Executive

Steven Alderton
Director and CEO

Steven Alderton has gained 25 years’ experience in the visual arts and education. Previous roles have included Director, Programs, Exhibitions and Cultural Collections at the Australian Museum, Director Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Director Lismore Regional Gallery, Manager Bundaberg Arts Centre, Director Redland Art Gallery, and Curator Wagga Wagga City Art Gallery. Steven has worked closely with many leading Australian visual artists including Ricky Swallow, Margaret Olley, Nicholas Harding, Janet Laurence and Tracey Moffatt.

Simon Cooper
Head of Studies

Simon Cooper has practiced and exhibited extensively throughout Australia and internationally. His work is held in numerous private and public collections throughout the world including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; and the Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art, South Korea.

He completed his undergraduate studies in Printmaking at Prahran College, Victoria and his post-graduate studies at Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. Simon has taught with a range of institutions in Australia including Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne; RMIT University, Melbourne; University of Southern Queensland; and Chisholm Institute, Melbourne. Since joining NAS in 2001 as Head of Printmaking, he has held other academic positions within the school including Acting Director, and is currently Head of Studies.

Paul Ryan
Chief Financial Officer

Paul’s career has been in chartered accounting, the private and public sectors including the arts. Paul has extensive experience in senior executive and operational positions across multi-site, multi-country operations encompassing the functions of finance, human resources, information technology, customer service, commercial operations, business development, shared services, building services, security, governance and administration. Paul has lived and worked in Asia-Pacific to put business resources on the ground in developing economies, and has led business turnarounds, business acquisitions and transformation projects. Paul is a Chartered Accountant, Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia, has a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting, Finance & Systems) with Merit from the University of New South Wales and an MBA from Macquarie University‘s Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM). Paul is a volunteer member of the NSW Rural Fire Service.