Management committee
PEN Sydney’s Management committee is elected annually. It is a collective of writers, readers and activists who are responsible for the activities and strategic direction of PEN Sydney. All the positions are voluntary.
Sandra Symons
Joint President
Dr Sandra Symons, a former academic, is a long time member of PEN and editor of the PEN magazine. She currently works as freelance writer and researcher, and as a youth mentor with the RAISE Foundation. She also supports the work of UNHCR.
Zoë Rodriguez
Joint President
Zoë is the Director of the Australian government arts support program Artbank. She trained as a lawyer focusing on copyright and other IP laws for writers, publishers and visual artists.
Mansour Razaghi
Writers In Prison committee chair
Mansour came to Australia as a Kurdish political refugee from Iran. He has hosted New Voice, a Farsi/Persian current affairs and community program, on 2000FM since 1998. He worked as a journalist for SBS Radio and ABC Radio and TV and was twice nominated for a Walkley Award. He is also an interpreter and has worked with the Department of Immigration, assisting the settlement of refugees.
Dragana Zivancevic
Committee Member
Dragana is an independent scholar and higher education professional, she is also a freelance translator for English, Serbian and Spanish. Dragana chaired PEN Perth’s Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee, and served on its Writers in Prison Committee.
Magdaline Shenton-Kaleido
Treasurer
Zoë is the Director of the Australian government arts support program Artbank. She trained as a lawyer focusing on copyright and other IP laws for writers, publishers and visual artists. Zoë is currently the Chair of PEN International’s Women Writers Committee.
Dr Nina Burridge
Committee Member
Dr Nina Burridge is an Associate Professor in the School of International Studies and Education, in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology, Sydney. She joined UTS as a full time academic in 2005 and has been researching and writing about human rights, cultural diversity, global citizenship and women’s empowerment.
Chris Baker
Secretary
Chris Baker is a Sydney-based writer and educator who has worked in Vancouver, Prague, Hong Kong and Berlin. He is the author of Swimming Sydney: a tale of 52 Swims
Claudia Taranto
Committee Member
Claudia is an award-winning producer at ABC Radio National, currently contributing to the history podcast ABC Rewind. She is a former president of PEN Sydney.
Tom Morton
Committee Member
Tom Morton is a former ABC investigative journalist and radio documentary producer. After leaving the ABC he taught journalism at the University of Technology Sydney and was involved in 2 international research projects on coal, climate change and renewable energy. After decades in institutions, he retired in 2020 and now devotes himself to freelance journalism, climate activism,
Ethan Bell
Committee Member
Ethan Bell is a proud Ngunnawal man, writer, published poet and graduate of Southern Cross University. He has served on the board of WestWords and designed and delivered a creative writing program recognised with an award for innovation from the NSW Public Libraries Association. He is passionate about permaculture and is the proud father of two daughters.