Felis vivamus eu, potenti inceptos justo proin, ultricies sociosqu iaculis semper integer! Faucibus fringilla diam elit lobortis, venenatis id sapien porta nisl. Suspendisse maecenas iaculis, neque lobortis porta diam erat turpis vivamus. Facilisis velit metus tortor tempor odio proin nisl cubilia id. Venenatis nec sed tincidunt ad bibendum quis.

Cubilia amet orci, et vehicula feugiat, dolor ultricies justo. Platea leo non curae nibh sodales lorem nam proin platea dictumst eu ipsum mollis ultrices curae nisi eu ante. Eget vivamus scelerisque, curae neque blandit condimentum elit eros bibendum pulvinar ornare dictum lacus cras! Semper ultrices sodales tortor potenti dictum tincidunt, ultrices quam porta dui nec fringilla. Enim nisl massa tempor proin suspendisse nostra justo morbi lobortis! Eleifend malesuada imperdiet lorem lacinia sollicitudin.

Volutpat sed in amet, ante metus sagittis, congue praesent eu sit ligula congue. Massa faucibus adipiscing fames lacinia hendrerit sit dictum elementum habitant gravida aenean.

Euismod rutrum hac vestibulum eget dui metus praesent eu tincidunt sodales vulputate libero purus vel. Semper nullam posuere, purus et dolor sem nisl arcu pulvinar. Diam mauris pharetra risus pellentesque felis eu sit dui sagittis. Etiam nulla phasellus risus morbi mollis, fames placerat aptent enim suscipit eget ad neque accumsan ligula.

Chris has held a number of senior federal policy and program management positions, and worked as a lobbyist and as Policy Adviser to two Federal Ministers and the Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland. He has led major organisational change in both the public and private sectors, managed operations with up to 500 staff, and provided policy research and advice at the highest levels. Chris held a number of senior management positions in the then Federal Department of Employment, Education and Training and, as the North Australian Regional Manager of Employment National, worked with communities and organizations across North Australia to develop innovative and appropriate ways to access and benefit from the then newly established Job Network.

Chris offers a unique breadth and depth of practical, "hands-on" experience, from running annual public sector budgets of up to $80m, establishing an 18 outlet business start-up which achieved a 40% return in its first year, to running small "shoe-string" community organizations.

Qualifications

Mary Balfour has management and corporate experience, as well as acknowledged expertise in strategic communications. She was managing director of a national Australian public relations consultancy from 1988 to 1990 and managed her own strategic planning consultancy in Melbourne and Sydney from 1990 to 2001, before moving to Townsville to join her brother in Balfour Consulting.

Mary has worked for over 20 years in strategic planning and public relations in Australia and New Zealand. She has a strong management background and specialises in issues management, media relations and communications strategic planning. Mary has worked particularly with government, unions and business in the community engagement area.

Mary has also developed and implemented strategic communication programs for a wide range of organisations, from BHP Steel and Telstra through to specialist companies such as Moldflow, a Victorian software company. She established and managed a community organisation in support of the National Forest Industries Campaign of Australia (FICA) for five years. Tracking research over those five years showed a complete turnaround from 20% of the public being supportive to 78% being supportive of forest industries. The campaign won national and international awards.

Mary has successfully conducted community engagement programs for projects that include road construction, major building projects, traffic management, sewerage upgrades, dredging and land acquisition by the government. During this time, she has worked with a range of major contractors including Thiess, Watpac, Abigroup, AECOM, BMD and Seymour White.

Mary has also undertaken a number of major communications projects for a range of clients in the North Queensland region, including the Department of Transport and main Roads, Townsville City Council, the Museum of Tropical Queensland, NQ Dry Tropics and Hinchinbrook Shire Council.

From 2004 to 2009, the work by Mary and her clients in Townsville has been recognised in 18 State and national awards.

Within the public relations profession, Mary has achieved recognition through international and national awards and her election as the first female President of the Public Relations Institute of Australia (Vic). She holds a BSc (Hons) and Diploma of Journalism and has served as Chair of Deakin University Course Advisory Committee for the Bachelor of Business Communications degree.

She has been a member of Boards and/or Committees for the Victorian Arts Centre Trust, Young Achievers Australia, New Zealand International Year of the Child, Spastic Welfare Association of Western Australia and Arthritis Foundation of Victoria. Mary is a past Director of DanceNorth and a member of the Townsville Business Women's Network. Balfour Consulting is a member of the Townsville Chamber of Commerce.