Our Team

The vendors are the face of The Big Issue and the reason we do what we do. Vendors come from all walks of life with many . Some are homeless; some have intellectual of physical disabilities and some are struggling with addictions. All of our vendors have been marginalised through their circumstances and are looking to improve their lives.

Vendors undertake a training session with vendor support workers and sign a code of conduct. All vendors are required to wear a their I.D. badge while selling The Big Issue Street Magazine. It is important not to buy a magazine from an unbadged vendor. Our vendors only sell The Big Issue Street Magazine and over the Christmas period The Big Issue Calender.

Meet the rest of the team…

The Big Issue Street Magazine Enterprise

Alan Attwood - Editor 
Melissa Cranenburgh - Deputy Editor 
Bretton Bartleet - Art Director
Patrick Witton - Contributing Editor
Contact editorial: editorial@bigissue.org.au

Editor Alan Attwood has had a long and varied career, in which he has tended to specialise in not specialising. Over 30 years as a journalist he has covered events as diverse as the first free elections in South Africa, soccer in Northern Greece, political intrigue in Morocco, four Olympic Games and all four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Between 1995 and 1998 he was the New York-based correspondent for the Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers. He won a Walkley Award for coverage of sport in 1998. He is also the author of two novels, one of which was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Alan began writing for The Big Issue in 2003: he was a regular columnist and occasional proofreader and soccer player before taking on the role as Editor in November 2006.

Marketing, Media & Advertising 

Natalie Susman – Marketing and Communications Manager : bigissue@bigissue.org.au
Danielle Bombardieri – PR and Online Consultant : dbombardieri@bigissue.org.au
John Currey – Advertising and Marketing Coordinator : john@bigissue.org.au
Alexandra Lee – Communications Coordinator : alee@bigissue.org.au
Alice Minns – Community Relations Coordinator : aminns@bigissue.org.au 

Vendor Support

Gemma Pidutti – Vendor Support Manager : gemma@bigissue.org.au
Kirstie Papanikolaou  - Vendor Support Worker : kirstie@bigissue.org.au

The Vendor Support team nationally look after the needs of the vendors who get out on the streets and sell The Big Issue magazine.

Vendor managers train new vendors and find them an appropriate pitch. They also are crucial in the ongoing support of our vendors, pointing them in the right direction for everything from legal advice, free meals, housing and doctors to counselling and drug rehabilitation programs. They liaise with local councils over pitches and they organise the distribution of the magazine to the vendors’ pick-up points. 

Administration

Contact administration: bigissue@bigissue.org.au

We have a growing team of office administrators who look after the finances, organise advertising, keep this website going and support the organisation in many other ways.

General Manager Steven Persson makes sure all the elements of The Big Issue Australia run as smoothly as possible. In 2006 he successfully co-ordinated the bid to host the 2008 Homeless World Cup in Melbourne. His dedicated fundraising is also putting Street Soccer Programs around Australia.

Community Street Soccer Program

Victoria Boag – National Street Soccer Manager :  vboag@bigissue.org.au
For a full list of Street Soccer contacts in each state click here.

The Community Street Soccer Program uses the power of sport to promote social inclusion and personal change for homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged people. 

Street Soccer managers support the players by mentoring and promoting participation and team spirit. They also organise matches and training, and coordinate volunteers and corporate partners.