Executive Management Group

The Executive Management Group (EMG), comprising the Director, two Deputy Directors, the Chief Operating Officer and an Associate Director, provides strategic and operational leadership for the Museum.

Dr Mathew Trinca was appointed Director of the National Museum of Australia in February 2014. His current term of appointment is for a period of five years. Dr Trinca was the Acting Director of the National Museum from 2 July 2013. Before that time he was the Museum’s Assistant Director, Collections, Content and Exhibitions, with responsibility for collections acquisition, management and preservation; redevelopment of permanent galleries; temporary and travelling exhibitions; and curatorial and research activities. Dr Trinca has published papers on the history of Australian travel to London and on museums and their meaning, and has co-edited two books, Country: Visions of Land and People in Western Australia (2002) and Under Suspicion: Citizenship and Internment in Australia during the Second World War (2008). He is the secretary of Museums Australia’s National Council Executive.

Dr Janda Gooding was appointed Deputy Director, Collections, Content and Exhibitions, at the National Museum of Australia in August 2014. Previously, she worked at the Australian War Memorial from 2005 to 2014. She worked at the Art Gallery of Western Australia from 1979 to 2005, where she curated many thematic, retrospective and survey exhibitions of Australian and international artists. Dr Gooding has a PhD in history from Curtin University, and a degree in Fine Arts and a Master of Philosophy in Australian Studies from the University of Western Australia. She has written extensively on Australian social and cultural history, and on art history. More recently, she has contributed book chapters to publications on photography and digital technologies, and on Thomas Baines and the Augustus Gregory expedition of 1855–57. Dr Gooding has authored several exhibition catalogues and books including: Gallipoli Revisited: In the Footsteps of Charles Bean and the Australian Historical Mission (2009) and Brush with Gondwana: The Botanical Artists Group, Western Australia(2013).

Mr David Arnold was appointed Deputy Director, Programs and Engagement, in June 2016. Mr Arnold had previously worked as the Head of the Museum’s Learning Services and Community Outreach section for three years. Before that, he was the Manager of Education for 12 years. In 2009, Mr Arnold became a member of the Australian Government’s national history curriculum advisory group. In the same year, he also became president of the Museums Australia Education National Network, a position he held for four years. From 1989 until 2000, Mr Arnold worked at the Australian Parliament helping to establish the Parliamentary Education Office. In that period he also worked as a Senate Committees senior research officer. Mr Arnold began his career in the 1980s as a history and politics teacher and taught in three Victorian secondary schools. He graduated with BA (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and gained his teacher training degree from the Melbourne State College.

Ms Stephanie Bull was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the National Museum of Australia in April 2016. Ms Bull joined the Museum in 2004, and initially managed the Museum’s exhibitions and gallery redevelopment program before moving into the field of international exhibitions and partnerships. Before her appointment as COO, she managed the Museum’s governance program, overseeing business planning, reporting and performance. Ms Bull worked in gallery redevelopment at the Australian War Memorial for eight years, having begun her public sector career in the Department of Defence. She has a BA (Hons) in Australian history.

Ms Ruth Wilson was appointed Associate Director, Visitor Services and Development, on 1 February 2016, having previously worked at the National Portrait Gallery. Ms Wilson has an extensive background in both the private and public sectors, including a wealth of cultural agency experience from her time at the National Gallery of Australia, and more recently at the National Portrait Gallery.