Governance

Suzanne is a highly experienced and qualified senior Finance Executive with extensive strategic and operational experience across NFP, Arts, Wholesale/Retail and the IT and telecommunications sectors.  She has strong commercial and technical acumen providing the ability to successfully manage business transformations, achieve business KPI’s and integrate financial functions & systems from standalone into various entity structures.

Suzanne is passionate about giving back to ‘for purpose’ organisations, with her last 9 years working for NFP’s such as the Y and CPA Australia.   She has also served for more than 8 years as a Board volunteer for Emerge Support Network for Women and Children, an NFP organisation which focuses on supporting families who experience domestic violence.

The Y is a ‘community’, providing services and opportunities that foster growth and wellbeing in a safe and secure environment, with a key focus on supporting the growth of our children and youth.  As President, I am committed to ensuring we continue to grow our programs in a sustainable way – both financially and environmentally – so our future generations have the opportunity to flourish and experience the special land we live on.

Christopher has worked domestically and internationally for more than 35 years focusing on risk management, governance and controls, assurance and operations. He has experience delivering services as an external advisor, as a line executive responsible for substantial business operations and as an external director. He has led and participated in consulting, assurance and due diligence projects for a range of companies in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, United Kingdom, China, and Asia. He is currently a director of a regional primary school, several domestic YMCA Entities, the Global Board of the World Alliance of YMCA’s, a Global Investment fund for the YMACA and a Christian Super. He also consults on finance, risk and strategy.

Christopher is motivated to ensure the success and sustainability of the Y.  He is passionate about mentoring, coaching and developing young people, and has done so over his entire career. He believes that individuals can make a difference when they’re supported.

In his role as Vice President of the Y Whittlesea, Christopher aims to actively engage with our teams to ensure that we have the maximum impact on the development and opportunities for young people as we help them move towards their potential.

Leith joined the Y Whittlesea Board in 2023.

Leith is an astute business owner experienced in operations management, competitive analysis and financial management. She is currently successfully navigating OnTapData as a market leading entity in the data intelligence sector.

Leith has 2 boys who are in their early 20’s and navigating the world independently. They serve as a reminder to Leith how important it is for children and young people to be supported and nurtured throughout their lives.  Leith is passionate about the community and she now has the time and skill set to contribute positively to the Y. She is excited about the programs and services available through the Y and to be working closely with like-minded people to continually improve the Y’s services and make a difference.

Ru is a qualified CPA with a master’s in business administration. She has worked with Y Victoria in various financial roles for the last 15 years and with Y Whittlesea for the past 4 years. Prior to that her experience has been with Ernst and Young in external audit and financial control in other commercial manufacturing organisations. She is passionate about giving back to the community and has held many volunteer roles within the local primary school and church with her most recent roles being School council president and Church treasurer. She is the proud mum of two girls and is very keen that they are brought up in an environment with a positive narrative and where giving back to the community is a way of life.

Emma joined the Y Whittlesea Board in 2023

Emma is a former elite artistic gymnast, entrepreneur and coach. She represented Australia at international competitions such as World Championship and World Cups for over 10 years and was five times Australian National Beam Champion and World Cup beam gold medallist in 2019. Emma now coaches private gymnastics sessions and in alignment with that owns an athlete brand, Artium Sport. She also has a passion for helping people with the philosophy of ‘always striving to be your best’ which has lead her to opportunities where she coordinates a leadership program at ACU for high atar students, has a podcast called ENbalance aimed to support athlete retirement. Her most significant current project is working with people to empower and transform lives through a health program with the company Simplr Health, where she supports clients on a metabolic restoration protocol.

Emma hopes to make a positive difference with her board position at the Y Whittlesea by having a voice to inspire young people.

Renee is a values-driven leader with over 25 years’ experience in Human Resource Business Partnering roles in large corporate organisations before transitioning to the Not-for-Profit sector in 2015 as General Manager, People and Culture. She specialises in organisation transformation, systemic change management, and fostering high performance cultures focused on continuous improvement. Her expertise extends to building effective organisations using Systems Leadership, developing capabilities that can adapt to evolving regulatory and market landscapes. Renee is accredited in Systems Leadership, is a Reiss Motivation Profile Master and has a yellow belt in Lean.

Renee’s recent background includes leading operational teams in the Aged Care sector, where she honed her skills in creating adaptive organisational models that enhanced the delivery of quality services and supports for Home Care clients. She is dedicated to guiding organisations through rapid change while prioritising the well-being of both the workforce and clients.

As a mother of two teenagers, Renee is enthusiastic about inspiring and empowering young people and recognises the significance of building vibrant sustainable community organisations that offer purpose and belonging. In her role as a Board Director and Chair of the HR and Risk Subcommittee at The Y Whittlesea, she emphasises the creation of a robust organisational culture through thoughtful and strong governance.

Narelle is in her 10th year as the Principal of Mt Evelyn Christian School, and continues to serve with passion and enthusiasm.  Narelle has also been a sessional adjunct lecturer with the National Institute of Christian Education. It was through the Institute that she completed her Masters in 2005.

Prior to working at DCC, she taught for 13 years in the Senior School at MECS and until recently, she served on the Board of a children’s charity, Cottage By the Sea, which provides respite holidays and support for children from disadvantaged families.

Ru is a qualified CPA with a master’s in business administration. She has worked with Y Victoria in various financial roles for the last 15 years and with Y Whittlesea for the past 4 years. Prior to that her experience has been with Ernst and Young in external audit and financial control in other commercial manufacturing organisations. She is passionate about giving back to the community and has held many volunteer roles within the local primary school and church with her most recent roles being School council president and Church treasurer. She is the proud mum of two girls and is very keen that they are brought up in an environment with a positive narrative and where giving back to the community is a way of life.

Sandra is the Director of the Whittlesea Tech School and has built this into an outward focussed and innovative hub for the area. She has a passion for innovative learning that prepares students for the modern world and the world of work. In her role Sandra supports all schools in the area and has an interest in students with additional needs and those who do not fit the conventional models of education.

Prior to her role with the Tech School Sandra spent an extended period in the university sector lecturing in her specialist areas of biology Microbiology and Immunology. Sandra has qualifications in science and education with a PhD in Microbiology, along with degrees and post graduate qualifications in Biotechnology, Secondary Education and Tertiary education. Sandra has also been involved in small business and consulting.

Karen is a passionate leader of human rights, cultural diversity and community inclusion for each and every person in our society.  Her professional career has evolved to include numerous leadership roles in difference capacities within the disability sector in both Australia and overseas over the past 30 years.   From the early days of deinstitutionalization to supporting people to have individualized community-inclusive lives, Karen has taken on strong advocacy roles to lead change on systemic issues to ensure all people with disabilities will have the same opportunities as every other person in society.   Karen’s growth mindset has led her to achieve numerous qualifications that meet the disability sector needs including in person-centred practice models of support, leadership, training, business management, business governance, risk and auditing.  Presently, Karen is a member of AICD, Institute of Community Directors and Woman on Boards.

Amiinah joined the Y Whittlesea Board in 2023. She is a lawyer, working primarily in financial services regulatory and funds management areas of law. Amiinah strives to give back to the community by contributing to not-for-profit organisations, especially to the ones that seek to enable a fairer, more inclusive, and democratic voice of underrepresented groups and perspectives.

In a volunteering capacity, Amiinah assisted Refugee legal as a pro bono lawyer for over a year in 2021. She is also the membership manager and co-lead of the Partners and People Portfolio of the Digital Law Association, whose mission is to advance diversity at the intersection of emerging technology, law and policy by giving a voice to underrepresented groups such as indigenous people and women.

Amiinah was born in Mauritius, coming to Australia in 2013, and is also the proud mum of a 4 year old boy. Amiinah hopes to further represent the voice of young people at the Board level at Y Whittlesea.