Meet the Team!
- CEO
- Apr 30
- 6 min read
As the CEO of the Museum of Fire I am incredibly proud of the quality of service our team is able to provide across all aspects of the business, especially when it comes to the presentation and preservation of history.
From incredibly humble beginnings, back in 2020 when I became CEO, with just one staff member employed to oversee this vast heritage portfolio of work, to the diverse team we’ve created today, it is amazing just how far we have come as an organisation in a relatively short period of time.
As the heritage partner to Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) it is the responsibility of the Museum to research, preserve and present the history of the organsiation. This role has been highlighted in recent years with the celebration of 140 years of FRNSW and more recently the 40th anniversary of women being permitted to join the ranks, which saw our team create a groundbreaking exhibition in conjunction with this special anniversary.
Though the Museum’s heritage team do undertake a variety of tasks, not just for FRNSW but also within the Museum itself with exhibition upgrades and annual activities, it is the publication of the station books for which the Museum is most widely recognised. As the heritage partner to FRNSW the team are responsible for researching and producing histories about individual brigades and stations for various events such as new station openings or centenary celebrations. With many events being put on hold during the years of the pandemic there has been a significant rise in the number of events taking place. This has subsequently meant that the Museum’s heritage team has grown in 2025.
I began my museum career (now many moons ago) as a Curator and I have been privileged to have remained employed within the industry throughout the entirety of my career, a feat that I know is unfortunately rare. The number of paid Museum jobs available is limited, especially when it comes to an entry-level position in small to medium sized museums. In an industry where getting a foot in the door can be neigh-impossible (unless you want to be a perpetual volunteer), one of the perks of being CEO is that I have the ability to offer opportunities to the next generation.
I truly believe that in a small museum no position operates in isolation and no task is beneath anyone. The best way to understand a business (after all the Museum is and operates as a small business) is to spend time on the front line where you can interact with visitors and are responsible for the presentation of the Museum each and every day. For this reason, when we began expanding the number of front of house personnel we employed back in 2021, we specifically targeted those up and coming within the Museum world. For these young people, they were able to gain a regular income within a museum whilst studying museum practice at university and thus receiving practical insight. Jump forward four years and this hiring process has seen the development of staff into management roles within the organsaition as well as the introduction of the largest heritage team we could have ever imagined.
By spending time working at the grass-roots level of the organsition these staff have a greater understanding of what is required in all facets of the business, and I believe it has enhanced their ability to ensure practical responses to their heritage work, whether this be in upgrading museum exhibitions or assisting third parties in heritage research.
It has been several years since we have formerly introduced the team in our blogs and with the increased workload the team has expanded significantly so it is timely that I take this opportunity to share the faces of those behind many of the great exhibition upgrades and historical works produced by the Museum.
Though we do still have just two full-time heritage staff we have several other staff who are brought in to work on specific heritage projects and who maintain other more regular roles within the organisation, mainly within our front of house team. Without the ability of staff to work across these diverse areas it would be almost impossible to maintain our workforce level due to incredibly tight budget constraints, remembering that the Museum receives no external funding and therefore all funds are derived from the hard work of staff to promote and facilitate visitation.
Due to our focus on developing the next generation within the Museum industry, I would suggest that we have one of the highest levels of Museum-studies graduates employed in western Sydney, with five of our thirteen staff holding Museum studies degrees. In addition to this a further two staff hold associated bachelor’s degrees or higher. In such a competitive industry to have over 50% of our staff trained within our core subject matter is testament to our success as an organsiation.
So, who are our team?
Though our heritage team have been the focus of this blog so far, they cannot operate the Museum alone, so I do want to pay tribute to our entire team, from our front of house team headed by Cameron Stafford to my Executive Assistant Kate Coleman, who keeps the Museum’s office and admin responsibilities in order.
Front of house is the largest employer within the organisation representing 70% of our team, though, as noted above, many of these staff are also tasked with stepping into the heritage team when required.
As of April 2025, our heritage team have been working overtime on many projects and include those staff noted below. All of these team members began their career with the Museum of Fire as front of house personnel and have worked their way through the ranks to their respective positions today. The Museum’s future is in great hands, and I look forward to seeing what they can achieve over the coming years.
Tiana Zhang (Curatorial Assistant)
Tiana joined the Museum team in 2023 as one of our front of house personnel and has proven to be an asset to both the team on the frontline and our heritage team behind the scenes. While working in the front of house team Tiana would step in to assist with heritage projects when required which is what led her to be added to the heritage team on a more regular basis at the start of 2024 as a Curatorial Assistant. She has been involved in the installation of the most recent Art Competition exhibition, as well as the installation of Breaking Barriers Battling Blazes, our exhibition celebrating 40 years of women within the fire brigade. She has been a great edition to the team.
Ella Murtagh (Assistant Curator)
Joining the Museum during the turbulent years of the pandemic in mid-2021 Ella witnessed the ups and downs of operating a small business during uncertain times. She was able to utilize her background in digital design to take charge of the Museum’s digital marketing when she joined the heritage team as a Digital and Curatorial Assistant in 2022, focusing on ensuring the Museum was able to be promoted in the best possible way. Since becoming the Assistant Curator in later in 2022, Ella has used her skills to update many of the Museum’s exhibitions and bring them into the twenty-first century with not only modern designs, but a cohesive design language. This is highlighted by the facelifts given to aging exhibits such as the Hall of Flame, our main entry hallway, and she led the creation of the Community Fire Unit (CFU) exhibit, which was created to celebrate 30 years since the establishment of CFU.
Ben Dickson (Curator)
Hired in late 2021 as one of our front of house team members, Ben quickly showed his diversity of skills and was appointed to the role of interim Executive Assistant to the CEO. He excelled in this position, with his management and organsiational skills shinning. As a result, he was then appointed to the position of Curator in late 2022 and after a restructure in 2023, assumed the responsibility of heading the heritage team.
Having worked across all departments within the organisation has given Ben the grounding to understand how both the business and heritage sides of the Museum operate in conjunction with one another. Ben’s energy and dedication is infectious, and this is seen in the quality of work being produced by the team. It is for this reason that I feel comfortable handing the reigns to Ben when I take an extended leave of absence later this year.
-Story by Museum of Fire CEO, Belinda McMartin
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