2017 ELGP Participants revealed

2017 Cohort Revealed

In our fifth year of the program, we are delighted to reveal the participants of the 2017 Emerging Leaders in Governance program.  These participants are provided with scholarships to attend the program due to the funding provided by Community Partners.  As you’ll read below, this group has exceptional professional skills and a keen desire to contribute on a board in the aged care and community sector .

ELGP Launching – 8th February

Community Partners would have received an invitation to join participants at the breakfast launch of the program on the 8th February.  As a Community Partner, you are contributing to a world class aged care and community sector through strengthening governance and diversity on NFP boards.

We would like to warmly welcome this year’s group and we look forward to working with you!

2017 ELGP Participants

Erica Lampropoulos

Erica is passionate about providing people of all ages and backgrounds a chance to thrive. She believes that a diverse Board which uses an evidence and systems based approach can achieve positive social impact/outcomes.  Erica started practising as a lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills in 2012 and now works at St John of God Health Care Inc as an in-house lawyer. In these roles, Erica has acquired broad exposure to legal and governance issues. She is also actively engaged in several community organisations including Fair Game Australia and Leading Youth Forward.
She has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Notre Dame and a Graduate Certificate in Social Impact from the University of Western Australia (UWA). Erica is also currently studying a Master of Business Administration at UWA and has been awarded the Julie Michael Memorial Prize for Leadership in Social Impact.

Riley Upston

‘Riley Ronald Upston – Metallurgist, co-founded a scientific products company to cater to the X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRFS) industry at just 21 years old. Industries such as mining, metals, chemicals, construction materials, and petrochemicals utilise XRFS to determine composition and purity of elements. Riley’s company has grown to become sustainable and highly regarded with many blue-chip clients. He is a results oriented business owner with proven abilities in leadership, strategic planning, improving efficiency of operations and team building. Riley recently attained a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia with a GPA of 6.5. Energetic and goal oriented with an enormous passion for business strategy and background in developing a business from start-up to 7 years of profitability, Riley seeks to leverage his experience and knowledge to deliver better governance for his community.’

Sarah Mummé

Sarah Mummé is a policy wonk, a politics nerd, a people person, a squash player and a sewist. She grew up in regional Western Australia, but today resides in Perth and holds an MBA, Graduate Certificate in Project Management, and  BA/BCom (with First Class Honours).  Between 2008 and 2015, Sarah worked for the WA Council of Social Service (WACOSS) and the Uniting Church in Australia as a passionate advocate for the interests of vulnerable members of the community.  Since 2015, she has been employed by the WA Department of Treasury as a senior analyst.  Sarah’s decision to seek an opportunity in the public sector was a deliberate strategy to diversify her knowledge and experience; however her long-term career ambitions and passions remain firmly in the community sector.  Sarah is passionate about community organising and connecting people, and she has a history of involvement in local, state and national committees and movements.  


Kate Jenkins

Kate graduated from Curtin University in 2009 with a degree in Occupational Therapy. As a graduate she worked in paediatrics and has since then moved to work within aged care sector. She has a passion about making a difference for people living within aged care and improving their quality of life and well-being. Much of Kate’s spare time is spent volunteering with Girl Guides WA. She is a leader of a unit for teenage girls and is a member of the Olave Program Committee where she assist in making decisions to ensure the organisation remains relevant and accessible for young women. One of her major achievements was as a member of the national project team implementing the Free Being Me project, which engaged girls in activities to increase their body confidence. Kate is enthusiastic about the difference young leaders can make to the Community and Aged Care sector and keen to develop her skills in this area.  

Sonia Arakkal

Sonia Arakkal works for Nous Group as a  Public Policy Consultant and previously worked in Canberra in political lobbying and in the parliamentary office of the Federal Shadow Minister for Justice.  Sonia sees aged care as the biggest policy challenge of her generation. She is passionate about intergenerational inequity and increasing dialogue between young Australians and older Australians.

Renay Eade

Renay is an experienced Manager of Human Services. She has spent 17 years working in the disability sector, including various positions at Senior Management level. She has the unique perspective of being a carer of a family member with significant disability in addition to professional experience ranging from direct support work to management roles. This gives her the ability to empathise, communicate with and understand the needs of multiple stakeholders at strategic, service delivery and customer experience levels. Renay’s career and volunteer experience centres around working with vulnerable people to ensure access to quality supports and services and advancing the principles of self-determination, safeguarding and full citizenship for vulnerable people. She holds a Business Administration degree and is currently completing a Masters degree in Human Services (Disability). She has committee experience at state and national level and is currently a Committee of Management member of WA’s Individualised Services (WAiS).

Tomy Hwang

Tomy is a Management Consultant at EY specialising in Healthcare Advisory. He recently completed his MBA at UWA having won the Charles Harper Prize and the BHP Billiton Accelerated MBA Scholarship. Tomy has a strong history of volunteering and demonstrated experience in joining a local community to drive change and provide a positive impact. Throughout his personal and professional life Tomy has contributed and taken on leadership positions in the local CALM Bushranger Cadets, undergraduate faculty student societies (President of UWA Science Union), committee member of the UWA Young Alumni, local children charities (Uni Camp for Kids and Leading Youth Forward) and founded the UWA MBA Student Social Club. Tomy is a passionate and aspiring leader with ambitions to make a positive impact to the community. He is passionate about health care, mental health, aged care and youth advocacy.

Olivia Berry

Olivia is currently Manager, Board Coordination and Liaison for the Child and Adolescent Health Service. She has worked in various project management roles in the Department for Health for the last 5 years, following completion of her B. Sci (Speech Pathology) from Curtin University. During this time Olivia has forged a passion for working in the not for profit sector in health care. This has been complemented by her volunteering work during her work and study life, including working as a first aid officer with St John Ambulance, a therapy assistant with stroke survivors, residing in an orphanage for children with disabilities in India; and teaching adults how to read. Olivia is thrilled to have been given the opportunity to participate in the ELGP and looks forward to the challenges and experiences that the program will bring.

Alexandra Wilson

Alexandra is a Doctor employed as a Resident Medical Officer at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. She is working toward specialising in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics and is currently completing a Masters in Internal Medicine. Prior to this, she was a Lawyer in Sydney, practicing in Property, Commercial and Family Law. She also completed a six month internship for the NSW Department of Community Services working across child protection, international kidnapping and adoption services. Her interest has always been in serving the community and specifically the underrepresented. She was a volunteer with the Mater Hospital – LinkAGE Program in Sydney as a companion to aged care residents with mobility and sensory impairments which sparked her interest in Aged Care and Geriatrics. She has also volunteered for Mission Australia as a Learning Partner assisting homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged people to obtain education, Lady Lawley Cottage (Red Cross) caring for resident children with disabilities and chronic illnesses, Welcome to Australia supporting new migrants and refugees and Results Australia doing poverty advocacy.

Crystal Bartsch

Crystal is a senior accountant within the Audit and Assurance practice at KPMG, with a background in chemical engineering. After working in the oil and gas industry for a number of years, Crystal sought a change through the opportunity to work with a diverse portfolio of clients and thus begun a career in professional services. Crystal has a range of leadership and volunteering experience including involvement in the State Emergency Service and the ABCN GOALS Program, where she mentored high-school students. She is the former President of Women In Engineering at Curtin University and helped establish the successful Women In Oil and Gas (WIOG) university chapter and mentoring program.  Striving towards becoming a young leader, she is interested in having the opportunity to reconnect with the community and enhance her knowledge and experience in the aged care sector, providing value through her experience and dedication.

Belinda Grandoni

Belinda has had seven years’ experience, working primarily in local government in both community development and health promotion. Currently Senior Community Development Officer at the City of Bayswater, her passions lie in the areas of access and inclusion, multicultural affairs, age-friendly and homelessness. Previously, Belinda has worked across sectors in the not-for-profit and private sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Preventive Health and Master Public Health. Belinda has always valued volunteering and has been active with the Australian Health Promotion Association, and WA AIDs Council. Belinda is a Board Member for Catch Music Inc., Community Grants Panel member for the Office of Multicultural Interest, and Committee Member for LGMA in their Young Professionals Network. She is passionate about community engagement and participation, particularly the role of capacity building to improve health and wellbeing within communities. Belinda has a strong interest in learning about the not-for-profit sector, and driving social change.

Sarah Carter

Perth after working in Canada for 2-years. Sarah joined Woodside in 2007 and has held a variety of roles in Reservoir Engineering and Operations, with her last role as Woodside’s Chief Reservoir Engineer. Prior to joining Woodside Sarah worked for Santos working on projects in Australia and Asia. Whilst living in Adelaide, Sarah was on the Management Committee for a community Drop-In-Centre which provided meals to 80 – 150 people every Saturday night. In Perth, Sarah has volunteered in the Catalyst Clemente program with Mission Australia helping students gain University subjects as a pathway to further education. Sarah’s passion is in activities and community programs with the potential to have lasting impacts on people and the community.  Sarah graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) and is married with two children.

Antoine Darque

Antoine has seven years’ experience in the upstream oil and gas industry, having worked on various projects and studies in the UK, West Africa and Australia. Recent experience includes a two-year secondment to a Woodside project team addressing technical integrity issues on an operating facility. He holds a Master of Engineering degree (First Class Honours) from The University of Manchester and has recently completed his MBA at UWA.  His goal is to serve the community with his business and leadership skills. Antoine is a mentor in UWA’s UniMentor program. Prior community experience includes acting as treasurer for a series of church community projects during a four-month trip to Chile, and being a founding member and treasurer of The University of Manchester Ultimate Frisbee Club. In the future, Antoine’s interest lies in helping youths from disadvantaged backgrounds reach their potential.

Ian Edwards

Ian is a Big-4 trained Chartered Accountant with 10 years post-qualified experience. Having worked in finance positions across retail, media and financial services in the UK and Australia, his current role is CFO & Company Secretary at Community Newspaper Group. This role is largely one of general management and strategic planning and implementation; also management of the finance function of 13 staff. Ian is vice-chair of the Chartered Accountants in Business committee, which promotes the interests of CAs who work in commerce. He has served on this committee for three years and contributed significantly to the promotion of member engagement with CAANZ. Ian has two daughters and his interest in ‘giving back’ has heightened since their arrival. Further, having seen all four grandparents live in care homes of varying standards, one of whom still does so today, he has a personal interest in the quality of care these facilities provide.

Eric Yang

Eric is a highly capable professional with strong corporate background in strategy, planning, business improvement and a long history of community work. He is a principal analyst at BHP Billiton accountable for providing internal consulting service and act as a trusted sounding board for senior leaders. Previously he was accountable for business planning, portfolio optimisation and delivery of special projects for senior leadership team. Before becoming an analyst Eric was an Electrical Engineer was part of multi-billion dollar major growth projects in mining sector. Outside of work Eric has a long history of community involvement and was committee member of Engineers Australia, council member of the University of Adelaide and board member of Adelaide University Union. Eric spends his spare time with his family and tries to learn various sports so he can teach his one and half year old son one day.

Jen de Vos

Jen de Vos is an entrepreneur, passionate about making a difference in business, arts and the community sector. She has a diverse range of experience in strategy, marketing, communications and business development. Jen also has a Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) and Bachelor of Arts (Mass Communication) from Curtin University.  
Jen’s  enjoys working with community groups with a focus on youth, arts and health, including Curtin Volunteer’s Remote & Indigenous Program, Portrait Equity in Myanmar and Nepal, and Starlight Foundation’s Teen Program.  She has shared her business skills with a language school in China,   an organisation that supports Burmese Refugees in Malaysia, as Chairperson of the Youth Division of the Australian Photographic Society,  and as an Ignition Program Facilitator for the Curtin Centre for Entrepreneurship.

Seanna Dempsey

After completing a BA at the University of Western Australia Seanna commenced a career in Youth Development, and later Community Development. She has many years of experience delivering youth and community programs in local government, having worked for the City of Rockingham, City of South Perth and City of Swan. Seanna previously worked in the not-for-profit sector, as a Development Officer at Edmund Rice Camps, which coordinates camps and recreational programs for children experiencing disadvantage. She managed the Pilbara program and enjoyed her time in regional WA. On a career break, Seanna also spent three years living and teaching in Spain and Italy. Seanna is passionate about community development and capacity building, and supporting individuals and groups to achieve their goals. She loves the diversity of her work, and the ability to be creative in the projects that she manages. Seanna hopes that participation in the Emerging Leaders in Governance Program will equip her to take on a voluntary board position so that she can use her skills and experience to give back.

Greg Milner

Greg is a senior solicitor with over 13 years’ experience in commercial, corporate and property law. In recent years, Greg has developed a particular interest in retirement villages, aged care providers, and non-for-profit community bodies, recognising the growing need for the services these entities provide. As a lawyer, Greg has drafted a wide range of documents and agreements in use by industry participants, and has provided advice on the various legislative and regulatory regimes affecting this sector. Greg has always taken pride in helping his clients achieve their goals and has enjoyed building extended relationships with them. He now aspires to contribute to the aged care and community sector in a new capacity, by serving as a Board Member with an appropriate entity. Greg graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Laws (with Distinction) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance double major).

Dee May Ong

Dee-May holds a Bachelor of Commerce and is a Senior Manager with a Big 4 firm. She is a Chartered Accountant specialising in providing practical employment tax advice to various industry sectors including the NFP sector. She has an understanding of the challenges in the compliance environment and of attracting and retaining talent in the NFP space and has worked with clients in ensuring tax exemptions are secure and in developing remuneration packaging strategies. Her volunteering experience includes working as a committee member for the young adults group of her church and leading weekly young adults meetings. She has also participated in a medical impact trip to Cambodia, mentored under the Australian Business and Community Network and volunteers casually in other like children programs. She is keen to contribute her skills and has passion specifically in areas of homelessness and women and children.

Jefferson Ng

Jefferson Ng has strong accounting, audit and financial skills supported by conceptual and lateral thinking analytical rigour, project and risk management and performance evaluation expertise. These are supported by his strong leadership, communication and interpersonal skills thus enabling him to provide accurate advice and deliver required services to your organisation at a highly professional level. His 14 year public sector career and experience has provided him with the opportunity to take on senior and leadership roles, high profile projects, develop excellent skills at liaising and collaborating with stakeholders across the board. He has testified at parliamentary committee hearings, worked with ministerial officers and written reports to Parliament on government operations. He has also worked at senior and operational levels within government agencies. He has a keen interest in improving public services, and look forward to using his skills to make a difference to the improvement of lives in the community.