LAUREN OSBICH
Board Director and Board Secretary at Prisoners' Aid Association NSW (PAA) and Board Director at McDonald College
Awarded an Australian Institute of Company Directors Scholarship for the Governance Foundations for NFP Directors, 2019
What sort of work does your organisation do?
PAA exists to reduce recidivism for those leaving incarceration in New South Wales. Our social enterprise, Mates on the Move provides waste collection and removal services for corporations and social housing using a workforce of ex-prisoners. Those undertaking the program receive work experience, education and other support to reduce the barriers to staying out of jail. McDonald College is a performing arts college providing primary and secondary education for boys and girls in order to prepare for university entrance.
Describe a typical day's work.
Both my roles are volunteer roles so a typical day’s work consists of my day job (working for the ASX in compliance) and then completing relevant tasks for either Board as necessary. The McDonald College Board is a much more advanced board with a reliable and set governance structure so commitment is based upon my legal skills and background. However, PAA is a much smaller, hands on organisation requiring board members to simply roll up their sleeves and get it done and I have done tasks such as website design, fundraising applications, board minutes and other governance documents, new policies and procedures and detailed legal research, as the day decides. What were some of the key learnings from the Governance Foundations for NFP Directors Course?
Many of the duties and responsibilities of a NFP director were already well known due to my background however, there were some key learnings about managing risk and also what financial performance for a NFP looks like (and how it differs generally from a corporation) which I have found very useful in day to day operations. How has it impacted / changed / benefited your role and your organisation as a whole?
I feel it has benefited both my organisations as I have become a much more effective board member, with a wider knowledge of the risks and strategies that can be employed in both organisations to maximise our effect on our target groups. How did you come to be working in the not-for-profit sector?
I have always been passionate about giving back to those less fortunate than myself and one of the most impactful ways to use my legal skills in the NFP sector is to sit on boards of organisations which need that kind of guidance. What do you feel is most needed to sustain and build the impact of the not-for-profit sector?
Concerted investment from corporates and philanthropists through corporate governance programs – specifically, working with a NFP organisation because it’s the right thing to do for corporate governance in society, rather than simply a tick box exercise of donating money to different organisations each year. What is something interesting / unique / unusual about you?
As well as my volunteer work with boards, I also foster kittens with the RSPCA and also enjoy cutting gemstones (lapidary) and making jewellery as some of my many hobbies.
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