Renew Australia is a national social enterprise designed to catalyse community renewal, economic development, the arts and creative industries across Australia. We are an apolitical organisation, with no allegiance to any political party.

We work with communities and property owners to take otherwise empty shops, offices, commercial and public buildings and make them available to incubate short term use by artists, creative projects and community initiatives.

Please download the below brochure to find out a little more about Renew Australia and our services.
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Board Members

Peter LamellBoard Chair

Peter has served on over 25 boards across the not-for-profit, energy, power, services, technology, and telecommunications sectors. He has broad global senior executive experience having worked in the UK, US, Europe, Asia/Pacific, Canada and Australia with a prime focus on successfully building and turning around a number of complex businesses. He champions Sustainability and Digital Transformation and has a passion for everything that Renew does and stands for.

He spent over 25 years working with Shell and was a member of the Board of Shell Australia. He is a Director of Citywide Service Solutions, pitt&sherry, National Trust (Victoria), Chairman of Renew Australia, and is a fellow of the AICD. He was formerly President of Lorne Sculpture Biennale and a Director of the Melbourne Forum. He has a Senior Executive MBA from Melbourne Business School.

Craig AllchinBoard Member

Craig Allchin is an architect and urban designer, a director of the consultancy Six Degrees Urban, and Adjunct Professor of Architecture at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).  Craig works on projects across a range of scales, from plans and strategies for metropolitan areas to fine grain ground plan activation of specific places.

Craig has spent many years in urban design and city planning ranging from recycling and renewal projects around the revitalisation of the Melbourne City Centre, to completing over 40 district and city masterplans. Craig was Director of Urban Design for the Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney, the NSW Government’s 25-year masterplan for Sydney, then spent three years living Brooklyn, New York, teaching at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Design. Craig now lectures at UTS and consults on a range of public and private sector projects.

Craig is a strong advocate for understanding cities as complex ecosystems, and a believer that creating diverse, vibrant, locally-driven and active ground planes is a fundamental principle of good places.

Rod ColemanBoard Member

Rod has over 20 years experience in global strategy and general management roles based in Australia and Europe.  He has led growth, commercialisation, turnarounds and investment exits across a range of industries and currently leading transformation project for an M.H. Carnegie & Co. owned professional services business.

Rod brings to Renew Australia significant operating experience combined with corporate finance, IT and marketing skills. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce, a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance & Investment, and an MBA from IMD in Switzerland.

 

Staff Members

Angela SimonsChief Executive Officer

Angela has led Renew Australia’s consultation, project development, and management teams since 2015; promoting the creative industries and capacity building entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Angela engages a broad subset of stakeholders, across the arts and property sectors from big cities and small regional towns, to address the blight of underutilized space, and demonstrate how it can be harnessed to empower the creative economy. She has mentored small and large businesses around the world, utilising her extensive knowledge of tourism, business operations, people, and property management.

Alice HenchionActivation consultant and Graphic Designer

Formerly Renew Wollongong Project Manager, Alice Henchion is an Activation Consultant and Graphic Designer for Renew Australia.  You’ll find her designing fliers or reports, tinkering with the website, compiling feasibility studies, and mentoring project managers.

Alice is also an artist, freelancer, and sustainability educator. She has a foot in both the creative and entrepreneurial business community in the Illawarra and likes it that way.

Phil DrueryRenew Cairns Project Manager

Phil loves the tropics and has called Cairns home for 35 years. In addition to his
design experience as a registered landscape architect, he spent 18 years at the
property development coalface as a design, development and project manager with
a local property developer.

Phil’s background has put him across the creative and commercial realms, in
addition to working with government at all levels.

He strongly believes that excellent outcomes come with tenacity, innovation, a fully
collaborative approach, a strong awareness of meeting the brief…and listening.

Phil’s favourite job before joining the Renew team was a year spent as the gardener
at a chateau somewhere in France.

Peter WilliamsSocial Media Co-Ordinator

Pete, also known as Mr Macrame, was asked to join the Renew team in 2021 after being selected for the Renew Fitzroy Street initiative. Pete runs the social media content across all of our Renew projects.
He’s a serial macrame artist that loves to collaborate with other like-minded creatives. Aside from hosting macrame workshops and knotting couture clothing he’s always sharing his story, artwork and passion across social media.

Pete is well attuned to what’s happening across the Renew projects and loves to sing out all the achievements, not only from our creative participants but all the fabulous work of the project managers too.

Jaclyn PokrovskyProject Manager

Jaclyn or Jac as she prefer to be called; joined the Renew Australia team in 2020 bringing with her an extensive knowledge of handling and managing projects. Jac is our Project Manager for the Picture Windows project with the City of Melbourne.

Jac is also an artist, researcher, technical support person in the Design faculty of RMIT  plus a small business owner for her own jewellery business. Jac’s brings her enthusiasm, attention to detail and project management  to everything she does; she is excited in working towards enlivening the CBD Melbourne back to its glory.

Mish EisenRenew Fitzroy Street Project Manager

Prior to joining Renew Australia, Mish Eisen was an architect, exhibition designer and founder of NFP initiatives for over 25 years, as well as a project manager for Museums Victoria and founder of PromergingArt.

As Project Manager for Renew Fitzroy Street, Mish brings her creative vision, wide networks and teams of experts to deliver and diversify the project. Mish is well versed to determine the spectrum of the big picture as well as fine tuning details, and is a City of Port Phillip local with a long-term association with Fitzroy St.

When she is away from Fitzroy Street Mish volunteers for Save a Dog Scheme and hosts the podcast, FromTheHip.

Consultants

Karima BaadillaCurator & Project Advisor

Karima Baadilla leads her own independent studio as a curator, painter, illustrator , social media manager and curator.

Karima is also the co-director of The Artists Guild – a social enterprise with a focus of championing women in the Arts – and the founder of Open Close Gallery, a moveable and nomadic gallery.

Susannah FarforStrategic Relationships and Development Manager

Susannah is adept at working with interdisciplinary teams to get the best result for multiple stakeholders, along with positive gains for the community and environment. She draws upon project management skills developed across diverse industries and extensive experience as an editor, researcher and writer for publications including Lonely Planet and Good Food guides.

She has recently completed a Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, with a major in human-centred design, and applies her creative vision to developing new business models and projects.

Renew Australia Supporters

Marcus WestburyFounder

In 2008 Marcus started Renew Newcastle and is the founder of Renew Australia. His work in Newcastle led to work with cities around the world on innovative, low cost creative led urban revitalisation strategies through Renew Australia and as an independent consultant.

Marcus’ background is an urbanist, broadcaster, writer, media maker and festival director. He has worked across a range of media as a writer, producer, director and presenter, covering fields as diverse as culture, art, urban planning, media, sport and politics. He is the author of Creating Cities and the writer and presenter of ABC Australia TV series including Bespoke and Not Quite Art.