Board of Directors

David Albert (Co chair)

David Albert is currently the Group Chief Executive of the Albert Group of Companies. He is the fifth generation to work within the family business. Before the move to Albert’s he spent a number of years working in marketing in a number of industry sectors. This has included roles with both Optus and Telstra and time working in the U.S with various clients, such as Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s. David holds an MBA from the Macquarie Graduate School
of Management and a Master in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts in the US.

Since visiting the Golden Stave Music Therapy Centre and seeing the music therapy work in action, David has been keen to find ways to help Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia with this very important initiative. He became a Board Director in March 2007 and is currently chairing the Planning and Finance Committee.

Simon Thorp (Co chair)

Simon Thorp is partner in corporate tax at KPMG. He believes strongly in the corporate social responsibility of business organisations to give back to the community, a firm personal philosophy as well as business philosophy of KPMG. Simon is a member of KPMG's Citizenship Advisory Board.

Simon first came in touch with Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy through attending the Open Day at the Golden Stave Music Therapy Centre and was moved by the power of music therapy to assist children and adults in their path of growth, change and empowerment. Simon became a Board Member in 2007 and is Chair of the Fundraising Committee.

Brett Cottle

Brett Cottle has been the Chief Executive of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) since 1990, and of the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) since 1997. From 1994 until 1999 Brett held the position of Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Committee of CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers). In 2000 he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Executive Bureau of CISAC and in 2007 appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of CISAC.

Brett is a Director of the Australian Copyright Council and a past member of the Copyright Law Review Committee.

David Currie (Company Secretary)

David Currie, himself a paraplegic after a car accident, believes that people with disabilities often have difficulty in achieving their desired quality of life without support and assistance. David holds an Accounting Degree in Business, is a Fellow CPA, and past Vice-President of ParaQuad NSW.

Secretary of Wentworth Community Housing Ltd and a board member of a major new Growth Provider Community Housing organization (BLUE CHP Ltd), a member of Penrith City Council Access Committee. David has seen the wonderful positive impact Music Therapy has on the young and the old and is committed to assisting the work of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia. A Board Director since April 2008 and is currently Company Secretary.

Graham Fear

Graham Fear is general manager of ShowGroup, a logistics, travel and transport company for the entertainment industry. ShowGroup is a longstanding sponsor of the Golden Stave Foundation of which Graham is the current chairman.

He has hands on experience working with many charities and, from his long career in the transport industry, he brings to Nordoff-Robbins great management skills and business network.

Les Gock

In the early 70’s, Les Gock took leave from the despatch department of a major ad agency to become a rock star. As lead guitarist with HUSH he went on to earn 12 gold records in just 5 wild years. After the band broke up, Les set up business and offered his musical skills to the advertising industry with phenomenal success. His company grew to become Song Zu, a music and sound design mecca in Sydney and Singapore that attracted some of the cream of Australasia’s composers and sound engineers. In 2003 Les sold Song Zu to develop an exciting new direction. Today, Les Gock Sound Thinking is a respected audio branding consultancy that plays an integral and vital part in the communication and management of leading Australian brands.

Les joined the Nordoff-Robbins board in 2009 and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge that will greatly assist our fundraising activities.

Nick Hampton OAM

Nick Hampton is one of three founding directors. Nick trained as an accountant in the UK and worked in the TV and music industries there and in France before emigrating to Australia in 1983 as Managing Director of EMI Music. Nick was the company secretary of the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) from 1990 to 2004.

In 2008 Nick was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the New Year's Honours "for service to the community through a range of charitable organisations supporting people with physical, intellectual and emotional disabilities, and to the music industry"

Robin Howat RMT

Robin Howat trained in London in 1977/78 and subsequently took on the position of Head of Training at the Nordoff-Robbins Centre in London. During this time he frequently worked with Clive Robbins. He moved to Australia in the 1990s to be Director of Training for Nordoff-Robbins in Australia. He is currently Centre Manager and Senior Music Therapist for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. A prolific musician with extensive experience in music and clinical improvisation, Robin Howat was instrumental to the development of both the Centre and the Master of Creative Music Therapy. He now balances his time between clinical work, teaching and supervision. He has also been an active member of the Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA).

Gus Jansen

Gus Jansen has an IT background dating back to 1968, and has been the Chief Information Office at the Australasian Performing Right Association since 1991. He is also a Director of a supervisory board of CISAC, the international organization of musical rights collecting societies, and serves as a member of the editorial advisory board for an Australian IT industry magazine.

As a member of the fundraising committee and the instigator of the annual Golf Day, which has raised more than $180,000 for NRMTA over six years, Gus is keen to do more for the charity's fundraising.

Gus is a long term dedicated supporter of NRMTA and is working to have music therapy recognised for the Medicare rebate.

Jenny Morris OAM

Jenny Morris had a long but informal relationship with NRMTA before being asked to join the board in October 2003. As a respected member of the Australian music industry she has been a strong advocate for music therapy and won the 2001 Nordoff-Robbins Golden Stave Award for service to the community.

Jenny is an active member of the Fundraising Committee and has already made her mark at three successful events - Jenny Morris & Friends @ the Basement.

In 2006 she organized the inaugural ‘Art of Music’ event at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. This event, combining the visual arts with music, was a huge success and raised significant funds for NRMTA.

Milly Petriella

Milly Petriella is APRA's Deputy Director Member Services, a position she has held since January 2005. In addition to working at APRA for more than 13 years, Milly has been involved in the Australian music industry for more than two decades. She is currently the Deputy Chair of Music NSW and in May 2008 was elected to the board of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia. Milly serves on a number of key music industry committees including Support Act Limited, Country Music Advisory Group Australia and VROOM (online venue guide). She has also been a consultant to the Talent Development Project since 2002. Prior to joining APRA, Milly managed artists, and booked live entertainment in Sydney venues. Milly is a keen supporter of Sydney’s urban music scene.

Cameron Slapp

Cameron is a partner in Audit at KPMG. He has 15 years experience as an auditor across a range of industries, including a number of not-for-profit entities.
Cameron was first introduced to Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy by Nick Hampton and has previously been its auditor. His interest in becoming a Director is a consequence of attending one of the Centre’s open days and seeing the benefits of music therapy practice.

Alan Travers PSM

Alan Travers is a new Director and currently Chairs the Local Fundraising Committee.

Alan retired in 2008 after 41 years in Local Government in Western Sydney. He first became aware of the Centre through his former role as General Manager of Penrith City Council and he was very impressed with the services provided to clients and their carers. He was also very impressed with the training opportunities for talented music students at the University of Western Sydney.

In 2009 Alan was awarded the Public Service Medal in the Australia Day Honours for Outstanding public service to Local Government in the Penrith Region.