Board

The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) Board aims to advise, guide, and support the successful delivery of the QAS 2032 High-Performance Strategy.

The QAS is an advisory Board to the QAS Chief Executive, department and Minister.

The Board members are:

Paula Robinson Chair

Paula is not only a highly credentialed lawyer, but she is also heavily involved in sport, being the Vice President of Football Queensland and the Chairperson of Tennis Australia's National Gender Equity Taskforce.

She was also Head of Legal and Brand Protection for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and implemented a similar function for the 2018 Invictus Games. Paula has been heavily involved in the legal aspects of the 2032 Games bid, and is a strong advocate and vocal cheerleader for QAS.

Renita Gerard AM OLY

Renita has a professional background in the financial services industry and long involvement in elite sports. She is a dual Olympic gold medallist and was a member of the Australia Women's Hockey team from 1993 to 2000. Her elite athlete background will help with the QAS 2032 Strategic Pillar of Athlete Journeys and how best to support athletes as both people and performers.

Off the field, Renita has fulfilled board roles with both the International Hockey Federation and Hockey Australia. In addition, she was appointed as an independent director for the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) Board in 2017. She was the inaugural Chair of the QRL's People and Culture Committee and is currently the QRL Audit and Risk Committee chair.

Dr Bridie Kean

Bridie is a two-time Paralympian competing in wheelchair basketball. In 2012, she captained the Paralympic Silver Medallist team, the Australian Gliders, at the Paralympic Games in London.

Bridie later took up canoeing and won gold at the IVF Vaa World Elite and Club Sprints Championships. Her extensive Paralympic expertise both academically and as a successful Paralympic Athlete will help the QAS supercharge their Paralympic support offering to sports, particularly the areas of Elite Coach Education and Performance services. Bridie is also a public health academic at the University of the Sunshine Coast and focuses her research and practice on creating equitable access to all levels of sport and physical activity for people with a disability.

Sonya Ryan

Sonya holds a Bachelor of Business Accountancy, a CPA and a Graduate Diploma of Advanced Accounting. She has held senior finance and risk management roles at large companies such as Flight Centre Travel Group and is a Board member of St Vincent De Paul Housing Queensland.

Additionally, Sonya has experience as a member of the Queensland and Australian Equestrian Endurance teams in a competitor, chef de quip and coach. She was appointed Chair of Equestrian Australia’s Endurance Committee in 2020, and has also previously worked at the QAS as the Corporate Director.

Shayne Gilbert

Shayne is a Senior Investment Manager at Shaw and Partners Limited and a founding Board Member of Share the Dignity. He is a passionate rugby, athletics and cricket coach, a father of four children and a former teacher. He was also the Vice President of Parkinson's Queensland from 2013 to 2015.

Shayne has extensive experience working in the financial services industry. His expertise will be important as the QAS ensures its increased funding is invested wisely and explores new funding sources.

Laurie Malone

Laurie is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder at VALD Performance. VALD Performance is a Brisbane-based company leading the way globally in human measurement technology, providing innovative human-measurement technology to more than 1,000 of the world's most elite sporting teams (including the QAS), universities and Defence departments.

With technology playing an increasingly important role in elite sport, Laurie will bring great insight and connection to the QAS and help explore new innovative solutions.

Peter Blanch

Peter brings more than 30 years of elite sports experience to provide guidance and expertise in sports science, medicine and health, and performance ethics. Most recently, Peter was the Head of Medical Services at the Brisbane Lions, where he oversaw all medical services provided to the playing group. In addition, Peter has worked with and across a range of high performance and elite sporting organisations, including the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Cricket Australia, Swimming Australia and multiple AFL clubs.

Along with his clinical work, he has been involved in research with more than 50 peer-reviewed papers and is an Associate Professor at Griffith University. With an extensive background in Sports Medicine, Peter will ensure the QAS adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards while training elite athletes for world-class success.

Chelsea Warr – QAS Chief Executive

Chelsea is an experienced leader driving transformational change within high-performance sporting industries. Joining the QAS in August 2020, Chelsea has worked with more than 450 states' national and international stakeholders to develop the QAS 2032 High-Performance Sports Strategy. This three-horizon strategy with a vision of Inspiring Extraordinary Sporting Success will place our State at the global forefront of sporting success and inspire generations of Queenslanders and Australians.

Before her position at QAS, Chelsea held the Director of Performance for the Great Britain (GB) High-Performance system. Over the 20-year period, she played many pivotal leadership roles, enabling Team GB and Paralympics GB to progress from 36th on the medal table in Atlanta 1996 to second in the world by Rio 2016.

Chelsea hopes her leadership skills, international high-performance experience, and expertise can significantly support Queensland to become a sporting powerhouse, especially within a transformational Brisbane 2032 Games.