The decorated swimmer who won 17 medals at four Paralympic Games and joined Paralympics Australia’s board last year, took up the opportunity offered by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) to expand her skillset and help accelerate her career in the boardroom.

As a first-time Director, Cole wanted to develop a strong foundation so she could apply her experiences as effectively as possible.

“While I knew I had something very unique to offer to the board, I wasn’t confident in the areas of board responsibilities, financial oversight and strategic planning,” she said.

“The knowledge and skills that I have gained will be invaluable as I apply my experience as an athlete, particularly one with a disability in sports governance.”

Cole is among a group of women from across the sector graduating after completing the year-long course. Another 17 women who are also in their first board roles and who haven’t had any previous formal governance training started their study in April.

Supporting women through further education is one way the ASC is helping the sport sector achieve gender equity.

Despite almost equal sport participation rates between men and women, women are still under-represented in governance and leadership positions across Australian sport.

The National Gender Equity in Sport Governance Policy seeks to address that imbalance and requires national and state-level sport bodies to ensure half of all board directors, board chairs and specified board subcommittee members are women by July 2027.

ASC CEO Kieren Perkins OAM said gender equity is crucial to the long-term success of Australian sport.

"Boards are stronger and make better more effective decisions when there is a mix of skills, perspectives and experiences at the table,” he said.

“Investing in the education of first-time directors and supporting diverse representation on our sporting boards will help ensure everyone has a place in sport."

Each participant’s sporting organisation also participated in a board diversity workshop.

Cole says being encouraged to think in an entirely different way was exciting for the Paralympics Australia board.

“It facilitated some interesting discussion as to the different ways we can strengthen our board and what we do moving forward to ensure we have a more inclusive environment at every level.”

Chair of Lacrosse Australia, Abbie Burgess-Brice has recently started her Diploma, and hopes to gain a deeper understanding of best practice governance, network with other leaders, and refine her strategic thinking.

“I'm very much looking forward to it. I believe it will be a valuable learning experience and provide me with tools to improve my board contribution,” Burgess-Brice said.

2025 Diploma of Governance cohort:

Joanne Banning, Skate Australia
Suzy Batkovic, Basketball Australia
Linda Benny, AusCycling
Abbie Burgess-Brice, Lacrosse Australia
Karen Doyle, Skate Australia
Brooke Farris, Surfing Australia
Victoria Hamilton Wilson, Snow Australia
Sandra Hodges, Pony Club
Sally Irwin, Touch Football Australia
Bridie Kean, Australian Sports Commission
Rachael Kininmonth, Rowing Australia
Judith MacGowan, Australian Taekwondo
Jacqueline Mengler-Mohr, AusCycling
Lauren Moran, Touch Football Australia
Kathryn Periac, Boccia Australia
Lisa Potter, Motorcycling
Lydia Williams, Australian Sports Commission

2024 Diploma of Governance cohort:

Sam Auty, Fencing Australia
Alana Baratto, Motorcycling Australia
Catherine Beachley, Baseball Australia
Adithi Biswas, Badminton Australia
Ellie Cole, Paralympics Australia
Jodie Cross, Water Polo Australia
Genevieve Delves, Bowls Australia
Paula Devenny, QLD Government
Sarah-Jane Dunford, Motorcycling Australia
Julia Felton, Boxing Australia
Cara Honeychurch, Australian Sports Commission
Lorraine Hughes, Shooting Australia
Jacqui Jashari, WA Government
Deanna Kyriazopoulos, Taekwondo Australia
Anna Mezger, Special Olympics Australia
Crystal Miao, Fencing Australia
Catriona Nicholls, Polocrosse Australia
Jaime Roberts, Paddle Australia
Jutta Schortmann, Fencing Australia
Kathryn Schultz, Australian Sports Commission
Melinda Vernon, Deaf Sports Australia