Voiceless Patrons Brian Sherman AM and Dr Jane Goodall
“I share Voiceless’s belief in the importance of encouraging children to develop their intuitive understanding of our kinship with other animals…” Jane Goodall, 21 July 2011, read more “
“I have for decades been concerned about factory farming, in part because of the tremendous harm inflicted on the environment, but also because of the shocking ongoing cruelty perpetuated on millions of sentient beings.” Jane Goodall, 2011, read more
“The transport of animals is a big issue in Europe right now, with the European Parliament talking to the MEPs and they wanted me to sign a bill. So it's partly the cruelty of the transport, but it's also the abattoirs.” Jane Goodall, 7:30 Report, 13 June 2011, read more
Hugo Weaving - Actor: Oranges and Sunshine, Last Ride, Little Fish, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Matrix Trilogy, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Abbie Cornish - Actor: Limitless, Sucker Punch, w.e., Bright Star, Stop Loss, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Candy, A Good Year, Somersault
Emily Barclay - Actor: Prime Mover, Piece of my Heart, Suburban Mayhem, In My Father's Den
Brian was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters (HonLittD) in 2010 by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
Was appointed as a member of the Order of Australia 2004 for his service to the community as a philanthropist and benefactor to arts, education and sporting organisations, and to business and commerce.
Is a Director of a number of investment companies listed on the American stock exchange and is Chairman of Aberdeen Leaders Limited listed on the Australian stock exchange.
Was President of the Australian Museum Trust from 2001 to 2009.
Was director of Network TEN from 1994 - 2007.
Was Chairman and Joint Managing Director of the EquitiLink Group from its inception in 1981 to December 2000. EquitiLink was one of the largest independent funds management groups in Australia, with $6 billion in funds under management.
He was also a board member of the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG).
Ondine Sherman founded Voiceless in partnership with her father Brian Sherman AM. In the space of 6 years, Voiceless has become renowned as one of Australia’s leading, influential and cutting-edge animal protection groups.
In 2009 Ondine was nominated by News Limited and Microsoft as one of Australia’s top 10 Community Leaders and featured in The Australian. Ondine has been profiled on numerous occasions including ABC Television’s Australian Story, cover story of The Australian Financial Review Magazine, and The Weekend Australian Magazine’s Double Take.
Has a BA in Communications from UTS and MA in Environmental Education from Macquarie University.
Previously worked in a range of non-profit organisations including WWF Australia, NSW Wildlife Information and Rescue Service (WIRES) and Kids Earth Fund. She has also held positions with environmental consultancy, Molino Stewart and Kogarah Council. Ondine has developed course material and taught environmental education to high school students in Australia and at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Israel.
Dana joins Voiceless as the organization’s first CEO after working for nearly 12 years as a senior lawyer for the Animal Legal Defense Fund in the U.S. There she focused on pushing animal law forward through her legal work on animal cruelty cases; training of law enforcement, prosecutors, and legal professionals; and pursuit of innovative legal theories in the courts.
In New York, Dana established and taught Cornell Law School’s first Animal Law class, and continued to do so for 4 years. She previously taught Animal Law and Advanced Animal law classes at Lewis and Clark Law School in Oregon and Vermont Law School.
Immediately following her law school training, Dana worked for 5 years as a public prosecutor in Oregon and Hawaii, specializing in cases involving animal cruelty and family violence, which made her keenly aware of the connection between the two. She was a founding member of the Maui County Hawaii domestic violence task force, and later consulted on the formation of animal cruelty task forces in several jurisdictions.
Earned the American degrees of Bachelor of Science (majoring in Technical Journalism with a minor in Business Administration), and Juris Doctor.
Elaine has worked for a range of non profit organisations in the fields of environmental conservation, peace and animal rights including Anonymous for Animal Rights (Israel).
Holds a BA in International Relations from UCT (South Africa) and an MA in Environmental Studies from Haifa University (Israel).
Annemarie has close to 20 years’ experience heading up corporate affairs, media, PR and research in a variety of settings including the National Trust, an environmental NGO and the commonwealth industry training advisory body for the communication industries.
She is a passionate advocate for animal protection, and has written widely on topics ranging from bioethics, to politics, to social justice for outlets including The Australian, the SMH, Good Weekend, and the Australian Financial Review.
Has a BA and an MA in Communications from UTS, an MA in Art History from the University of Sydney and a PhD in digital life, also from Sydney.
Ruth has close to 7 years experience as a practising solicitor. She has worked as a solicitor for top tier firms, mid tier firms and boutique firms, government and in-house in Australia and the UK.
While Ruth's professional background is in Construction law, she has an unwavering passion for animals which first surfaced when she was a young girl. She has been involved in the animal law movement for over 3 years.
Has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Journalism from Queensland University of Technology.
Suzanne has over 10 years project coordination and administration experience across a wide range of industry sectors, including Government, Banking & Financial Services and Insurance.
A passionate advocate for animal rights, she has volunteered at not for profit animal protection organisations.
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