth goals leading up to 2030. 

The board and team at Sefa gratefully acknowledge the dedication and guidance of Ben Gales in his role as Interim Chair of the Sefa board and look forward to continuing to build on our progress with Dr Brown leading the way. Her deep understanding of blended finance and philanthropic innovation will be instrumental as we expand our efforts to support even more organisations creating lasting social and environmental impact across the country. 

On her appointment, Dr Catherine Brown shared: 

I am delighted to take on the role of Chair of the Board of Sefa Ltd from the outstanding Ben Gales who will remain on the Board and continue to chair Sefa's Investment Committee. I have known Sefa since its inception 15 years ago and as an investor (through Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation). Sefa is a leader within the Australian impact investment sector and demonstrates an impact driven approach supported by deep investment experience, creativity and compassion. Sefa's work results in real outcomes for social enterprises and charities and the people they serve. I am looking forward to working with Hanna and the team, and the other members of the Sefa Board, including David Rickards AM, Melanie Rayment, and Cr Leeanne Hampton, Cr Charles Lynch and Heidi Hardy from NSW Aboriginal Land Council.