Katie McLeish

Acting Chief Operating Officer

Katie is a passionate, collaborative leader with over 30 years’ experience in non-profit management, partnerships and fundraising.Katie loves all aspects of the Arts and dedicated the first part of her career to this area.

A highlight was her time in New York when she arrived at the age of 35 with her husband, two small children and a few suitcases.  She went on to work for 6 years at New York City Center, Manhattan’s oldest performing arts center, as Vice President of Development, where she led the team which completed a successful $75M capital campaign to renovate the mainstage theater and build endowment funds.

Once back in her hometown Melbourne, Katie’s career in the Arts culminated with 3 incredible years as Executive Director at the Melbourne International Arts Festival.Following this professional milestone, Katie embarked upon the next part of her career by expanding the breadth of her experience within the not-for-profit sector.

Over the past 7 years, Katie has worked with many different organizations and partners, drawing upon her deep fundraising and partnerships skillset and general management knowledge.  Now, she has valuable experience in the following areas, thanks to the following clients: Education – University of Melbourne and Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), Think Tanks – The Grattan Institute, Health – The Royal Children’s Hospital, Social Services – Social Ventures Australia, Emergency Services – Country Fire Authority, Internet Services – auDA and First Nations – Welcome to Country.

Today, Katie is delighted to serve as the Acting Chief Operating Officer at Welcome to Country and as the Director, Philanthropy and Partnerships at ACER.