Phil Hayes-Brown

CEO

Phil was appointed CEO in 2010 after 20 years experience in the areas of law, finance and sports marketing including 12 years in senior international roles with the National Basketball Association with assignments in Australia, Singapore, Paris, London and Hong Kong. From his experience as a parent of a child with a disability, Phil feels a responsibility to apply his commercial experience and skills to make a real difference to improving outcomes and driving social change for the people Wallara supports.

Jonny Lee

CFO

Joining Wallara as CFO in 2020, Jonny has over 20 years’ experience as a senior finance executive in the Not for Profit sector, and is a Chartered Accountant. Jonny’s role allows him to apply his financial and commercial expertise to help Wallara deliver on its mission and make a real contribution to people of all abilities.

Simon O’Brien

General Manager – Employment

With over 40 years’ experience in warehousing & logistics spanning sectors including magazine distribution, body care and third-party logistics, Simon brings a wealth of knowledge to his role. It is this knowledge that enables him to deliver outstanding customer service with operational excellence with a talented team of staff and people of all abilities.

Janet Lloyd-McNelis

General Manager – Service Delivery

Janet Lloyd-McNelis has significant senior management experience across the disability, public health and community sectors. Janet is passionate about person centred, customer focussed service delivery and with her allied health background, understands and promotes quality individualised services.

Ellen Burns

People, Learning & Safety Manager

Ellen joined Wallara in 2008 with over 15 years’ experience in the corporate sector specialising in learning and development. Over the journey with Wallara, Ellen has gained experience as HR Generalist and Training Manager becoming a strong human resource professional with skills in career Development, ER, IR, Coaching, Mentoring, Training, Communication and Training Analysis.

Ellen is passionate about creating great workplaces and opportunities to deliver excellent outcomes for all.

Romaine Kakoullis

Senior Manager Quality Practice and Safeguarding

Romaine has over 20 years of disability experience working across services with complex and high healthcare supports. She is passionate about communication and positive behaviour support. Most recently her work has been in the Quality and Safeguarding space; implementing systems and tools for staff as we moved to the NDIS.

Romaine is Chair of Wallara’s Quality Advisory Committee, leads the NDIS Client Experience, Support Coordination and Quality teams and monitors Human Rights as Wallara’s Authorised Program Officer. She enjoys engaging staff through L&D and conversation to bring about positive change in the disability sector.

Raymond Lee

Land Management Services Manager

Ray Lee has over 40 years of experience in the Horticultural industry with roles in senior management, operational, training, development and inclusion, within both the private and government sectors.

He has managed Horticultural contracts across Melbourne for a number of tier 1 & 2 and Government organisations. With significant experience in the provision of landscaping, general horticulture and environmental projects, Ray has also worked to maximise opportunities for people with disability to have career pathways within the industry.

Lisa Laing

Senior Manager Marketing, Communications & Partnerships

Lisa Laing joined Wallara in 2021 after nearly two decades in the AFL Industry, both in AFL headquarters and within a club environment. At St Kilda FC, Lisa lead the Saints Community team with a focus on inclusive football opportunities for young people and was instrumental in forming the community partnership with Wallara which has extended to Warehousing, Land Management Services and Community engagement.

Lisa is an alumni of the Leadership Victoria FOLIO Community Leadership Program (2017) and is passionate about social issues and their impacts on vulnerable communities.

David Willersdorf

Director

Director, General Manager and Company Secretary of all entities in the Grenda Family Group of Companies for the last 30 years, comprising Operating Divisions, Bus Operating and Manufacturing plus Investment Companies.

Former Board Member and immediate past President of Chisholm Institute, Former Board Member of TAFE Online Pty Ltd, Inaugural Committee Member of Committee for Dandenong and Chairman of the Advisory Committee for the Drum Theatre in Dandenong.

Special responsibilities: Chair of Board of Directors, Operational Risk Management Committee, Audit and Risk Finance Committee

Education: Diploma Commerce, Fellowship Diploma in Industrial Accounting.

Katie Symonds

Director

Katie joined the Board in April 2021. Katie is a qualified Occupational Therapist and is currently the Operations Manager of Village Glen Flexicare, a family run business that is an Approved Provider of community-based aged care services.

Flexicare supports older people to remain living independently at home. Katie was the inaugural Operations Manager with Flexicare which has grown to be a major provider of aged care services across Frankston and Mornington Peninsula.

Katie has worked in community-based aged care services for over 20 years, largely in the not-for-profit sector in both metropolitan and rural settings. She has held various positions across state-wide and regional committees with a view to bettering outcomes for clients and for those who care for them.

Mark Cowley

Director

An experienced Executive General Manager who has worked for major multinational companies such as BHP-Billiton, Bluescope Steel and Toll Holdings.

Mark has worked across multiple business functions including corporate strategy, business development, marketing, operations and supply chain. He has provided a distinctive ability to understand all facets of a business and focus on “whole of business” performance.

Speciality skills and knowledge in supply chain and logistics are complemented by senior management roles and assignments across Australia and Asia.

Mark has a Bachelor of Business (Majors in Economics and Business Management) and a Diploma of Metallurgy.

Philip Scorgie

Director

Philip Scorgie joined the Board in November 2016. With over 35 years experience working with information technology, Philip has been a senior technology executive for 25 years within professional services.

Holding a Masters’ Degree in Software Engineering and an interest in anthropology, he has been described as having the “confidence, courage and enthusiasm to drive business change”.

Special responsibilities: Audit and Risk Finance Committee

Education: Masters of Software Engineering

Michael Butler

Director

BA(AS)(Hons)/LLB Past President and Executive Committee Member, Industrial Relations Society of Australia, Past President & Life Member, Industrial Relations Society of Victoria, Chair Law Institute of Victoria Employment and Industrial Relations Committee, Founder HR+WorkLaw

Special responsibilities: Chair of Operational Risk Management Committee

Steve Michelson

Director

Steve is Founder and Director of Michelson Alexander, a full-service social impact firm. He has a diverse background in the private sector, politics and the law, and was a key architect in the fight for marriage equality in Australia.

Steve has worked for the Victorian Department of Health as a Senior Industrial Relations Consultant, and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers as a Senior Lawyer. He also spent six years as a trusted advisor to the Hon. Bill Shorten MP, then Leader of the Opposition. As Director of Caucus and Stakeholder Relations, he provided advice regarding highly complex policy, political and communications issues, often in sensitive media environments, and built networks with business, unions and the community. Most recently he established the National Compact on Permanent Migration and is advising Australians for Mental Health along with a number of government agencies and ASX companies.

Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the Australian National University, and a Master of Laws at Melbourne Law School.

Paul Garrett

Director

A Partner in a specialised accounting firm on the Mornington Peninsula, Paul has more than 30 years of experience across a range of industries including construction, hospitality, retail, property and service driven. His expertise is in navigating the difficulties associated with business growth and tax planning, and his depth of knowledge offers practical solutions to business issues. 

Paul did his Bachelor of Business (Accounting) at Monash University, and worked as a CPA for other companies before opening his own business in 2011.

Joining the Wallara Board in April 2021, Paul has insights and strategies that will assist the business moving forward. 

Helen Keheler

Director

Having lived experience with disability through a family member supported by the NDIS and parents with advanced dementia, Helen joined the Board in 2021. Bringing with her knowledge and experience of health gained from careers first in nursing and then public health, Helen held academic appointments at La Trobe and Deakin Universities before being appointed as Chair in Health Sciences at Monash University. She is Past-president and Life Member of the Public Health Association of Australia, former Board member of the South-East Melbourne Medicare Local and Women’s Health in the South-East.  

Special interests are in social inclusion, fairness, prevention and health promotion.

Helen holds a BA, MA and PhD in health sociology from La Trobe University and is Adjunct Professor, Monash University.

Jane McLennan

Director

Jane joined the Board in September 2021 and brings extensive experience across the Education and Training sector having worked at both stand-alone TAFE Institutes and Dual Sector Universities.

Jane is currently the Chief of Student Success and Support at Chisholm Institute, where she focusses on providing the best possible experience for current, potential and past students. She initially joined Chisholm as the Chief of Staff where she was providing high-level strategic advice and advising on issues affecting the educational outcome of VE activities within the Institute.

Jane is also a member of the Caroline Chisholm Education Foundation which provides scholarships for students in financial difficulty to access education. Jane has studied a BAppSc, Graduate Certificates in Management, Educational Leadership and Tertiary Education and has a Master’s in Education (VET).

She is passionate about high quality education and the broad impact it can have on individuals and the wider community.