Patrons & Ambassadors

Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AO KC Governor of New South Wales

Patron

Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AO KC is the 39th Governor of New South Wales, commencing her five year tenure on 2 May 2019.

Prior to her appointment as Governor, Her Excellency enjoyed a long and distinguished law career spanning 43 years, during which time she served as a role model for women in law at both the state and national level.

Appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1989, in 1993 she was made a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, the first woman to sit exclusively in that Court. In 1996, she achieved the distinction of being the first woman appointed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal and, subsequently, as the first woman to be appointed as its President. She served, on a number of occasions, as Administrator of the Government of the State of New South Wales.

She was made an Officer in the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List on 12 June 2006 for service to the judiciary and the law.

Her Excellency has three children – Erin, Lauren and Anthony Sullivan – and is married to Mr. Dennis Wilson, a barrister, mediator, accredited international arbitrator and Adjunct Professor of Law, at Notre Dame University, Sydney.

Her Excellency brings her deep commitment to education, youth leadership, human rights and social justice to the role in service of the people of New South Wales.

Jean Kittson

Ambassador

Jean Kittson is an actor, comedian and scriptwriter. She is also an author and public speaker. Jean came to national attention on ABC TV’s, ‘The Big Gig’, followed by Let the Blood Run Free, Kittson Fahey, Good News Week and The Glasshouse.

She has been a regular columnist with New Weekly, Sunday Telegraph, the Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney Magazine, Inspire Magazine and the Readers Digest Health Smart Magazine.

She is a panelist on ABC 702 radio drive program, Thank God It’s Friday. She has for many years been involved in women’s health and has written a cheerful guide to menopause: “You’re Still Hot to Me. The Joys of Menopause.” Most recently, Jean has written "We Need to Talk About Mum and Dad", a guide to supporting ageing parents. She was a founding Director of the National Cord Blood Bank, the inaugural Chair of the Australian Gynaecological Cancer Foundation and a founding Ambassador for Ovarian Cancer Australia.

Jean became Taldumande’s first Ambassador in 2011 and is a passionate advocate for organisations that support young people and their families.

Matt Ballin

Ambassador

Matt is an Australian sporting hero. He is the NRL assistant coach at the Brisbane Broncos, and formally played 217 NRL games between 2007-2017. During his career, Matt played for Wests Tigers, Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, and State of Origin.

Matt played hooker for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, with whom he won the 2008 and 2011 NRL Premierships.

Matt was heavily involved in community programs with the NRL, such as ‘Rugby League Reads’ a program for school children to encourage reading.

During Matts’ rugby league career, he completed his Bachelor of Education and also ran his own Physical Training company MB Fitness on the northern beaches of Sydney.

Post rugby league, Matt was the staff coach at Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, Head Coach for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles and under 20s, and taught physical education at Wavell State High School.

Matt has 3 children, Fletcher (13), Murphy (11) and Mackenzie (10), and is partner to Alissa Smith, Fox Sports News Presenter.

Ciaran Lyons

Ambassador

One of Australia’s fastest-rising stand-up comedy stars and media personalities, Ciaran began performing stand-up at just fourteen and was a roving reporter for The Project before he turned eighteen. With multiple comedy award wins and nominations, TV and radio appearances and sell-out shows on the comedy festival circuit, Ciaran is a firm fixture in Australia’s comedy and media landscape.

Ciaran confronted Australia’s homelessness crisis as one of the five participants spending ten days living on the streets for SBS TV’s acclaimed series Filthy Rich and Homeless in 2020. The highly anticipated, must-watch third season aired in June 2020 on SBS. Moved by the time he spent with young people on the streets, Ciaran became our Ambassador and has pledged to do what he can to continue raising awareness for homelessness.

 Ciaran is a regular at all the major comedy venues and festivals across Australia and an in-demand MC for events and corporate functions. These have included WA HyperFest Music Festival Mainstage, Peking Duk’s Melbourne Clothing Launch Event and hosting triple j’s RAW Comedy state finals in both NSW and WA.

Peter FitzSimons AM

Ambassador

Peter is a well-respected Sydney journalist who speaks four languages and has played rugby for Australia, co-hosted radio shows and written 25 best-selling books. His varied career has seen him interview a number of international celebrities including George Bush, Sir Edmund Hillary, Jodie Foster, Carl Lewis, Gough Whitlam, Julia Gillard, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and a range of major Australian sporting figures.

Born on a farm in Peat’s Ridge, Peter completed a Bachelor of Arts at Sydney University majoring in government and political science. He joined the Wallabies in 1984 and played internationally until joining the Sydney Morning Herald as a columnist in 1989. Peter was an ongoing supporter of Taldumande for many years before joining as an Ambassador in 2015.