Appointed November 2024

Shelley Penn is a Director, independent strategic adviser, architect and urbanist with significant experience encompassing 15 years in architectural practice, and more than 20 years in senior, expert advisory roles in procurement, governance, strategy and community engagement with a focus on advancing outcomes for people through the quality of public infrastructure, urban design and the built environment.

Shelley is Deputy Chair of the ACT Government’s Suburban Land Agency, an independent member of the Advisory Board overseeing delivery of the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) Woden Project and an Advisory Panel member of the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority.  Since 2017, she has held the role of Monash University Architect.  She is a member of Victoria University’s Infrastructure Planning Committee, and holds other honorary roles including Associate Professor in Architecture at the University of Melbourne, and Adjunct Professor in Architecture Practice at Monash University.  She is a long-standing member of State Design Review Panels in Victoria, NSW, ACT and WA, and is engaged in a number of private consultancies as an independent expert in urban and architectural design and procurement.  She also serves as a sounding board and mentor for a number of young professionals.

Shelley has chaired and served as a member of multiple boards, senior committees, specialist panels and design juries over 25 years, for state and federal government organisations, and within the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.  She is recognised as an independent and engaged contributor of high integrity, and is an insightful champion for high quality outcomes in the public realm.  She was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2021.