Where are they now? Romilly Madew (Evans, 1984)

I started at Pymble as a Day girl in Year 7 in 1979. In Year 10, my parents went overseas, so I boarded in Marden House. I quickly made friends with the other Boarders, spending many weekends and holidays at their properties in Quirindi, Narromine, Trangie and Dubbo. I was very sporty, so played sports with many of them as well as having them to stay at our home in Greenwich on the Lane Cove River.

This time really cemented my friendship with the Boarders, many of whom are still my friends today, 35-years later.

Boarding was a hoot: we slept on the open balconies with the beds about a metre apart. The only time we could pull the canvas blinds down was if it rained. It was like a slumber party although the food wasn’t great.

The Boarding House Matrons were not like today; they were very strict and could be unfriendly. I reminded my daughter, Arielle (current Year 12 student), when she started at Pymble that “I was climbing the tree in front of Hammond and fell out of it’’. I loved my time at Pymble, participating in many sports. I was a Prefect and I made lifelong friends.

From school, I completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics at The University of Sydney. From University I went to work for an American telecommunications company called BellSouth as part of a graduate trainee program. There was a recession at the time and finding work in Agriculture was difficult. It was while working for BellSouth that I became engaged to my husband, David. In 1994, I moved to country NSW to live a on 400-acre vineyard, winery and property near Lake George on the Cullerin Range.

We lived there for 14 years. Our kids went to kindy and school at Gunning, catching a little bus across the range on a dirt road every day. We also had au pairs as I firstly worked in professional services marketing at King & Wood Mallesons, Canberra, then after Arielle was born, became Executive Director for the Property Council of Australia (ACT). During this period, I was also appointed onto a number on ACT Government Boards.

In 2006, after having our third child, Nathaniel, I was appointed CEO of Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA). I commuted to Sydney for three to four days a week for two years and, as a family, moved to the Northern Beaches in 2008.

The role of CEO at GBCA was very fulfilling. We worked closely with industry and government to transform the way they incorporated sustainability into how they designed, built and operated buildings, communities and cities. This enabled me to work in many countries overseas.

Through my work I have been awarded many honours including the Order of Australia (AO) in acknowledgment of my contribution to Australia’s sustainable building movement. I was named by Vogue Australia as one of “100 Game Changers” in 2018; and I was awarded the World Green Building Council’s Chairman’s Award for Leadership 2017.

Additionally, in 2016, I was named Pittwater Council’s Citizen of the Year (Australia Day Award); I received US Green Building Council’s International Leadership Award, Washington 2015; I was a finalist in InStyle Magazine’s Women of Style Awards Environment Category 2014; and named as one of the “100 Women of Influence” by the Australian Financial Review and Westpac 2012. In 2009 I was the National and NSW winner (Community & Government) at the Telstra Business Women’s Awards.

I now also hold Board positions with Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Chief Executive Women, and Surf Life Saving Foundation. Additionally, I am President of Bilgola Surf Life Saving Club.

I am a vocal advocate of diversity, Indigenous issues and flexibility in the workplace. I also advocate for women in sport, and I am a joint Founder of the Minerva Network which supports Australia’s elite sportswomen. In April this year I became CEO of Commonwealth Government Agency, Infrastructure Australia.