Our Board
Jane den Hollander
Chair
Professor Jane den Hollander AO was Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University from 2010 until 2019, and Interim Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Australia in 2020. In 2019 she received an Order of Australia for distinguished service to tertiary education and was named in the Victorian Honour Roll for Women. Jane has done significant work to ensure equal opportunity for learners and working women as well as working to better enable the arts in regional communities. In Geelong this involved establishing the Geelong Symphony and becoming its inaugural patron. Alongside this she was a member, Deputy Chair, and then Chair of the Geelong Performing Arts Council (GPAC) over a ten year period.
Neil Fernandes
Deputy Chair
Neil Fernandes has held a number of senior positions in the vocational education and training sector over 30 years. He was the Managing Director of the former Central Institute of Technology between 2005 and 2016, and served as the Deputy Director-General (Training) in the Department of Education and Training. Since leaving government, Neil consults and advises on education and training, is a member of the Training Accreditation Council of Western Australia, and other boards.
Raj Thethy
Treasurer
Raj Thethy is the Chief Financial Officer at Youth Focus. Raj has had over 23 years experience in the not-for-profit, public, and private education sectors. His responsibilities have covered financial accounting, strategic planning, market and competitor analysis, and business improvement and development. In his current role Raj manages all administrative functions including finance, IT&T, facilities management, risk management, and human resources.
Leo Gallop
Secretary
Leo Gallop is Senior Legal Counsel at Woodside Energy, providing legal advice and assistance across the full array of Woodside’s oil and gas exploration and production activities in Western Australia and overseas. Leo was educated at Rossmoyne Senior High School and the University of Western Australia and was a board member of the inaugural Rossmoyne Senior High School Board.
Rachel Bin Salleh
Board Member
Rachel Bin Salleh is the Publisher of Magabala Books. She won the inaugural Literary Lions Medal from Writing WA in 2020. Based in Rubibi/Broome, Rachel is descended from the Nimunburr and Yawuru peoples of the Kimberley region, and has worked in publishing for over 20 years. She has worked with internationally recognised authors to present First Nations stories by, from, and for First Nations audiences. This includes Bruce Pascoe, Kirli Saunders, Alf Taylor, and others.
Jade Bradford
Board Member
Jade Bradford is a proud Ballardong Noongar woman specialising in Stakeholder Engagement at Golder, a member of WSP. She has previous experience working as a freelance journalist, writing stories based on First Nations health, culture, and community, and was a Research Fellow of the First Nations Messaging and Narrative Shifting Project.
Julie Beeck
Board Member
Julie Beeck has enjoyed a fulfilling career delivering market research and marketing strategy over the last 30 years. Most recently Julie was Executive Director at Metrix Consulting for ten years, and prior to this was Australian Managing Director of global consulting firm Synovate (now Ipsos). While conducting research for many private and public-sector organisations, Julie learned a lot about the people and the communities of Western Australia. Alongside her consulting career, Julie has been actively involved with several not-for-profit organisations, and is the current Chair of Future Living Trust, a not-for-profit organisation providing support to families of people with developmental disability.