Science Advisory Council - Dr Dawn Casey PSM FAHA
Director, Powerhouse Museum in Sydney
Dr Dawn Casey was the Chief Executive Officer of the Western Australian Museum from 2005-2008. In this role she was responsible for seven museums located throughout Western Australia, 4 million collection items and some 250 staff. During her three years Dr Casey restructured the Western Australian Museum; developed the business case for a new museum in Perth for which the Government approved an allocation of $500 million.
Dr Casey is widely known nationally and internationally for her work as the Director of the National Museum of Australia. She was responsible for the construction and development of the museum that opened as a Centenary of Federation project in 2001.
In a world first for the building construction industry Dr Casey used Alliancing, a new form of project delivery developed by BP for North Sea oil and gas projects. The Alliance contract promoted a ‘no dispute' culture prohibiting litigation and avoided the traditional adversarial approaches. The museum was completed on time and on budget - a rare achievement for a major public sector building project.
In addition Dr Casey managed the transition of the museum from an organisation of some forty staff with an annual budget of $4 million to a fully operational museum with 210 paid staff, 200 volunteers, an annual budget of $43 million and approximately two million visitors within the first two and half years of opening.
Dr Casey's other experience includes her major contribution to Indigenous policies and programs and Australia's Cultural Heritage nationally. Her career includes the establishment of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and she initiated the joint Commonwealth/St
