Council for Australian-Arab Relations Board Appointments

  • Media release

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Sue Ismiel as Chair, and Ms Joumanah El Matrah as Board Member of the Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR).

Ms Ismiel and Ms El Matrah bring a wealth of business and community expertise to the CAAR. These appointments also mark the first time that more than half the CAAR Board will be made up of women.

Ms Ismiel is the CEO of Nads, an international cosmetics company. She is Ambassador for ChildFund Australia and an active philanthropist, and was first appointed as a CAAR Board Member in January 2016.

Ms El Matrah is the CEO of the Australian Muslim Women's Centre for Human Rights. She is a trained psychologist and a community development worker who has long been active in the community welfare sector.

I thank the outgoing Chair, Mr Talal Yassine OAM, who will conclude his three year term on 30 June 2016. Mr Talal has made a significant contribution to the work of the CAAR and to the strengthening of ties between Australia and the Arab world.

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