SAM Foundation
The SAM Foundation was established in 2013 as a company limited by guarantee (a company structure used for not-for-profit and charitable organisations), with the purpose of undertaking a significant capital drive for a new expanded art museum and to grow funds to benefit the SAM collection and program.
The SAM Foundation (SAMF) is a philanthropic organisation set-up to obtain financial support for SAM Limited through annual appeals, targeted campaigns and ongoing fundraising.
SAMF and SAM Limited share a vision to embrace a thriving and dynamic arts community in which SAM plays a key role, and where it is celebrated for exciting exhibitions and programs, within a prosperous, resilient and innovative Greater Shepparton.
The new SAM building is an iconic landmark, transforming Greater Shepparton, into a contemporary city. This community space will be a powerful agent when it comes to accelerating cultural, economic and social change. Above all, it is a place of celebration where everybody is welcome.
Steeped in rich Indigenous history, a harmonious multi-cultural community and a thriving artistic scene, SAM boldly takes its place within the Greater Shepparton landscape.
We invite you to visit, give and join.
Members of the Foundation Board
Clare Pullar - Chair
Senior Consultant, Marts & Lundy
Clare has 30 years’ experience in building the capacity of institutions through strategic philanthropy. She served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Advancement) for the University of Queensland (UQ) from 2009 to 2016. Prior to this, Clare led Development at Trinity College University of Melbourne, Melbourne Business School and Goulburn Valley Grammar School. She is chair of Janet Clarke Hall University of Melbourne and served as a Board member of the Australian Youth Orchestra for 9 years. Clare and her husband David had run family orchards in Ardmona for 20 years from the early 1970s to 1990s. She also taught English at Mooroopna High School and Goulburn Valley Grammar during that time.
Sandy Clark AO – Deputy Chair
Director of the Barr Family Foundation, the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Playking Foundation
Sandy is a Director of the Barr Family Foundation, the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Playking Foundation, and a number of private companies. His long association with the wine industry has included time as Chairman of Australian Grape and Wine Inc., the Winemakers Federation of Australia, Brown Brothers and Mitchelton Wines, as a Director of Stonier wines. In addition he has served as Chairman of the Arts Centre Melbourne Foundation, the William Buckland Foundation, the Aviva Australia Insurance Group, the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, and the Melbourne Grammar School Council, as Deputy Chairman of the Myer Family Company Ltd, of Eastern Energy Ltd, and the Legal Practice Board of Victoria, and as a Director of ANZ Wealth Companies, Oasis Funds Management Ltd and One Path Custodians Pty Ltd, Select Harvests Ltd, Southern Cross Broadcasting (Australia) Ltd, and the Victorian Arts Centre Trust.
Adam Furphy
Managing Director, J Furphy & Sons
Adam is the Managing Director of J. Furphy & Sons and holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from RMIT. He has a strong interest in regional education and is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE and is the past Chairman of the LaTrobe University Shepparton Campus Regional Advisory Board. Adam is a current member of
the LaTrobe University Council, a Trustee of the Shepparton Mechanic’s Institute, a member of the Board of Directors of the Galvanizing Association of Australia, a member of the Weld Australia Council and Chair of the Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project – a project that engages the Greater Shepparton Community to improve happiness and health of our children.
Adam was born and raised in Shepparton, where he continues to live today with his wife and three children. He is also a great, great grandson of John Furphy who founded J, Furphy & Sons in 1864.
Jo-Anne Foster
Senior Account Executive, PSC Griffiths Goodall
Jo-Anne is a Senior Account Executive at PSC Griffiths Goodall. She is a Qualified Practising Insurance Broker and holds a Diploma of Financial Services and Business degree majoring in Insurance. Jo-Anne has spent over 40 years in the Insurance industry in various roles in both Melbourne and Shepparton.
Since moving to the Goulburn Valley in 1989, Jo-Anne has volunteered in a variety of roles across community, kindergarten, school, and sporting organisations. She is a Fairley Fellow, having completed the Fairley Leadership program in 2017 and currently sits on the GV Health Community Advisory Committee.
John Head
CEO, Shepparton Foot Clinic
He served on the Victorian Podiatry Association Council (1992-1994), the Victorian Podiatry Registration Board’s Prescribing Practice Advisory Committee (2007-2016), the External Advisory Committees for the Schools of Podiatry at Charles Sturt and La Trobe Universities as well as the Australasian Podiatry Council External Accreditation Panel for Podiatry at four Australian Universities. He was Chair of Leading from Within (2010-2013), a not-for-profit mentoring program dealing with youth suicide in the Goulburn Valley, he was on the Goulburn Valley Grammar School Finance Committee (2007-2013) Shepparton Festival Board (1999-2015) in the role of Artistic Director between 2006 and 2015. He was the ‘Community Representative’ on the ‘New SAM Project Building Committee’ from 2016-2018. John has been a Board Member of Shepparton Theatre Arts Group (STAG) since 2013 and established ‘Shepp Shorts Short Film Festival’ in 1999. John was awarded ‘Shepparton Citizen of the Year’ in 2012 and in his spare time is an actor, playwright, painter and arts philanthropist and collector.
Polly Symons
Director, Morrison & Sawers Lawyers.
Polly is a Director at Morrison & Sawers Lawyers. Born and raised in the Goulburn Valley, Polly completed her Bachelor of Laws (Hon) and Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing at Deakin University in Geelong before returning to Shepparton in 2013. Polly was a committee member of the Goulburn Valley Young Professionals and has volunteered at the GV Community Legal Centre and as a mentor through the Bridge Young Person Mentoring program. Polly would love to see the Goulburn Valley become a prominent regional destination for young professionals whether they are returning for work or newcomers to the area and create a strong social network that promotes a sense of community and cultural diversity with a strong focus on the arts.
If you would like to express interest in the SAM Foundation please contact Carmel Johnson - SAM Development Manager at cjohnson@sheppartonartmuseum.com.au