About Us
Singlehood is on the rise, and Singlehood Australia is igniting toward a social, cultural, and economic transformation that includes single people in the heart of all decision-making.
Our People
Singlehood Australia is a not-for-profit established in 2024 by CEO Donna Ward and a volunteer Board of Directors.
Joe Zabar has worked within the government and not-for-profit sectors to improve the lives of vulnerable people both in Australia and overseas.
Joe has held leadership and governance roles across the not-for-profit sector, working with senior government officials, Ministers, Members of Parliament, Senators, and staff in the pursuit of important social and economic policy and legislative reform. He is motivated to use his extensive network and experience to support the work of a number of charities across the nation. With extensive experience in organisational management and change, advocacy, network engagement, policy development and implementation, Joe continues to be a leading voice within the social services sector on social and economic policy with a strong record of negotiating with government to deliver positive changes for the sector and the vulnerable people they serve.
Joe is currently serving as the Chair of Mercy Works and is a visitor with the Crawford School’s Tax and Transfer Policy Institute.
Emma Noble is a communications professional with 25 years’ experience on two continents. She worked in book publishing in the UK and Australia for many years, in a brand management/PR role, before launching her own consultancy, Noble Words Communications, in 2010 whose clients included the Australian Government’s Prime Minister’s Literary Awards, the Sydney Writers Festival and Audible.
Since 2017, Emma has excelled in leading communications for not-for-profits in education and health. She has a passion for social justice and has volunteered her time and expertise to a range of causes. She lives in Melbourne.
Sharon Burns has broad commercial experience gained within the Financial Services sector (Private and Public) attained in many operating environments, and business cultures, over 20+ years. Her experience includes a mix of Finance operations, reporting and commercial business roles. Executive accountabilities have included execution of business transformation programmes and business change requiring fit for purpose governance and risk management. Sharon’s qualifications include Accounting, MBA and GAICD. Sharon’s childhood was enjoyed on a working dairy farm in the Hunter Valley, NSW. She now resides in Sydney, NSW. Her interests include health & fitness, art, theatre and travel. Sharon’s community contribution supporting PEARLS pre-eclampsia research labs, Sydney for many years, volunteering for the Holdsworth Community Centre, a committee member of the Queen Street West Woollahra Association (QSWWA), and non executive director of COTA NSW are most rewarding.
Alyssa has held leadership roles across government, private and not-for-profit organisations. She is driven to create structural change to achieve economic and social equity, and realise wellbeing for individuals, institutions, and communities. She has managed national campaigns and projects including Raise the Rate, NAIDOC Week, and access to reproductive healthcare. She has also served as the CEO of a charity focused on student welfare. Alyssa is the Chair of Better Renting, and Co-Founder of 4 Day Week Australia.
Donna Ward has worked in advocacy, management, social research and policy development in a number of social services includingAnglicare (WA), Western Australian Council of Social Services, and TheBrotherhood of St Laurence. She was the Founding Chair of Fitzroy LearningCommittee, a Board Member of Prahran City Mission, the Inaugural President ofOut of the Asylum Writers Group in Fremantle, and is a founding member of theInternational Singles Studies Association. During the 1990s she established a private psychotherapy practice which included an organisational consultancy focussing on strategic planning, conflict resolution, research and report writing.In her retirement she established, Indigo: the Journal of Western AustralianCreative Writing, and the micro-press Inkerman & Blunt. Her prose has appeared in Island, Westerly, and Southerly Magazines, GriffithReview, Huffington Post, The Big Issue, and The VictorianWriter. Her memoir, She I Dare Not Name: A Spinster’s Meditations on Life, was released by Allen & Unwin in 2020.Throughout 2022, she campaigned on the unique challenges facing single people, particularly women without children. In 2024 she presented at the 3rd International Singles Studies Conference in Boston, USA, established Singlehood Australia, and instigated the International Singlehood Advocacy Network. Donna is an Australian authority and thought leader on singlehood, and dedicated advocate for the economic equality and social inclusion of all single people, particularly single women without children.