Cathy Bardon

Cathy grew up in rural Queensland in a family that only listened to ABC radio, and largely watched only ABC TV. She worked as a technical librarian in the mining industry, then in publishing for Jacaranda Press as a book editor, and then worked in Sydney as a petroleum geologist. She and her husband lived in Denver, Colorado, for two and a half years, where she listened to National Public Radio (NPR) and experienced their fund-raising periods! After moving to Perth she retrained in computer science and worked in IT at Curtin University for 16 years where she was an active member of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). She believes an independent, adequately funded public broadcaster is essential for healthy democracy. Cathy also represents WA on the committee of ABC Friends National. Cathy joined the committee in 2014 and was Secretary from 2015 to 2022, when she became President on the resignation of Bobbie Mackley.