Voula Messimeri has a combination of operational, governance and leadership skills having had a long career in the community and multicultural services sector.
She has had roles as an non-executive Board Director including as Chair of the peak multicultural national body, the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) Deputy Chair of the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria, inaugural Chair of Women’s Health in the North, Chair of InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence where she was also until recently, Patron.
Voula was appointed and served two terms on the RMIT University Council and represented the Council as a Board Director on the RMIT Training Board, a controlled entity of the RMIT University. With a strong interest in language services Voula was appointed as a Director on the Victorian Interpreting & Translating Service (VITS) Board, a state owned enterprise, where she served for 15 years and occupied the role of Deputy Chairperson twice in that time.
Major contributions to policy and advocacy roles led to appointments on a wide range Ministerial State and Federal advisory structures across diverse areas, including health, ageing, income support, media and as a member on the Australian Multicultural Advisory Council.
She is a Fellow of the prestigious Williamson Community Leadership Program and has been awarded Honorary life membership for significant contributions and leadership by FECCA and Australian Greek Welfare Society now PRONIA, where she was a long standing CEO. The Greek Government recognised her service to the Australian Greek diaspora in 2009.
Voula was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women and recognised under the Order of Australia for her contribution to refugees, migrants and women. Currently serving on the Board of PRONIA and is the Chair of the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI).
Frank Zheng is the CEO of Auburn Diversity Services Inc, a SSI member organisation.
He holds a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University Applied Finance Centre, along with significant experience in service delivery, case management, finance, HR, IT and operations at an organisational level.
Frank has been working in a variety of organisations in the community sector including peak bodies, a community research company and front line service providers in different capacities. He has led organisational changes with proven positive outcomes, based on extensive knowledge and thorough understanding of the sector. Frank also has a Cert IV in Training & Assessment.
Scott is Chief Operating Officer at Deadly Science. Prior to this role he has had extensive experience in the financial services industry including senior leadership roles in strategy, finance, advice and program management functions.
Scott holds a Bachelor of Economics, Master of Business Administration, and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment. He is currently the Chair of Metro Assist Limited, an SSI member organisation.
Nathan Hagarty is the Chair of Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre, an SSI member organisation, a Councillor at Liverpool City Council and Chief of Staff to the Federal Member for Werriwa.
He has a Bachelor of International Studies from Western Sydney University and holds numerous accreditation in project management and information and communications technology. Nathan has broad experience across the financial services, tertiary education and public sectors in operations, product management, project management and information technology roles.
Nathan is a proud life long resident of Western Sydney and a passionate advocate for his community.
Alex is CEO and Executive Director of Australia's peak advocacy group for tech startups, StartupAUS. He has a national and international profile as a leader in innovation and technology policy and has published numerous reports on these subjects. He is Chair of the Startup Advisory Panel for the Department of Home Affairs’ Global Talent Scheme, and has advised policymakers at all levels of government.
Alex spent six years as a member of Australia's foreign service, where he represented Australia as a diplomat in Israel from 2012 to 2015. During his posting, he was responsible for the embassy’s reporting on regional Middle Eastern geopolitical strategy and security. He has degrees in Economics and Social Sciences and Law (Hons) from Sydney University.
Tharani is a partner at Deloitte Australia and leads Deloitte’s Social Impact Consulting Practice. Drawing on over 15 years’ of strategy and transformation experience, combined with a deep passion for social change, Tharani has partnered with many of Australia’s leading social sector organisations and government agencies on their transformation journeys to deliver greater social impact.
Outside her executive role, Tharani has served on a number of boards, including as a Director of UNICEF Australia and the Deloitte Foundation. She is a passionate speaker and strong advocate for social impact, profit with purpose, corporate and social sector collaboration, and diversity and inclusion.
Tharani holds a Bachelor of Business degree from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and is a certified Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Australia (ICAA).
A Walkley Award-winning journalist, Mr Hywood is currently the chair of Free TV. Mr Hywood began his career with Fairfax Media, eventually becoming publisher and editor-in-chief of a number of mastheads, including The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He subsequently spent nearly a decade working with the Victorian Government in roles including Tourism Victoria CEO, before re-joining Fairfax as an independent non-executive director in October 2010.
Mr Hywood was appointed interim CEO in December 2010 and confirmed as permanent CEO and managing director in March 2011. Mr Hywood left Fairfax following its merger with Nine in 2018.
Etienne Roux holds the position of SSI Group’s Head of Health, Community Services and Queensland State Lead.
Etienne has succeeded in many roles with Access and SSI in the past decade, from coordinator of “The Next Step” to Youth Services Manager, Executive Manager Social Inclusion & Support Services, General Manager Client Directed Services, and Business Architect.
He is also General Manager of Harmony Place (Centre for Multicultural Mental Health and Wellbeing), a specialist mental health and disability service provider in Queensland.
Etienne is responsible for providing leadership to SSI Group’s operations in Queensland, including internal and external coordination of Queensland-based operations, and direct operational management of key service delivery areas, including domestic and family violence, mental health, services delivery under the National Disability Insurance Scheme, asylum seeker support, and Community Hubs, and the overall management of Harmony Place.
Etienne specialises in working to promote social inclusion, foster community development and engage young people in service delivery, including mental health interventions for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities.
Ms Matton has extensive experience in the IT industry and business management. She spent 34 years with IBM, including as vice president of operations, and 12 years holding key roles in Southeast Asia, the United States, Japan, China and Europe. Ms Matton is Chair of the Australian Centre of the Moving Image (ACMI) and the Eastern Community Legal Centre. She is on the Board of pitt&sherry (engineers).
In 2010 she was named the Victorian Telstra Business Woman of the Year and was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) in January 2020. She is a member of Chief Executive Women.