Family Foundations Peer Network (Q1 2026)

Sarah Buckley, CEO, Trawalla Foundation

Sarah is an accomplished CEO with a 20 year track record of business leadership and social innovation – especially in gender equity, ESG integration and responsible investing. Sarah is CEO of the Trawalla Foundation, and Chief of Staff for Carol Schwartz AO. This covers a broad portfolio of leading gender equity initiatives across politics, media, policy and capital, and includes roles as National Co-Convenor of Pathways to Politics for Women, leading the Women’s Leadership Institute Australia and co-leading the Female Led Venture Portfolio.

Sarah has previously been a sought after sustainability consultant to major Australian companies, and led Corporate Responsibility nationally at PwC.

Emily Torney - Foundation Liaison, PMF Foundation

Emily Torney is the Foundation Liaison at PMF. She brings a professional background in sponsorship, events and marketing, with extensive experience building partnerships across the community and not-for-profit sectors. Emily has held a range of board and committee roles supporting organisations through philanthropy, governance and marketing. At PMF, she supports the foundation’s trust-based, long-term approach to grantmaking, with a focus on building strong relationships with partners over time and supporting multi-year funding that enables stability, learning and impact. 

Hamish Balnaves, Chief Executive Officer, The Balnaves Foundation

Amelia Hart, Head of Grant Making & Impact, The Balnaves Foundation

Prior to the Foundation, she held senior roles at youth mental health charity batyr and children's cancer charity Redkite.

Jess Perrin, Foundation Director, Eureka Benevolent Foundation

Jess Perrin is the inaugural Foundation Director of the Eureka Benevolent Foundation (EBF), a family foundation established in 2007 by Belinda Hutchinson and Roger Massy-Greene. EBF focuses on early childhood and education, and on disadvantage in the developing world, seeking to influence and empower lasting change. The foundation’s strategy is to give a small number of larger, long-term grants to support catalytic change in our focus areas. 

Jess is a seasoned partnerships and philanthropy executive, with over 18 years’ experience delivering social impact programs globally. Her career has spanned for purpose organisations, the private sector and the United Nations. Most recently, as Head of Social Innovation and Digital Inclusion at Infoxchange, and prior to that as Head of Global Programs at the Thomson Reuters Foundation in London. She holds a Masters of International Communications and Development from the City University of London and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ingrid Albert, Executive Director, Alberts/The Tony Foundation

Ingrid is executive director and member of the fifth generation at Alberts, a 139-year old family business backing pioneers to create a vibrant and sustainable future for all. She leads Alberts philanthropic arm, The Tony Foundation, which partners with pioneers harnessing the transformative power of music to improve life outcomes of young Australians. 

The Foundation embraces a responsible investment approach across its corpus through multiple investment strategies including positive and negative screens, stewardship, impact investing, and catalytic capital.

Ingrid also manages Alberts marketing, with a focus on leadership and advocacy initiatives, and is involved with Impact Ventures, investing in early-stage start-ups addressing equality, healthy minds, sustainable environment, and vibrant culture – four impact themes incorporated across Alberts operations.

Prior to Alberts, she built her strategy and marketing career working locally and internationally in Switzerland and Dubai for FMCG company CPW (a joint venture between Nestle and General Mills). An Alberts board director and Foundation investment committee member, Ingrid is a graduate of AICD and a committee member of Philanthropy Australia’s Foundations Group for Impact Investing.

Bella Conyngham, Director, Engagement (NSW/ACT), Philanthropy Australia

Originally from Aotearoa New Zealand, Bella Conyngham joined Philanthropy Australia at the beginning of 2023, bringing with her experience in engagement and partnership building within the social impact and sustainability sectors. As the Director of Engagement for NSW and ACT, Bella leads strategic engagement efforts with members, fostering collaboration across the region. She is deeply passionate about the philanthropic and not-for-profit sectors and serves as a Board Observer for the Australian Endometriosis Foundation (formerly known as Endo Articles). 

Bella is also an active member of NEXUS, a global community of emerging philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and allies from over 70 countries, dedicated to enhancing philanthropy and social change.