Our Staff

Meet the AmCham Team

 


 Chief Executive Officer
April Palmerlee

April Palmerlee was appointed CEO of AmCham in 2017 after an international career in government, education, and the corporate sector. American-born, Palmerlee has lived in Sydney since 2003 and is a dual citizen. She is a member of Chief Executive Women and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She received a BS from Georgetown and a Master’s from Columbia. In Australia, she has worked for the University of Sydney’s US Studies Centre, the Lowy Institute for International Policy, the Centre for Independent Studies, and Potomac Partners. In the US, she held the rank of Assistant Secretary at the Department of State with the remit for international women’s issues. Before that, she was a senior executive at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. She has also worked for couturier Oscar de la Renta, financial publisher The Bank Credit Analyst, and not-for-profit The Spanish Institute. She is on the boards of CIS and Georgetown University Australian and New Zealand Centre. She also chairs a scholarship selection committee at the Fulbright Commission.


National Strategy Director
Sara James

Sara James is National Strategy Director for the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia. Her role with AmCham follows a distinguished career in journalism. Sara is an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist who travelled the globe for NBC News and frequently anchored at the Today Show news desk. Among her many prestigious awards, Sara earned a New York Festival award for her report on the first woman considered for the US space program. Sara’s featured segment An American in Oz airs fortnightly on ABC News Breakfast.

Sara is a Board Director of the American Australian Association Limited and Australian-American Fulbright Commission, the Vice President of KCNQ2 Cure Alliance, and a co-founder of Genetic Epilepsy Team Australia. Sara James is the author of An American in Oz (Allen & Unwin), co-author of The Best of Friends (HarperCollins) and editor of An Extraordinary School (ACER Press).


General Manager, Australian Capital Territory
Sheryle Moon

Sheryle Moon joined AmCham in 2022 after a career that spanned Australia, the UK and the USA working for multinational ICT and Professional Services companies such as IBM, Accenture and Manpower. Sheryle has also set up and run multiple business in the USA.

Sheryle graduated from Sydney University with an Economics Degree and followed up with a Masters of Management from ANU where she is a Distinguished Alumni recipient and sits on the Advisory Board for the College of Business and Economics. She has several Postgraduate Diplomas in Education, Workforce Planning and Leadership having studied at IMD in Lausanne and Saïd Business School at Oxford University. She is a Telstra Business Woman of the Year winner. Sheryle is an Advisor to proptech company PlaceChangers and until recently was Chair for Music for Canberra. 

Sheryle brings over a decade of work in Member based Associations, including Regional and Global representation, to her role at AmCham.


General Manager, New South Wales
Doug Grant

Doug Grant joined AmCham in 2018 after a distinguished career in the finance industry. He is based in Sydney.

With over 20 years’ experience working within the finance industry as a Business Development Manager, broker, consultant and sales and marketing representative, Doug has built a broad network of business clients and referral partner contacts across most industry sectors through his focus on relationship creation, ongoing relationship management and solutions sales.His understanding of sales processes, cycles and mindsets has enabled him to quickly establish and build rapport leading to constructive relationships with all business levels, from administrative staff through to senior executives.

Doug engages actively with current members and continually forms new relationships to grow the membership base of valued AmCham business partnerships.

General Manager, Queensland
Stuart Mansbridge

Stuart Mansbridge joined AmCham in 2023 in his home state of Queensland after an international career spanning Canada, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

He has held Executive Director positions with government entities including Sharjah Media City and the International Free Zone Authority, and worked with multinationals including Crown Relocations and Sprung Structures.

With a Bachelor of International Business and a Master of International Law, Stuart's interest is in multilateral relations and value creation through cross-border trade. 

Stuart's drive is to realise the enormous business potential for Queensland through the development of the relationship between the USA and Australia.  Stuart is a former Chairman of another member-based organisation, the Australian Business Council in Dubai.


General Manager, South Australia and Tasmania
Sally Neville

Sally joined AmCham in 2022 after holding executive roles in the not-for-profit sector, a Ministerial staff role and running her own businesses in the tourism and hospitality industry. .

She has extensive experience in the development and delivery of corporate strategy, having been responsible with a number of boards, and in C-suite roles where strategy was put into action. 

She holds an Advanced Diploma in Hospitality Management, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Diploma, holds the accreditation of Certified Professional Restaurateur and has undertaken the General Managers Program at the University of NSW Graduate School of Business.

She has held a number of directorships, including with the South Australian Training & Skills Commission, the International School of Hotel Management Academic Board, the SA Business Coalition Vice Chair, the Zero Waste SA Board and was Chair of the Industry Skills Council for Food Wine Tourism & Hospitality.


General Manager, Victoria 
Andrew Tulloch

Andrew has a long background in international business and is passionate about the Australia- USA relationship. He represented Austrade in an investment attraction role in San Francisco for five years and also worked for OneSteel to establish a new manufacturing business in the United States. He has also worked closely with AmCham QLD, as an AmCham Governor, when he was CEO of Trade & Investment Queensland (TIQ) from 2014 - 2016. 

More recently Andrew worked for the Victorian Government as an Executive Director in economic development, focussing on innovation, the digital economy and medtech.  Andrew grew up in Melbourne and has a strong local network. Andrew's educational background includes a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Commerce, and additional certifications and professional development courses.                                
                                                                                                                     


General Manager, Western Australia and Northern Territory
Natalie Meyer

Natalie Meyer joined AmCham in 2021 after working in Australia, China and Chile over the past decade. She is based in Perth. A graduate of the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing, Management) and a Bachelor of Arts (Mandarin, Japanese), Natalie also holds a Master’s (Journalism and Communication) and Diploma (Global Business Journalism) from Tsinghua University. Natalie recently returned from Beijing and has worked in the private, public and non-profit sectors, spanning various roles with Chambers of Commerce in Chile, Taiwan and Australia, the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) in Western Australia, and Deloitte Consulting.



General Manager, Government Relations
Amie O'Mahony

Amie O’Mahony joined AmCham in 2013 after a respected career in law. She is based in Sydney.

As General Manager Government Relations, she is responsible for managing all aspects of government affairs, industry and business engagement for the Chamber including acting as Secretariat for AmCham’s numerous policy committees and leading advocacy efforts on trade and investment issues impacting members.

Amie began her career as a lawyer specialising in corporate, litigation and insolvency over 14 years ago. An experienced professional, both in Australia and the UK, she has an extensive background in government relations, strategic thinking, negotiation, business development, project management, and stakeholder relations.

Amie is a member of the National Trade Facilitation Committee.

She has a Bachelor of Law from Queensland University of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from Macquarie Graduate School of Management.


National Operations Director
Robyn Houghton

Robyn Houghton has been an integral part of AmCham Australia since 2005.  She is a treasure trove of knowledge for the organisation, having served previously as General Manager for South Australia and Queensland. Robyn moved into the National Operations Director role with AmCham in 2019, where she provides critical insight to the Chief Executive Officer on all things operations.

Robyn holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland with a double major in government, an MBA from The University of Adelaide, and a Diploma in Risk Management.

Robyn has been actively involved with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation since 1995 and is currently on the South Australia State Leadership Committee.
                                                                                                             


National Programs and Partnerships Director
Denise Sorrell

Leading the National Events Team and overseeing National Partnerships, Denise Sorrell brings a wealth of knowledge from her 30-year career as a program and events professional.

Denise has worked in numerous industry sectors including member-based associations, not-for-profit, medical technology, healthcare, tourism, hospitality, fitness and wellness.

Denise holds a Graduate Certificate in Tourism Management, Advanced Diploma in Hospitality Management and Advanced Certificate in Business Operations. She was born in Hong Kong, speaks Cantonese and has travelled extensively around the world.
 

 Head of Member Services
Karen Kelly


Karen Kelly is the Head of Membership Services at the American Chamber of Commerce. She is a passionate customer-focused professional who enjoys developing relationships with current and prospective members.

Karen recently relocated back to her home state of Queensland after 18 years working with the AmCham Melbourne team where she was actively involved in events and networking opportunities for members.

Karen has a background in early childhood education and community services with a Diploma in Education and has travelled extensively around the world. She is passionate about ’people’ and building relationships and is responsible for growing and diversifying our membership by overseeing customer care and management of our member database. .


Head of Special Projects
Josh Edwards


Josh Edwards leads AmCham's international and domestic trade missions. Josh has robust experience in federal government and political campaigning, as well as a keen understanding of the integral role the US-Australia Alliance plays in the two nations' shared national security and economic prosperity.

Josh previously worked as a media and policy officer for a for a federal Member of Parliament, leading communications, Parliamentary duties, strategy, policy positioning and stakeholder engagement.

Josh is a graduate of the US Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program, the Center for Strategic and International Studies' executive education program 'Understand Washington,' and the AmCham Global Leadership Academy.

Josh holds a Master of National Security Policy from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Arts (Spanish and Latin American Studies, Politics and International Relations) from the University of Melbourne.

 

Personal Assistant to the CEO
Adriana Tavares 

 
 		Summer Associate, Special Projects
Charles Billings


 Event Coordinator, Australian Capital Territory
Claire Dawson










 
Event Coordinator, New South Wales
Kylie Tripet

  		 Event Coordinator, Queensland
Louise Medcalf

 
 Event Coordinator, Victoria
Briony Rigg

 
     
 

Event Coordinator, Western Australia and Northern Territory
Anthea Macrides
 
 Office and Event Administrator
Alyssa Cornut


 CRM Project Manager
Daniel Skates

 
     






National Finance Director
Michele Merdith
 Assistant Accountant
Binita Parajuli
     
     
Administrative Assistant
Laurel Righetti
  		 Administrative Assistant
Cloremae Mabida