Brenda Appleton OAM
Brenda retired in 2009 after 35 years working in the corporate sector and is heavily involved volunteering with a wide range of community groups, including the LGBTIQ+ communities in Melbourne (for more than 20 years).
Brenda was the chair of Transgender Victoria until 2021, and stepped down in 2019, after two terms, as the co-chair of the LGBTIQ Taskforce set up by the Victorian Government. Brenda has been a member of the Victoria Mental Health Ministerial Advisory Committee, the Victorian LGBTI Taskforce Health and Human Services Working Group and the NWMPHN Suicide Prevention Taskforce. She is on the Senior Victorians Advisory Group and the Victorian Elder Abuse Roundtable.
Brenda is passionate about using her lived experience to improve the health and wellbeing of trans and gender diverse people across Victoria. She was inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2017 and received a COTA Senior Achiever award as part of the 2018 Victoria Seniors of the Year awards.
Brenda is a retired chartered accountant. She has a Bachelor of Commerce, a Master of Sustainable Practice and GAICD, and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in January 2019.
“The opportunities provided by The Pinnacle Foundation can be significant for the future success of many young disadvantaged LGBTIQ+ people, and I love being involved in this important work.”
