Meet the Team
Kath Logan
Founder, Committee Member
Kath grew up in Orange then went out into the big wide world. A couple of years ago, she accidentally ended up back here, realised what a great place it is and decided to stick around.
During the 25 years away, she spent way too much time at University (has a few bits of paper to show for it), did some travelling and hung out with the full range of big thinkers, rabble rousers and serious change agents.
Over the years, Kath has worked with thought leaders of all types – community leaders, academics, farmers, politicians, labourers, captains of industry, people in remote communities and all manner of activists. She believes that ideas worth spreading often come from unlikely places and this is what motivated her to get on board with TEDxOrange – to give local ideas worth spreading the platform they deserve.
Despite growing up in a sporty family, and after decades of trying really hard, she is unable to catch. The highlight of her sporting career was coming second in the Ladies Bog Snorkel at the 2007 Julia Creek Dirt’n’Dust festival.
Andrew Logan
Founder, Committee Member
Andrew Logan wants to live in a world where individual rights are balanced out by responsibilities, where we value all life, and where 90’s hip-hop makes a comeback.
Andrew’s working life as a business strategist is the key to his involvement in TEDx Orange – he has coached teams and individuals for major pitches and keynotes across Asia and Australasia for over 15 years and is always excited about the ability of great communicators to create change.
Andrew has a parallel career as a professional rugby nut – writing, touring, commentating and spectating on rugby at all levels. He is a driver behind the celebrity Silver Foxes rugby team which raises funds for The Black Dog Institute.
When he’s out of the office, you can find him doing Crossfit, writing, playing guitar badly, and being driven mad by his three kids.
Kyle Manning
Licensee, Committee Member
Kyle has been thrusting himself into the spotlight as a performer for more than 20 years, but is looking forward to a behind-the-scenes role as one of the organisers of TEDx Orange.
Raised in Australia’s oldest inland city, the Bathurst boy has travelled the world playing music and has shared the stage with some of Australia’s greats. He almost completed a wine science degree but decided the discipline of Horticulture was closer to his heart, and now has a keen interest in changing the way we think about food and food security.
Kyle has resided in Orange since 2001 with his wife and three children and loves the city’s eclectic mix of agriculture, industry, food and the arts. He hopes TEDx Orange will bring the thought leaders of our region together for cohesive action on positive change.
Denise Mills
Committee Member
Denise grew up in Wongarbon, a small village home to a few hundred people. She has tried bigger towns and glanced at cities, but it’s village life for her, currently Millthorpe, Australia. A 17 minute drive with cow and sheep scattered views takes her to the city of Orange, known for its wine, food, and live music. ‘Home’ is a partially owned, semi-detached, void of television, but fully equipped with books, music and teenage son.
Her previous life saw her perform a 10 year role as a Tax Accountant, and despite making good progress in her career, it wasn’t quite the right world for her. She went on to work as a Freelance Writer and has featured in many print and online publications, including Huffington Post, Elephant Journal and her local Orange City Life. She also had a lucrative position at Clint’s Crazy Bargains in her teens, where she priced $2 undies and was allowed to smoke in store.
Other things you should know: She is a UFC fanatic, does a breathtaking rendition of Old McDonald in Japanese, and can sing the alphabet backwards, really, really fast.
Sonia Muir
Committee Member
Sonia’s father was a Romanian refugee who moved to Australia after the Second World War. Her childhood was spent on a banana plantation in the hills below Mount Warning in northern NSW and she now lives in Orange.
Sonia has been with the NSW Department of Primary Industries since 1993. She manages two community-focused programs – the Rural Women’s Network and the Rural Resilience Program both of which aim to ensure rural people are well connected, have access to the information and skills they need to grow their personal and business
resilience.
Over the past two decades Sonia has facilitated a diverse range of projects that aim to overcome isolation, promote the role of rural women, develop leadership, education and training opportunities and improve information exchange.
She is a Vincent Fairfax Fellow, an escaped high school art teacher and an authority on children because she has none. Sonia spent a magical ‘gap’ year volunteering in the Pacific Kingdom of Tonga in 2013-14 with her husband Gordon and has a Masters in Social Ecology.
She sees being a part of the TEDX Orange team as a unique opportunity to bring a global focus on great thinkers from Orange and beyond. People who can champion change and grow ideas that have the potential to create impact.