“Having worked in the space now for about 10 years and with many families, I’d say philanthropy is a highly intuitive and relational exercise, which involves leaning heavily into complexity and being prepared to act quickly when necessary, but also doing the slow, hard work that it takes to make change.
“It’s for these reasons so many women are drawn to the field and indeed make up the field – they represent most of the workforce.”
After studying arts and law, and a brief stint working in intellectual property law, Gortan travelled to Chile to spend time with her grandmother and family. While she was over there, she got a job at the British Council, leading the cultural program there. It was her first experience working in the not-for-profit world and opened up doors for her to travel the world, and meet people connected to the creative industry space.
By 2005, she returned to Australia and launched her seven-year stint with the Bell Shakespeare Company. Heading the team that was responsible for revenue at the company, including foundations and private donors, Gortan was introduced into the world of philanthropy.
She hasn’t looked back since, and after taking an extended maternity leave for her two children, Gortan knew exactly where she wanted to be for her return to work: philanthropy.
“It just really crystallised for me that there was something very powerful about being in this space, connecting passionate and strategic donors who want to support organisations doing impactful work,” Gortan says.
“And matching those two in a way that was both useful and potentially transformative for the organisation and rewarding for the donor was something that really appealed to me.”
Ten years ago, Gortan began working in philanthropy for the Myer Family Company (which then became Mutual Trust), a multi-family office providing advice to ultra-high-net-worth families. Five years in, a board member asked if she would meet with a prominent family who was about to establish a new large Australian foundation. That foundation was the Macdoch Foundation, where Gortan remains as the CEO today.
Women in philanthropy
Philanthropy as described by Gortan, is about serving the people who are the furthest from power. That’s why it’s so important to have women in the space.
“When we try to solve problems as we attempt to do in philanthropy, it's critical that the people trying to solve those problems are also representative of the people they are hoping to serve,” Gortan says.
“And that means we need diversity in the people designing the solutions and deploying the capital – we need gender diversity at a minimum, as well as cultural diversity.”
The Macdoch Foundation, the organisation that Gortan leads, was founded by Prue and Alasdair MacLeod in late 2019, and focuses on nature, climate change and food systems in Australia and the US.
Although the environmental and climate crisis disproportionately affects women, Gortan says the major philanthropic efforts in the space is largely run by men.
“In other words, we’ve got a sector where the workforce consists mainly of women, and the leaders are mainly men,” Gortan says.
“We have to reflect on the implications of that for the solutions that are being brought to the table, and the question of who and what is being left behind in the design of those solutions.”
Gender & work-life balance
As a female leader working in the environmental and climate change space, Gortan knows firsthand that gender discrimination is a very real thing.
“It’s alive and well,” she says, “and I think it’s very hard in your early career to understand how to navigate that.
“When I was younger, I didn’t understand then how to navigate gender bias and discrimination. But now, I take no prisoners – it's really important we talk about it and call it out. The boys’ club is alive and well, and women can get complacent; but we should never take our eyes off this issue.”
When Gortan became a mother, she was up against fresh challenges that men don’t seem to face throughout their careers. But it wasn’t just challenges she came across – doors opened to new opportunities when she had children.
“Balancing family, care for self and mission-driven work is really hard. Managing stress and burnout and being tough on myself are issues I’ve always had to manage,” Gortan says.
“When I had my two kids 14 years ago, I left a very senior role in an arts organisation, and I thought my career would be over. I wanted to take a decent amount of time off, and I was so worried about the costs of doing so.
“And actually, quite the opposite happened. Becoming a mother opened up new dimensions for me, it was the first time that I hadn’t been in complete control of my life and I was disorientated by that. But it made me stronger, more driven and at the same, more flexible and compassionate.”
What’s next for Michelle at Macdoch
Philanthropy is a tough job and involves dealing with some of the greatest issues our world faces. But Gortan has a unique, purpose-focused style of leadership to inspire her team at Macdoch Foundation and future leaders in the making.
“I want to create a vision that excites people in my team and that helps them align and be purposeful in their own work and be successful,” Gortan says.
“I try to bring qualities that create an environment that is rigorous but also fun. We're doing really hard work that's difficult and complex. And I think creating a culture where we enjoy spending time with each other is important.”
On top of inspiring her team, Gortan has a clear direction for her organisation – and that’s making an impact on the climate crisis with a focus on food systems.
“The food system, Gortan says, “affects every single person in the community. It is deeply impacted by climate change and nature loss, and well as driving negative impacts on those things.”
“I’d love to see us deepen our impact in the food system space, and how we can work with partners to get Australia thinking more deeply about their food, how it’s grown, how we consume it, and the kinds of corporate and political power structures in play.
“Nature is in trouble. The climate is in trouble. We have a human health crisis. And I think the food system sits at the nexus of all those things… We’ve got a big job to do.”
This article was written in partnership with and originally published by Women's Agenda.
