Director’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Life and Community of the Museum 2022

Over her long career at the Museum, spanning more than two decades, Tina Brandt has been an outstanding, effective and highly dependable leader. The Museum commends Tina for her contribution to the life and community of the organisation over many years.

In recent times, in the face of major crises including the bushfires of 2019–20 and the coronavirus pandemic, Tina has led by example, strongly backing and managing her team while displaying a strong aptitude for complex problem-solving to support the Museum’s continued service to the Australian public. She has maintained a calm and even-handed approach to the many challenges we have faced and has always displayed extraordinary commitment and composure.

Tina has demonstrated an exceptional propensity to take on new responsibilities, and recruit and develop staff expertise. She has supported other high-quality managers and managed projects jointly with other teams to deliver outstanding results, such as the integration of the Defining Moments Digital Classroom into the Education and Digital business units. With her ‘can-do’ attitude, she has successfully implemented projects acclaimed by visitors.

Tina’s leadership of the hosts and other Museum staff, particularly in encouraging the daily Acknowledgement of Country and the ‘Acknowledge This’ training, has had a significant impact on the Museum’s broader culture and integrity. In recent months, Tina has provided excellent stewardship of the Commercial and Tourism business unit, in addition to managing the Museum’s largest staffing cohort safely through Covid-19 lockdowns and subsequent re-opening.

Contributing so positively to the life of the Museum through her seasoned operational and entrepreneurial leadership, Tina has demonstrated her deep and ongoing commitment to the Museum. As one of its longest-serving staff members, Tina Brandt is a very worthy recipient of the Director’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Life and Community of the Museum.