Our structure, board & CFA Act

Jo Plummer, Chair

With a portfolio of roles and 17 years of professional governance experience, Jo is a seasoned Board Chair and non-Executive Director.

Her current portfolio includes Board Chair CFA; Board Chair Boomaroo Nurseries Pty Ltd; Committee Chair Geelong FoodShare; Fellow & Faculty member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and Out of the Box Executive - Board Effectiveness/Performance Evaluation & Strategy Facilitation.

Previously Jo has held Chair and non-executive Director roles across Government, NFP and SME organisations. She is deeply passionate about community and enabling prosperity with extensive volunteering grass roots and governance experience in sport, homelessness, education and food insecurity.

Jo is a highly experienced business strategist and holds an MBA majoring in leadership, communication, strategy & planning.

Ms Pam White PSM, GAICD, Deputy Chair

Ms White has over 30 years’ experience with the Victorian Public Service and was the State Recovery Coordinator at the time of the 2009 bushfires. She led the recovery operations of the Department of Human Services and in 2012 was the CEO of the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction. She also worked on the Review of the Victorian Floods.

Ms White holds positions on several Government committees and bodies and was the Inaugural Chair of the Commonwealth Emergency Medal Award Committee. She was awarded the Centenary Medal, the Emergency Services Medal and the Public Service Medal for her services to emergency management and her work on vulnerable families. In early 2016 she was appointed Chairperson of the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority and has also served as the Senior Commissioner of the Country Fire Authority Appeals Commission.

Dawn Hartog, AFSM

Ms Hartog is an experienced senior manager with a background in public safety, emergency and incident management and planning and community engagement. She has worked across a range of emergency services including the Country Fire Authority, Emergency Management Victoria and Forest Fire Management Victoria and is currently Senior Manager, Water Emergency Management within the Water and Catchments Group at the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

Dawn has been a CFA staff member (2005-2018), CFA volunteer (operational since 2012) and CFA Board Member (since 2019) and is also an accredited Level 3 Public Information Officer.

Dawn has a long history of working with community groups having been a committee member of Kinglake’s Bollygum Park, and committee member and President of Kinglake and District Neighbourhood House.

She is the 2nd Lieutenant at Toolangi Fire Brigade, after recently stepping down as captain after nine years at the helm.

Peter Shaw, AFSM

Mr Shaw is the Group Officer of Knox Fire Brigades Group and has been a volunteer firefighter since 1974. He has a long history in police with experience in leadership and management, particularly in the fields of emergency management, critical incident management, major collision investigations and protective security.

Mr Shaw has corporate and business planning experience and holds tertiary qualifications in public sector management, with significant exposure to change management, project management, training and assessment, and has auditing experience. As a volunteer with CFA he has previously been brigade captain, and is currently a level 3 Incident Controller.

Ms Rachel Thomson

Ms Thomson has been a non-executive director of the Central Highlands Region Water Corporation since 2015, an independent member of the Risk and Audit Committee at DELWP since 2019, and an independent member of the Risk and Audit Committee at V/Line Corporation since 2021. Ms Thomson held various positions at XL Insurance between 2002 and 2013, including national head of Professional Lines from 2012 to 2013 and product management from 2009 to 2012. Ms Thomson holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne

Ross Coyle, AFSM

Mr Coyle was previously a member of the Authority from 2010 to 2016. He has extensive experience in emergency management leadership, from operational to corporate governance. Mr Coyle was a councillor at Wodonga City Council from 2002 to 2005, where he was the council representative on all Fire Prevention and Emergency Management Committees. Mr Coyle is an operational wildfire and structural firefighter and was an officer and captain of the Wodonga West Fire Brigade from 1996 to 2018. Mr Coyle has also run a family farming operation in Wodonga since 1989.

Ms Rosemary Martin, BA (Hons), LLB (Hons), LLM, GAICD

Rosemary has had over three decades in legal practice working across both the public and private sectors. She has held General Counsel roles at Public Transport Victoria, Covid-19 Quarantine Victoria and the EPA (Victoria) as well as senior leadership positions across other Victorian government agencies. She commenced her legal career at Allens in Sydney, and has broad experience across a range of industries. An early environment and planning law practitioner, she is also well-versed in natural resource and emergency management.

In addition to her legal and leadership skills, Rosemary brings corporate governance, risk management, audit, mediation, stakeholder engagement, decision-making and regulatory expertise. Previous appointments include the role of Senior Commissioner of the Land and Environment Court of NSW with a focus on dispute resolution in planning and land use issues. Rosemary is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a trained mediator. Previously Deputy Chairman at Parks Victoria, Rosemary has been appointed to the board of VicTrack, and is a non-executive Director of Merri-Bek Affordable Housing.

Bryce Morden

Bryce Morden brings extensive leadership experience in emergency services, regional development, and community engagement to the CFA Board. With a strong background in operational strategy and stakeholder collaboration, Bryce is a passionate advocate for strengthening regional resilience and supporting volunteer-based emergency services. Bryce joined the CFA in 2005 at Maffra in Central Gippsland, before transferring to Timboon in 2010, where he has since served as Captain, Group Training and currently serves as a Deputy Group Officer in the newly formed Apostles Group.

Bryce is recognised for his strategic thinking, integrity, and hands-on approach to pragmatically addressing issues and delivering strategy. He has extensive professional experience in senior leadership roles including previous experience as a Board Director. Bryce has extensive experience in regulatory, policy and organisational capacity building.