President

Mike Stephens

Qualifications:

• Diploma Farm Management – Marcus Oldham
• Master of Science – Swinburne University
• PhD Candidate, University Of Melbourne
• Australian Institute of Company Directors (Fellow)
• Ag Institute Australia (Fellow)
• Churchill Fellow

Profile:
Following experience as a jackaroo, stockman with a Stock and Station Agency and as a Snowy Mountains Scheme worker, Mike graduated from Marcus Oldham and commenced working as a Property Manager in 1967. The largest business he managed ran nearly 80,000 sheep and lambs and produced 2000 bales of wool annually. During the late 1970’s Mike continued to work on farms as well as a Shift Supervisor at the McCain Australia Ballarat plant.

From 1983 Mike has been a Director of Meridian Agriculture (formally Mike Stephens and Associates), which is a broad based agricultural consulting company, providing advice, training and services to farmers, agribusiness and government. The company has a team of twelve consultants plus support staff.

Mike has had a strong commitment to community and industry organisations throughout his working life. He and his wife Jo have lived at Yendon since the early 1980’s. Their four children, who in the past visited and ‘borrowed’ food, clothing, vehicles and workshop equipment, now bring drinkable red wine, interesting conversation and lovable grandchildren.

Vice President

Paula Nicholson

Paula has always had a keen interest in all things community.  She has been involved in the Not-for-Profit sector in Ballarat as a Board, committee, working party member and volunteer for many years, including The Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute, The Ballarat Arts Foundation, Sovereign Hill and Her Majesty’s Theatre Fundraising Committee.

Paula has lived in Ballarat with her husband and family for over 20 years, having initially attended Ballarat College for Year 11 and 12 in the 1980s after growing up in Nhill, a small country town in the Wimmera.  Post-secondary education, she completed a Science Degree at Melbourne University, majoring in Psychology.  Her career then took her into business analysis, customer service, and management along with roles in human resources mostly in Melbourne, until she and her husband returned to Ballarat to purchase the family building business in the mid-1990s.

Through voluntary community-based activity, she gained extensive experience in fundraising and event management.  She enjoys using her skills to bring people together in community engagement utilising the wonderful resources that exist in Ballarat, including the built environment the long-standing community spirit and resourcefulness that identify Ballarat as having huge potential as a desirable place to live and work in the future.

Paula believes her membership of the BMI Board allows her to assist in the facilitation of the maximum usage of this iconic facility in the CBD, inspiring collaboration with organisations concentrating on education, research, heritage, information dissemination, and community building.

Vice President

Jane Valpied

Treasurer

Peter Dowling

Peter has been involved with not for profit and charitable organisations for some 20 years. This includes being a board member and chair of The Kirribilli Centre in Sydney and treasurer for the BMI since late 2019.
He was educated in Melbourne with degrees in Arts, Commerce and Real Estate and Valuations from Melbourne University and RMIT.

Peter worked in his family’s real estate business for 12 years before running his own business.  He was general manager of a number of companies involved with finance, machinery and computer systems prior to starting his own business consulting group with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, offering services to medium size businesses.

Peter spent over 20 years as an officer (retired as a Lieutenant Commander RFD) in the Navy Reserve.
For over 20 years he has been the secretary of the RAAFA Sunderland group whose members were ex WW2 crew. He is currently also Secretary Treasurer of the Ballarat Air Force Association.

Peter looks forward to assisting the board and staff of the BMI in the years to come in assuring the continuing success of this wonderful organisation.

Secretary

Ross Furness

Board Member

Prue Bentley

Prue Bentley is the Chief of Staff for ABC Ballarat and Southwest Victoria, overseeing the development of broadcast and digital content for two regional Victorian bureaus.

As a broadcaster and reporter of 12 years, Prue has produced and presented local radio programs across Australia and news programs syndicated to the Asia-Pacific.

Prue believes in the power of conversations to bring people together on the important issues, and the value of local communities to make meaningful change.

She has recently joined the board of the Ballaarat Mechanics Institute with the aim of showing more people this wonderful community resource.

Board Member

Paulene Barton