Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2007

SPOTL IGHT

Leadership A profile of Ms Elizabeth Jameson, newly elected Chair of the Board of Trustees Elizabeth Jameson entered Brisbane Girls Grammar School in January, 1978 as a Year 8 day girl. Her grandmother, Laura Horn, was a student at the School from 1907 to 1914 but unfortunately Elizabeth’s mother was unable to attend due to the circumstances of World War II. Lively and spirited, with boundless energy, she gave the impression that she planned to grab her Girls Grammar opportunity with both hands and not waste a minute of precious time. Of course, as with most successful Grammar girls, there was always the sense that she would also have a great deal of fun along the way.

governance consultancy, Board Matters, and associated legal practice in February 2002. In this role, she combines her many years of experience as a corporate/commercial solicitor, with practical board knowledge and experience gained from sitting on a range of boards. Board positions that she holds, or has held, include MAP Funds Management Ltd, the Queensland Music Festival Pty Ltd, Ergon Energy Pty Ltd (until November 2006), the Association of Independent Schools of Queensland (until February 2006), the Council of the University of the Sunshine Coast and Qantm Pty Ltd. As a result of her work on these boards, amongst other things, Elizabeth is a tutor for the national Company Director Course offered by the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Almost thirty years after entering the gates of Brisbane Girls Grammar School for the first time, that boundless energy, enthusiasm and passion for the School have not waned as Elizabeth Jameson embarks on the first year of her journey as Chair of the Board of Trustees. Her depth of commitment to the School’s Aspiration, ‘to be respected internationally as a leader in the education of young women’, has never been stronger. In a newspaper article, Friendship before influence: Does the old school dress advance professional women’s careers? which appeared in The Courier Mail in March, 2005, Ms Jameson stated, “You come up against the old boy network all the time. I think it used to matter . . . Now I don’t feel it influences who gets ahead . . . For women, I don’t think the old school tie works that way . . . But we are very good at mentoring other younger women”. These comments illustrate her deep understanding of the importance of mentoring in the professional sphere and the significance of modelling leadership roles for our young women. At the Towards 2007 Leadership Conference for our Year 11 students in November, 2006, Elizabeth explored her idea of the five Ls of Leadership — live, love, learn, laugh and lead. Our current Year 12 girls have readily accepted this maxim and are diligently following her advice. Perhaps one or more of these girls will emulate Elizabeth’s example of thirty years’ (and more to come!) service to the School. Elizabeth Jameson would appear to be a very worthy successor to Dr Cherrell Hirst, who provided exemplary service on our Board of Trustees for sixteen years and conscientious leadership as Chair for the past ten. Elizabeth’s extraordinary dedication to the School and the Board of Trustees, as well as her outstanding intellect and wisdom, should help to ensure that Brisbane Girls Grammar School will have an extremely bright future. Ms Jan O’Sullivan Head of Griffith House and English Teache r

As Elizabeth’s English teacher in Year 8 (Form 2E) in my first year at the School, I recall her being a vibrant, enthusiastic participant in class discussions, writing imaginative stories, relishing any drama work we might do, whilst noting down statistics of the frequency of ‘fashionable’ words used by her teacher. “Ms O’Sullivan, did you know you used ‘unreal’ six times today?” In hindsight, I cannot quite believe that I used such terms in an English lesson. It was, however, the late seventies, I was ‘a bit of a kid’ myself at the time, and occasionally now, I do hear our young people using the word, ‘cool’. Elizabeth’s Girls Grammar opportunity evolved in an outstandingly successful way. Having received a Prize for Academic Merit in Year 9, and Speech and Drama in Year 10, she was awarded Prizes for Japanese, Public Speaking and Service to the School in her Senior years. In conjunction with her extensive academic schedule she became heavily involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, attaining both a Bronze and Silver Award. Elizabeth’s leadership career progressed from being voted by her peers into the position of Class Captain in Years 9 to 11, to her appointment as Gibson House Captain and Head Girl in Year 12. Being a talented Drama student, her role as Head Girl enabled Elizabeth to manage School Assemblies like a professional, revealing an extraordinary presence in front of her audience. Teachers of that era fondly recall her great rapport with both students and staff in the old Auditorium where she often demonstrated her excellent oratory skills, her sense of humour and her natural ability to entertain. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts (with a double-major in Japanese) from the University of Queensland in 1985, she attained an Associate Diploma (Teacher) of Speech and Drama in 1986, followed by a Bachelor of Law (First Class Honours) from the University of Queensland in 1987 and, in the same year, had the added honour of being awarded the Una Prentice Prize for Top Woman Law Graduate at the University of Queensland. Elizabeth completed her Articles of Clerkship at Morris, Fletcher and Cross, was admitted to the Queensland Supreme Court to practice as a solicitor in 1990 and continued her career at Morris, Fletcher and Cross until she joined Holmans. In 1994, Elizabeth was appointed to the Brisbane Girls Grammar School Board of Trustees, an initiative that stemmed from her wanting to repay the School for receiving such an outstanding education. Having been re-elected in 1998, 2002 and 2006, her commitment has moved forward to the stage where she wants to contribute to the future of girls’ education in Australia. After fifteen years in private law firms, Elizabeth resigned her position as a partner of a national law firm to establish the

grammar gazette autumn 2007