Executive Sharan Burrow - President In May 2000, Sharan Burrow became the second woman to be elected President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). In December 2004, Sharan was the first woman to be elected President of the world union body, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), which represents 148 million workers in 231 affiliated organisations across 150 countries. In October 2000, Sharan also became the first woman to be elected President of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions Asia Pacific Region Organisation. Sharan was born in 1954 in Warren, a small town in western NSW, into a family with a long history of involvement in unions and the struggle to improve the lives of working people. Her great, great grandfather participated in the shearers' strike of 1891/92, becoming one of the first organisers for the Australian Workers' Union and standing for the state seat of Cobar for the fledgling Australian Labor Party in 1896. Sharan studied teaching at the University of NSW in 1976 and began her teaching career in high schools around country NSW. She became an organiser for the NSW Teachers' Federation, based in Bathurst, and was President of the Bathurst Trades and Labour Council during the 1980s. Sharan was elected Senior Vice-President of the NSW Teachers' Federation and became President of the Australian Education Union (AEU) in 1992. She represented the AEU on the ACTU Executive through the 1990s. Sharan was previously Vice-President of Education International from 1995 to 2000. Education International is the international organisation of education unions representing 24 million members worldwide. She is currently President of the International Centre for Trade Union Rights, a member of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation and a member of the Stakeholder Council of the Global Reporting Initiative. As part of her ILO responsibilities, Sharan chairs the Workers' Group of the Sub-Committee on Multinational Enterprises. Sharan Burrow is also a founding member of the Southern Cross Climate Coalition, formed last June 2008 by the ACTU, ACF, the Climate Institute and ACOSS to respond to the vast challenges of climate change in Australia. Jeff Lawrence - Secretary Jeff Lawrence took office as Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) on 21 August 2007. He has served the Australian union movement for 30 years, including as head of one of Australia’s largest unions – the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union (LHMU) and more than ten years as a senior member of the ACTU Executive, its governing body.   In 2006 Jeff Lawrence participated in an ACTU overseas delegation that developed the union movement’s industrial relations policy alternative to the Howard Government’s WorkChoices laws.   On becoming ACTU Secretary, Mr Lawrence has vowed to do everything he can to make sure that all Australians have proper rights in their workplace and that employees are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.   Mr Lawrence has qualifications in Arts/Law (Hons) from Sydney University. He was born in 1952 in Newcastle. His father Barry was a panel beater and auto mechanic and his mother Elaine a typist and stenographer.   As head of the LHMU, a union with more than 130,000 members in the service, contract, childcare, aged care and health industries, Mr Lawrence’s leadership reversed the decline in membership, achieving modest growth against the wider trend.   In 1999, Mr Lawrence participated in the ACTU Unions@work report that has been credited with helping increase union membership by adopting new organising techniques and modernisation strategies for unions. Geoff Fary - Assistant Secretary Geoff Fary was elected ACTU Assistant Secretary in 2007. He has previously worked as a farm labourer, sheep shearer, administrator, Victorian Director of the Trade Union Training Authority (TUTA), Chief of Staff to a federal Cabinet Minister, Human Resources Director, Company Director, CEO of Industrial Relations Victoria. For the previous four years he has performed the most senior national industrial role at the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers of Australia (APESMA). Geoff was born and raised in northern Victoria. His career moves have given him the unusual perspective of union, corporate and government experiences that he brings to the challenges faced by the ACTU. Married with two teenage children, Geoff and his family live at Portarlington, a small seaside township near Melbourne. His interests include being a home handyman, current affairs - and a passionate involvement in Australian Rules football (Essendon). Tim Lyons - Assistant Secretary Tim was elected to fill a casual vacancy as ACTU Assistant Secretary in August 2008 and was re-elected at the 2009 ACTU Congress. Tim’s responsibilities as an ACTU Officer include management of the organising and growth agenda, union education programs and the corporate research/strategic campaigning capacity. Tim represents the ACTU and unions at high-level meetings with government and business on both industrial issues and the broader policy agenda of Australian unions.  He is a member of the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council, the Committee on Industrial Legislation and the Global Unions Committee on Workers' Capital.  Tim is a trustee director of an industry superannuation fund and a director of the Union Education Foundation Prior to the ACTU, Tim was an official of the National Union of Workers (NUW) for over 13 years, and represented members in a wide range of industries, including logistics, food, plastics, oil and gas and general manufacturing. Tim’s positions at the NUW included senior advocate in the National Office, and industrial officer and organiser for the Victorian Branch, giving him wide exposure to enterprise bargaining and organising in the private sector.  His work as an industrial officer and advocate focused on bargaining and industrial action. Tim has extensive experience in industrial tribunals, including in appellate and test case proceedings.