Our people

Meet our leaders

Amnesty International is a democratic movement, answerable to our own members – not to any governments or political or donor interests. Our organisation has leadership tiers at an international, national and regional level, which enables our democratic and self-governing structure to work as powerfully as possible to make a lasting difference for human rights.

Meet Amnesty International Australia’s leaders, Board of Directors and Activism Leadership Committees,

with their many and varied areas of specialisation.

Executive Leadership Team

Meet Amnesty International Australia's Executive Leadership Team.

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Sam Klintworth

National Director

Sam joined in 2019. She has 30+ years experience working in the not-for-profit sector supporting and advocating for vulnerable and marginalised individuals and communities, locally, nationally and internationally. Sam is a qualified Psychologist, holds a Bachelor of Laws and an MBA.

sam.klintworth@amnesty.org.au

@sam_klintworth

Justine Nancarrow

Communications and Digital Innovation Director

Justine has worked in the nonprofit sector for the past 15 years. Her experience has spanned media, digital marketing and communications, fundraising and digital and technology transformation. She has worked across international development, healthcare, human rights and social justice in Australia, the United States and West Africa. Justine is dedicated to the pursuit of human rights and is proud to be part of the Amnesty movement--because she believes there is no greater force than taking collective action on the issues we care about. Justine holds a BA Communication from RMIT University.

Sarah Gooderham

Campaigning Director

Sarah has over 10 years experience of building grassroots power and developing creative public campaigns, with a background in community organising and human rights research.

@SarahGooderham8

Emma Vincent

Fundraising and Philanthropy Director

Emma is a fundraising strategist with over 20 years’ experience working across a number of NFPs in Australia. Specialising in developing and implementing donor centric, integrated fundraising strategies for philanthropy, individual giving and donor engagement - aimed at driving sustainable growth to defend Human Rights.

Sumithira Thavapalan

Chief Financial Officer

Sumithira has 20+ years’ experience working in senior finance and leadership roles across the private, government and not-for-profit sectors. She is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of New South Wales. She is passionate about using her business skills to drive social change.

Our Board

The Board is our highest-decision making body and is elected bi-annually by members. The Board provides governance, leadership and stewardship as part of a global movement of human rights defenders. Learn more about how the Board is run.

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Process for Nominations for the National Board of Amnesty International Australia

Nominations for 2025 will open on 10 March 2025 and close on 4 April 2025.

To nominate, please refer to the following documents:

Candidate Brief
Nomination Document (downloadable Word document)

and email your completed Nomination Document to nominations@amnesty.org.au by 4 April 2025.

Activism Leadership Committees

Amnesty International Australia is divided into seven regions, loosely based on state and territory lines. Every member of Amnesty International Australia is linked to a region, based on their postcode of residence.

Each region is led by an Activism Leadership Committee whose members are elected by the members linked to that region.

Activism Leadership Committees help motivate, coordinate and develop local human rights activism. They mentor and support activists and action groups, and participate in consultations on our vision, campaign priorities and policies.

Activism Leadership Committees have up to 12 members. All Amnesty members are eligible to stand for election and to vote for their local Activism Leadership Committee. You can get in touch with your committee below.

Find OUT MORE

Our people

Meet our leaders

Executive Leadership Team

Sam Klintworth

Justine Nancarrow

Sarah Gooderham

Emma Vincent

Sumithira Thavapalan

Our Board

Mario Santos

Lisa Annese

Michael Dundon

Ajoy Ghosh

Terence Jeyaretnam

Anne Wright

Process for Nominations for the National Board of Amnesty International Australia

Activism Leadership Committees