The Team
Storyfest is managed by a dedicated team of volunteers with a wealth of experience and bucket full of passion to ensure we deliver on our mission - harnessing the power of storytelling to inspire positive outcomes for our people, our local writers, businesses and our community.
StoryFest wouldn’t exist without the vision and hard work of founding members - including Monique Carson, Meredith Jaffé, Alison McLeod and Michelle Barraclough, who launched StoryFest in July 2018, and ran the inaugural festival in 2019. To them, we say a massive thank you.
Scroll down to learn more about our current team members!
Adam Jeffrey
President
Adam volunteered for the 2019 and 2021 StoryFest events and is keen to use that experience and his love of stories to continue to grow StoryFest into a major event on the South Coast calendar both for locals and for visitors.
Adam is a marketing strategist and writer who lives in Milton and has held leadership roles in large and small organisations. He successfully ran his own business for seven years during which time he has worked with a range of performing arts organisations including Cirque du Soleil, The Wiggles, Circus Oz and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Adam also held Board positions with the Youth Food Movement and the Australian Sponsorship Marketing Association.
When he’s not at his desk, or out tending to the veggies, Adam is also a keen bodysurfer.
Jennifer Jackson
Vice President
After enjoying a long association with the Shoalhaven visiting family and friends Jennifer has now made the area her permanent home.
After graduating from ANU she had an extensive career in government law and in private practice in Canberra and Sydney, and now works in Ulladulla in the area of Wills and Estates. Jennifer has volunteered with various arts organisations including the Sydney Writers Festival and many professional Committees. She is is keen to pursue her passions for literature and music through working with StoryFest.
She says: “StoryFest is a great organisation to be involved with. The people on the committee are highly skilled and motivated, keen to achieve great results and easy to get along with – a unique and happy combination. We hope even more of the local community gets involved as we progress to our main Festival in June 2023 with some fun events along the way.”
Jennifer is Vice President, is on the Marketing and Communications Subcommittee and is Editor of our monthly newsletter.
Debbie Killian
Secretary
Debbie retired to Fishermans Paradise five years ago after a rewarding career in health and community services.
A secondary English teacher by trade, Debbie moved into youth and community work and then into senior management in Health and Local Government. Working hands-on with young people and with refugee families in south-western Sydney in the 1980s she came to understand the importance of communities having voice - especially the least powerful members. This became a driving force as she moved into positions where she could influence development of services and policies in collaboration with those communities. From community-led ethnic health promotion programs to welcoming libraries and childcare services, her work led to innovative, inclusive services and spaces.
Debbie has retained the same focus on connectedness and building the community and now works on a volunteer basis in community and cultural development in the Shoalhaven as well as promoting protection of the physical environment.
A lifelong passionate reader and writer, Debbie was an enthusiastic participant in Storyfest 2019 and 2021 and jumped at the chance to join the new team taking it into the future.
Julie Bozza
Treasurer
Julie is an author with significant experience in small presses and independent publishing. She has worked in human resources and in technical writing, as well as being administrative officer for the Independent Scholars Association of Australia Inc. Having volunteered for StoryFest in 2019 and 2021, Julie is delighted to take on a larger role in ensuring this event has a bright future in 2023 and beyond.