As an incorporated association, Youth Arts Queensland is controlled by a Management Committee, which is elected at the annual general meeting (AGM) and meets on a regular basis throughout the year.

The YAQ Management Committee, with the support of the YAQ management team and staff, strives for best practise in governance and employs independent auditors and consultants to evaluate and review the organisation, its programs and operations as required.

2013 YAQ Management Committee

Chair:  Steven Maxwell

Secretary:  Kylie Pappalardo

Treasurer:  Brian Tucker

Ordinary Members:

Steven Maxwell

Steven Maxwell has sat on the Youth Arts Queensland Management Commitee since 2009 and currently serves as the Chair.   Steven is the Creative Producer for Markwell Presents, Cinematic Theatre for Young People.  Since 2002, the company has written and produced new theatre performances for young people as well as working with hundreds of students every year through schools and government projects. Steven’s primary role is to oversee the business direction of the company, creative development and management of productions and workshop facilitator. He has also worked as a cinematic theatre producer and visual designer for La Boite Theatre Company on Sex:Cubed and Strings under my Fingers, Sally McKenzie’s Episodes, and Zen Zen Zo’s Sub-Con Warrior 2.0. His co-writing credits include Loose Ends, What Simon Said, Of Love and Separation andAdvanced Screening.

Kylie Papalardo

Kylie Pappalardo has served on the Management Committee of Youth Arts Queensland since late 2011 and currently holds the position of Secretary.  Kylie is a copyright lawyer and a PhD candidate at the Australian Catholic University (ACU) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI). Her thesis investigates the regulation of copyright intermediaries in the internet economy. Kylie holds degrees in Law and Creative Writing from QUT and a Masters of Laws from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. Kylie has been Acting Secretary of Youth Arts Queensland since October 2011.

Brian Tucker

Brian Tucker has served as Treasurer on YAQ’s Management Committee for several years.  He is an accountant and auditor, specialising in the arts, and has been doing this since 1980.  He has been associated with many arts organisations as Treasurer, including, currently, Backbone Youth Arts, Elision Music, Museums Australia and Regional Galleries Association. Brian strongly believes that support for young artists is important to help them to maximise their potential and ensure the future of arts and culture in Australia.

Dr. Bree Hadley

Dr. Bree Hadley is Senior Lecturer in Drama in the Creative Industries Faculty at Queensland University of Technology. Prior to joining QUT in 2007, Hadley worked as a dramaturg, director and administrator for independent theatre companies and the Glen Eira City Council in Melbourne. She also taught drama, writing, communications and cultural studies at Deakin University, Victoria University, Monash University and Swinburne University of Technology TAFE. In her current role, Hadley delivers units in applied performance, in producing, events and entrepreneurship, and in arts, cultural and creative industries management into the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drama), Bachelor of Creative Industries and Master of Creative Industries programs at QUT.

Hadley also researches, writes and consults on contemporary performance, community performance, arts management, and arts program evaluation. Her current research investigates the construction of identity in contemporary performance, concentrating on the way artists marked by gender, race or (dis)ability mobilise images and media from the public sphere to subvert stereotypes. She has a particular interest in practices that position spectators as co-performers, the performativity of spectatorship, and the efficacy and ethics of such co-performances. Hadley’s writings in these areas have appeared in a range of journals including Performance Research, About Performance, Australasian Drama Studies, Brolga: An Australian Journal About Dance, Liminalities, Scope Journal of Film & TV, M/C Media & Culture Journal, Asia Pacific Journal of Arts and Cultural Management, Further and Higher Education and in the collection International Faust Studies: Adaptation, Translation, Reception.

Hadley is also currently President of the Australasian Association for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies (ADSA), a Director of Performance Studies International (PSi), and a nationally recognised commentator on all forms of drama, theatre and performance in her role as theatre critic for The Australian. Hadley holds a Bachelor of Arts Creative Arts in Theatre and Creative Writing (Griffith), with an Honours in Dramaturgy (Griffith) a Graduate Certificate in Arts and Entertainment Management (Deakin), a Master of Arts in Writing and Literature (Deakin), a Master of Education (QUT) and a PhD in Theatre and Cultural Studies (Monash), together with TAFE qualifications in areas including accounting, public relations, technical production and training.

Debbie Wilks

Deb Wilks has been involved with Flipside Circus in Brisbane for 10 yrs. As the CEO Deb has led the organisation through the cultural change from a small community org to a small to medium company that remains true to its core values. Providing strategic direction and leadership to an ever-increasing team of staff Deb utilises skills learnt in small business and the corporate sector. Deb believes every child in Queensland should have the opportunity to experience the fun of circus and the enjoyment of either watching or performing in a circus show!

Deb has completed a Graduate Diploma of Management in Arts and Culture and is also currently Deputy Chair on the Australian Circus & Physical Theatre Association committee.

Claire Christian

Claire Christian is currently the Youth Arts Director, and the Co-Creative Producer of the Projects Company at the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba.  She is a passionate teacher, facilitator, playwright, theatre maker and youth arts practitioner.  Claire has over six years’ experience in the education sector, as a high school teacher in both Australia and the United Kingdom.  Her plays have won numerous awards and have been recognised both nationally and internationally.  She is the Co-Artistic Director of Mixtape Theatre Collective, an independent partnership designed to illicit joy through effective storytelling for broad audiences.

In 2011 she completed both a Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing, at QUT, and a Graduate Diploma in Experiential Arts Therapy, MIECAT.  She is currently completing her Master of Arts, at USQ, focusing on facilitation in youth arts practices and its impact on young people.  Claire works with and writes for young people because nothing else makes quite as much sense.