Red Room Poetry Appoints Emma Maple-Brown as New Chair
The board of Red Room Poetry has appointed director Emma Maple-Brown as its new Chair.
Emma is a non-executive director and experienced senior pro bono lawyer who has spent over 20 years working in social justice connecting community needs with professional skills. Previously, she led and managed the Australian Pro Bono practice of global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills for over 8 years before moving to UNSW where she was the Director of the Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor Indigenous. She now serves on several not-for-profit boards and is company secretary for a further organisation.
She will succeed the Hon. Michael Pembroke when he reaches the end of his second and final term on 3 March 2026.
Over the last six years, Michael has led Red Room Poetry through a period of immense growth and transformation, despite the challenges of a global pandemic. In this time, the organisation launched new programs in Poetry Month, Poem Forest, Baraya Barray - Whale Song and Contains Strong Language 2024. It also increased its audience and brand awareness through new media partnerships with national and global broadcasters like the ABC, BBC and The Guardian.
Professor Sophie Gee, who led the recruitment committee, says:
“Since joining Red Room Poetry’s board two years ago, Emma has been an energetic director, providing expertise and support to the organisation. On behalf of the board, we’re delighted that she has agreed to step up as our new Chair. We also want to honour the care and dedication that Michael brought to the role over his two terms. The organisation is both creatively adventurous and financially resilient and we thank him for his role in that.”
Michael Pembroke says:
“It has been an honour to lead the board of Red Room Poetry. The organisation is a vital force for creative expression and education in this country. I am proud to have played my part in supporting its work and know it will continue from strength to strength.”
Emma Maple-Brown says:
“Over the last two years, it has been a privilege to work with Red Room Poetry as a non-executive director on the board. The organisation’s program, values and team are a constant inspiration for me, so I am both proud and thrilled to succeed Michael as Chair.”
Jonty Claypole, CEO of Red Room Poetry, says:
“Red Room Poetry is fortunate to have a board that provides strategic guidance, fiscal oversight and believes in the principles of artistic freedom and independence. Michael has been a great support to me ever since I joined the organisation in 2023 and I will miss his wise counsel. I am also delighted that Emma will succeed him. She is an experienced non-executive director, a huge advocate of our program and spends time with the team as a whole.”
Learn more about Red Room's board and team.
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