Angela Barrington was recently appointed acting director of Tasmanian Regional Arts following the departure of Lucy Kenneth to Alice Springs to head RedHOT Arts Marketing. Angela has a background in community mental health and art therapy and is keenly aware of the impact that cultural activities can have for both the individual and a community.

Angela's regional arts involvement began with the Tasmanian Arts, Health and Wellbeing Network, an initiative of Tasmanian Regional Arts. Recently, she helped create the community landscape installation project Isle of Plenty for Tasmania's arts festival Ten Days on the Island.

Angela grew up in regional Tasmania and after some years away has returned to the small rural town of Sheffield on the northwest coast where she has established a community studio and gallery and manages an annual mural festival MuralFest.

As a director of Regional Arts Australia, Angela's priorities are to raise the profile of community arts and advocate for resources to support creative partnerships in regional Australia.

Lee Cole, the president of Tasmanian Regional Arts, is a visual artist from Ulverstone Tasmania and recently retired after a 37 year career as a teacher. He worked as both a teacher and principal in isolated, rural, urban and metropolitan primary and district high schools across northern Tasmania. Lee has worked with community arts organisations and is a practising basket maker. His baskets were displayed during Tasmanian Living Artists Week in 2004 and 2005. Lee is president of the Leven Branch of Tasmanian Regional Arts and is also a committee member for Slip Stream Circus, the Tasmanian Arboretum and Basketmakers of Tasmania.

Mike Zafiropoulos, the chair of Regional Arts Victoria, has had more than 35 years involvement in community affairs in arts, sport, welfare, local government and philanthropy. He helped establish Multicultural Arts Victoria and served as its chair. He was deputy chair of the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria, chair of the Greek Festival (Antipodes) councillor and mayor (1992, 1993) of the City of Fitzroy and served on the boards of the Melbourne Community Foundation and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. Mike was a member of a community reference group for the 2006 Commonwealth Games and has been Australia Day Ambassador since 2003. He served in senior positions in the Commonwealth Public Service and until recently was general manager of SBS in Melbourne where he served for 13 years.

Lindy Allen is the chief executive of Regional Arts Victoria and has spent a large part of her working life in the arts. An early career as a performing artist and musician led her into arts administration and management positions that have included fundraising manager for the Conservation Council of Victoria, development manager of North Richmond Community Health Centre and director of both the Mallacoota and Mildura/Wentworth festivals. Two years as sponsorship manager at Melbourne Theatre Company preceded her move to Regional Arts Victoria in 2004. A firm belief in the importance of the expression of local cultural identity to the maintenance of vibrant, vital and healthy communities took her to Indonesia for two months as an Asialink Arts Management Resident in 2004 to study community art practice in a non-funded environment. In 2001 she was awarded the Centenary Medal for outstanding services to arts and culture in regional Victoria.