ACT Executive Committee 2024:
Brian Gleeson – President
Elected as President of UNAA ACT in September 2018 after three years as an Independent Board Member of the National UNAA. Brian is currently the GHD Project Director delivering DFAT funded international aid projects in Papua New Guinea. He is also an international consultant as the Senior Adviser Public Sector Excellence for UNDP in Saudi Arabia. Brian volunteers as the Ambassador of Community First Development.
Brian has over fifty years’ experience in the Australian Public Service, United Nations and international development. His last position in the Australian Public Service was as Coordinator General for Remote Indigenous Services (Deputy Secretary level). He has worked as Director of Human Resources UNDP New York, head of the UN in Libya, setting up UN Women, and working directly with previous Secretary-General Kofi Annan as Senior Adviser in change management. Brian was the Director of Human Resources UNRWA in Amman Jordan and was responsible for the management of all human resources policies in Headquarters and the five Field Offices – Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. UNRWA has over 30,000 national Area staff and approximately 200 international staff.
Brian leads the UNAA ACT focusing on building on relationships and partnerships and an inclusive and dynamic cohort of members, who together are drivers of change in international peace and security, human rights, sustainable development, justice and the rule of law.
Harold Wilkinson – Vice President
Joined UNAA ACT as a committee member after arriving in Canberra in 1978. He subsequently was appointed as treasurer and currently serves as Vice President.
Harold retired from the Public Service and now devotes his time to the UNAA ACT and the Society of Friends (Quakers) as the convenor of the National Quaker Peace and Legislation Committee.
Harold was a Representative at the Quaker United Nations Office in New York (1971-1975) and was one of two Quaker Representatives at the World Conference of International Women’s Year in Mexico City (1975). This involvement stimulated his participation in UNAA on his return to Australia. He has been UNAA National President, National Treasurer and National Secretary. Harold is committed to promoting the ideals and objectives of the United Nations to the broader ACT community.
Frances Rivera-Stanton – Vice President
MBA, FGIA
Frances Rivera-Stanton joined UNAA ACT in 2018, she was appointed Vice President and is responsible for Diplomatic and Volunteer Engagement. Outside of UNAA ACT Frances leads the compliance and assurance function at Airservices Australia promoting good governance in the aviation industry and is a Governance Institute of Australia Fellow. Her previous roles revolved around business intelligence and improvement, quality auditing and certification in various industries from the public sector to pharmaceuticals.
In addition to the UNAA, she is also actively involved in the community through Rotary, Rotaract and the Red Cross and has been awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship for Service to the Community. Frances is committed to furthering the UN Sustainable Development Goals through partnerships in the community.
Angela Harrison – Vice President
BBus (Intl Bus) I EMBA I MIB I FFIA I MAICD
Ms Harrison is an experienced and credentialled executive leader with over 15 years experience delivering strategic and impactful leadership across the public and non-government organisation (NGO) sectors. With a Master of International Business, an Executive Master of Business Administration and various other business management degrees. She draws on excellent communication and negotiation skills when partnering with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders to drive business performance and outcomes. Ms Harrison’s exceptional problem-solving skills foster innovation and influence the recommendations for delivering quality outcomes that drive success and inform evidence-based decision making.
Driven by her passion to serve community a commitment to helping others, Ms Harrison is a catalyst for positive change. Her credentials and determination make her well placed to make a difference for UNAA ACT.
Christine Vincent – Treasurer
In early 2009 Christine was asked to assist in the UNAA ACT office in the lead up to the September Switch to Green Conference sponsored by the ACT Division to support Canberra’s bid to become a Carbon Neutral Capital. Subsequently she worked as part-time Office Manager and took over the bookkeeping role and later joined the Committee as Treasurer. Christine’s initial involvement with UNAA was through its membership of the Australian Council for Overseas Aid (now the Australian Institute for International Development) where she worked for 18 years before retiring as Director of Administration in 1999.
In 1999 Christine was appointed CEO of a fledgling RedR Australia (Registered Engineers for Disaster Relief), a position she held for nearly a decade. With funding from (then) AusAID, RedR Australia signed Standby Agreements to provide immediate technical support to front line UN agencies such as UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, and OCHA, (now a total of 15 agencies) in response to international humanitarian emergencies. As Treasurer Christine appreciates the opportunity to provide practical local support for the work of the UN in promoting its vision of a more peaceful and sustainable world community.
Roslyn Dundas – Secretary 
BAHistandPolSci, GradCertLaw, GAICD
Roslyn Dundas joined the UNAA ACT Committee in October 2020, taking on the role of Secretary in October 2021. She currently works in advocacy for a national agency focused on the wellbeing of children and young people, as well as co-chairing the governance committee for the World YWCA.
Roslyn was a member of the International Programme Committee for the UNFPA led Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 (2019). As a volunteer with the YWCA, she led two civil society delegations to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Early in her career, Roslyn was a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly, being the youngest woman ever elected to a parliament in Australia, at that time (2001). Roslyn is Secretary of UNAA ACT supporting the goals and principles of the UN and its work for global peace and solidarity.
Mandy Lister – Committee Member
LLB, BintBus, GDLP, LLM
Mandy Lister joined UNAA ACT as an Executive Committee Member in July 2020 and is also a member of the UN Alumni Network Sub-Committee. Mandy is a Special Counsel lawyer, specialising in public law and commercial law. Mandy has a keen interest in international development in the Asia Pacific region and is currently completing a remote volunteer assignment assisting a women’s empowerment NGO in Timor Leste.
Mandy has fifteen years of experience providing legal advice to government agencies. Mandy has a particular interest in the protection and promotion of human rights and has assisted various human rights focussed NGOs in a volunteer and pro bono capacity. Mandy is a committed member of the UNAA ACT Executive Committee, with a focus on the UN’s work in promoting the protection of human rights, sustainable development, justice and the rule of law.
Nimalan Karthikeyan – Committee Member
MBA, PostGradDipMarketing
Nimalan Karthikeyan has over thirty-five years of experience in corporate, not-for-profit and intergovernmental sectors. Currently, he works for Federal Government and serves as a Board Member of UNAA ACT and Capacity Development Advisor for Indigenous Women Elders group in Bourke, NSW.
Nimalan was Strategic Advisor and Coordinating Secretary to the Office of the Chief Minister, Northern Province, Sri Lanka (2018) working on post-war transition initiatives in the war affected Northern Province. He has held diverse roles for post-tsunami recovery projects with NGOs and a UK Local Government Council. He served in the Australian Federal Police as Capacity Development Advisor for the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands and in a policy and program development role for International operations and freedom of information.
Charlotte Corkin – Committee Member
BAComandMktg
Charlotte Corkin brings a wealth of experience to her role as an Executive Committee Member of the United Nations Association of Australia, ACT. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce and Marketing underpinning her professional journey, Charlotte possesses over four years of experience in the dynamic realm of digital marketing.
Charlotte’s commitment to social impact extends beyond the corporate sector, as evidenced by a two year roll within a not-for-profit organisation serving the Australian Defence Force. She is commitment to driving positive change, with a particular focus on environmental sustainability and human rights advocacy.
Want to be involved with UNAA ACT?
Our Executive Committee meets on the third Tuesday of each month. All members are welcome to attend, and this is a great way to become involved. If you are interested in attending, or want other information, please contact us at act@unaa.org.au.
As a member, you receive discounted entry to paid events and exclusive entry to special events. You can also keep up to date via our Facebook page here.
You are invited to join our mailing list to ensure you are notified of these events. At this time, you will also begin to receive the UNAA monthly newsletter, which provides updates on UN activities around the world.