Danielle Mulholland

Danielle Mulholland is an Australian politician/activist. First elected to Council in 2012, she was elected by her peers to the Mayoral position in 2013. She was the first woman elected to the position of Mayor in Kyogle Council. Ms Mulholland held the position until December 2021 and remains a Councillor on Kyogle Council. She is also a rural/regional Director on the Local Government New South Wales (LGNSW) board, elected in December 2021.
==Early life and career==
Mulholland grew up on the Sunshine Coast, before moving to Maleny where she was enrolled in Maleny High School. She received a number of awards for sport, debate and public speaking including winning the Queensland Law Society's Public Speaking Competition in 1987. After finishing high school the same year, she spent a year in Japan as an exchange student, returned to Australia and attended University. She holds six university qualifications, in Philosophy, English, Criminology, Justice, Creative Industries and Law. 
After a brief stint in acting, doing extra work in movies such as Skippy, Flipper and First Strike, TV shows and various commercials, Mulholland first worked in the Queensland State Government from 1995 for the Crime Reporting Information Systems for Police (CRISP) before joining the Office of Local Government in 1998, then being promoted to the Office of Rural Communities, where she worked as an Executive Officer, Divisional Manager and Principal Policy Officer.
After leaving the public service, Mulholland was an editor and book/movie/music/theatre critic through the Queensland University of Technology whilst studying for her Graduate Certificate in Creative Industries. She submitted over 300 articles and reviews globally, across a range of genres. 
After moving to Gradys Creek in Northern New South Wales, Mulholland was elected to Kyogle Council in 2012. In 2013, she was elected Mayor, a position she held until 2021. She remains a Councillor on Kyogle Council.
During her tenure on Council, Mulholland has been actively involved in local and regional community groups, as a volunteer and Patron of a number of organisations including domestic violence and the Country Women's Association. As Mayor, she was elected by her Mayoral peers to be President of the Northern Rivers Organisation of Councils (2016-2018) and Chair of the Northern Rivers Joint Organisation of Councils (2018-2022). 
Mulholland was also involved in the anti-coal seam gas movement (CSG) at Bentley in NSW in 2014 where the protest by thousands led to the New South Wales state government cancelling the CSG licence they had issued. "The Bentley Effect", a documentary on the movement also features Mulholland's iconic tripod photo.
In 2015, Kyogle Council narrowly avoided the State Government's forced amalgamations of Councils, with Mulholland leading the charge. The Council vote on this matter was 5/4.
Elected to the Local Government New South Wales board in 2021, the peak body for Councils in New South Wales, Mulholland was also elected Chair of the board's Policy Review Committee.
She is a qualified legal practitioner and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course (GAICD) (Order of Merit) with over 20 years of experience in government, policy, and governance roles. She has a track record for rural and regional development, community engagement, strategic planning and industry and legislative reform. 
Mulholland was named the second most influential woman in the Northern Rivers Region.She has received several awards for her work. She now holds positions on a number of Australian and International boards.
Category:Australian political activists
Category:Australian people
Category:People from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland