CMC Commissioners
Warren Strange — Acting Chairperson and CEO
Mr Warren Strange has a Master of Laws and a Bachelor of Science and was admitted as a solicitor in Queensland in 1988. After working in private practice on the Gold Coast Mr Strange worked in a variety of legal and management roles within the CMC and its predecessor, the Criminal Justice Commission, between 1992 and 2004. From 2004 to mid 2010, he was the Director, Criminal Law Services at Legal Aid Queensland. Warren is a past member of the Queensland Law Society’s Criminal Law Specialist Accreditation Committee and Criminal Law Section.
Judith Bell (appointed May 2008)
Mrs Judith Bell has a Bachelor of Education, a Bachelor of Arts (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) and a Diploma of Teaching.
She has more than 30 years’ experience as a teacher in Queensland and the United Kingdom, extensive experience and knowledge of the public sector and, as a former member of the CMC’s Crime Reference Committee, specific experience of the CMC. She is on the Board of Trustees for the Brisbane Grammar School and is a member of the University of Queensland’s Senate.
In 2003 she was one of the recipients of the Centenary Medal which commemorated 100 years of Federation and was awarded to people who had made a contribution to Australian society or government.
Philip Nase (appointed November 2008)
Mr Nase has Bachelor degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Queensland, and a Masters degree in Law from London University.
His legal experience spans almost four decades, including 17 years as a Crown Prosecutor, during which he appeared for the Crown in criminal appeals and special leave applications before the High Court of Australia. For approximately 10 years he was president of the Queensland Crown Prosecutors Association.
He was in private practice between 1989 and 1994, when he was appointed to the District Court. He served as a judge of the court for almost 15 years. For the last six or seven years he regularly sat in the remote communities of Mornington Island, Doomadgee, and Normanton, taking a special interest in justice issues in those communities.
Professor Marilyn McMeniman (appointed April 2011)
Professor Marilyn McMeniman has a Bachelor of Arts, Diploma of Education and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland, and a Master of Arts from the University of London. She has held senior academic positions at both the University of Queensland and Griffith University. Her main teaching and research interests include language acquisition, learning and education policy review.
Throughout her career, Marilyn has provided advice to governments, industry, the wider profession and community, and has co-authored major national and state reviews and reports.
In 1997, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to education, and in 2007 received the Zonta Woman of Achievement Award. She has served on a number of state committees and boards including the Pacific Film and Television Commission from 2003 to 2007. In 2009, she was appointed to the Queensland Government Smart State Council.
George Fox (appointed September 2011)
Mr George Fox has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws (Hons). He has practised as a solicitor for more than 35 years in regional Queensland and Brisbane, with significant experience in mediation and ethics.
He was previously president of the Queensland Law Society and chair of the Queensland Law Society Human Rights Committee. He served as a Law Reform Commissioner in Fiji (1995–98). In 2010, he was engaged by the International Finance Corporation (World Bank) to advise and assist the High Court of the Solomon Islands to develop a court framework for mediation. He has recently completed a similar project for the National Court of Papua New Guinea.
He is an adjunct Professor of Law at Murdoch University and the University of Southern Queensland and currently chairs the University of Southern Queensland’s Council Governance Committee. He holds a number of senior government and charity advisory roles, and has also completed 17 years in governance roles with Lifeline.
