On Tuesday, 6th October, BCA Inform was held to discuss Championing Your Voice: Election 2026.
Deb Deshayes, BCA CEO hosted an engaging panel discussion. The panel included Andrew Webster, President; Helen Freris, Vice-President and the longest-serving current director; Ross Hurford, director; Elana Allen, National Policy Committee (NPC) member; and Tim Harte, Finance Audit and Risk Management (FARM) Committee member.
Andrew opened by providing an overview of the responsibilities of the Board and the different Committees across BCA.
Helen then spoke about the importance of member input and stressed that input is taken seriously in Board exploration and decision making.
Then the session moved to panellist Elana who is on the NPC. Elana shared that making a difference, meeting peers and learning from different perspectives has been valuable.
Then Ross spoke about his journey leading to filling a casual Board vacancy in March 2026. He described his journey as a positive and steep learning curve and strong collegial support.
And then Tim spoke about his involvement in the FARM which offered him valuable early career learning from more experienced colleagues and different approaches to finance and risk.
The session closed with a reminder that leadership does require time, preparation and teamwork, but staff support, peer support and learning opportunities are available. Lived experience and diverse perspectives are qualifications in themselves, and interested members were encouraged to ask any questions ahead of nominations closing on 16th October 2026.
Listen to the audio recording of the event (1 hour, 8 minutes).