Board
John Wood
Interim Chair
John Wood is the Managing Director of Leviathan International and a Director of John C Wood and Associates. He was the Chief Executive Officer at Navitas, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Edith Cowan University, Foundation Professor and Dean of the College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. John has held executive leadership positions including in the Office of the Prime Minister and in State Government in the Departments of Premier and Cabinet, Transport, Employment and Training, State Development and Commerce and Trade. He has served Ministers from all major political parties and held senior private sector positions, including a period as Chief Economist and Strategist with Ernst & Young.
Coralie Bishop
Deputy Chair
Coralie Bishop is the Development Manager at West Australian Opera and is responsible for the management of a portfolio of partners and donors to achieve ambitious revenue targets to support the company. She is a Fellow of Leadership WA, having graduated from the 2013 Signature Leadership Program. Coralie is currently a member of the Leadership WA Finance, Risk and Audit Subcommittee and was previously a board member of the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Deputy Chair of Perth Theatre Company and a committee member of STRUT Dance.
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.
Raj Thethy
Treasurer
Raj Thethy is General Manager of Finance and Corporate Services at Youth Focus. Raj has had over 18 years experience in the public and private education sector; 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 nance, IT&T, facilities management, risk management and HR.
Caroline Wood
Board Member
Caroline Wood has a background in publishing, community engagement and communications. She has held senior management positions at the University of Western Australia, has served on the boards of Amnesty International Australia, Small Publishers Network and Margaret River Augusta Tourism Association, and was Chair of Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival. Caroline is also the Co-Founder and director of Margaret River Press and Centre for Stories.
Raihanaty A Jalil
Board Member
Raihanaty A Jalil has been active in community organisations since university as Secretary and Vice President of The Muslim Women’s Support Centre (WA) Inc and on the WA Public Employment CALD Strategy Reference Group with the Public Sector Commission. She works at Apple as an educator, providing group training in Apple products and software to individuals, schools and small–medium businesses. She is currently working on her first novel and recently participated in Centre for Stories’ Indian Ocean Mentoring Project and was on a panel during Perth Festival Writers Week 2019. Raihanaty has facilitated poetry workshops at the Australian Islamic College for Propel Youth Arts WA.
Jay Anderson
Board Member
Jay Anderson is a writer and editor with a background in Cultural Studies. Jay has worked on a number of community projects, including Centre for Stories’ Bright Lights, No City, which documented the experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth from regional areas of Western Australia, and Curtin Student Guild’s history celebration, which catalogued their 50 years of service. Jay is completing a Masters of Research in creative writing at Curtin University.
Michael Sequeira
Board Member
Michael Sequeira is a writer/creative director with over 30 years experience in the marketing, advertising and online marketing industries. Working with some of the biggest brands in the world, including L’Oreal, Cadbury and IKEA, Michael has been instrumental in taking a brand’s campaign strategy to create compelling, creative and effective campaigns that challenge the norm, create market share or change behaviour. Mike, who emigrated from London in 2005, has had his work awarded locally, nationally and internationally.
Neil Fernandes
Board Member
Neil Fernandes has held a number of senior positions in the vocational education and training system in Western Australia for over 30 years. He remains a strong advocate for education and training, including the importance of the creative arts. He was the Managing Director of the former Central Institute of Technology, between 2005 and 2016. Prior to that Neil was the Deputy Director-General (Training) in the Department of Education and Training. Since leaving government, Neil consults on education and training, and is a member of a number of boards, including the Training Accreditation Council of Western Australia, and the Council of the LH Martin Institute at the University of Melbourne.