MEET OUR PEOPLE

Gemma is a specialist contract lawyer who founded her own commercial and contract law practice, SoundLegal, in 2019. Prior to this, Gemma was corporate counsel to a global engineering and design consultant for many years. Gemma has taught commercial and corporate law at Curtin Law School. She also played a key role developing a legal advisory service for NFPs at the John Curtin Law Clinic. Gemma holds degrees in law and psychology, completed a Master of Business Administration in 2013 and will complete her Master of Laws in 2022.

Gemma has been on the board at AIG since 2015 and is so proud to be a part of the work that AIG does. The Board and Management team always bring their best selves to their roles and she finds the opportunities for personal connection with AIG team members and clients very rewarding.

We asked Gemma what social inclusion means to her and this is what she said…

For me, social inclusion means that everyone has equal and equitable opportunity to share and live in the ‘ordinary places’ within our community. It is when groups of people are not made to feel excluded because they are deemed to require ‘special places’. I’m passionate about bringing our community together by sharing and educating. I envision a time when we can all share the same places and experiences. While my values have always been aligned with the organisation, there were nuances to inclusion that I hadn’t considered before I joined the Board. My knowledge and views about inclusion have evolved so much and continue to mature as a result of my involvement with AIG. I now enjoy having conversations about inclusion within my own networks. I think most people in the community are open to the idea of social inclusion but lack understanding about what it means. So, I’m passionate about sharing more thoughtful ideas.

David joined the Board in February 2018. He has operated his own human resource management and industrial relations consultancy since 2005. Prior to this, David held similar roles in the arts and entertainment industry, primarily involved in the area of venue management operations. As well as his involvement with AIG, David is the Secretary of the WA Branch of The Lord’s Taverners Australia. He is also an active member of the ANA Rowing Club.

David is heavily committed to creating welcoming communities for everyone.

We asked David what social inclusion means to him and this is what he said…

Social inclusion means everyone in our community having access to the places they want to go, the services that are available and the things they wish to experience. I believe that it’s important to provide the foundations to enable everyone in our community to reach their full potential.  Whether they take up the opportunities is immaterial – it’s having the choice that’s important.

Michael joined the board as an observer in 2019, and has since been nominated to the role of Treasurer in November 2020.  Currently, he is the Commercial Finance Manager at Boral Construction. Michael has previously held roles in a broad range of industries from Mining and Engineering to grassroot start-ups. In his spare time, Michael enjoys spending as much time with his two young boys and keeping physically active, whether it’s long distance ocean swimming or hiking new places in the state.

Scott joined the Board in late 2019. Scott has worked as the Government Affairs Manager for Alcoa of Australia since 2018. Prior to this, Scott was deployed overseas with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to represent Australia at the United Nations in New York City. He is a lawyer by training and started his career in corporate law before working as Associate to former Justice of the High Court William Gummow AC. He holds a Bachelors of Law/Arts from the University of Western Australia. Scott enjoys cooking, spending time in Vienna with his Austrian wife and time at the beach with their Labrador, Pippa.

Brendan joined the Board in April 2012. He is married to Jane with two children. Brendan has worked in the sport and recreation industry in Western Australia for over 20 years in positions with the State Government and various sporting organisations. Brendan is currently the Executive Director with Triathlon Western Australia.  In his spare time, Brendan keeps active by coaching AFL football and enjoys keeping fit.  Brendan holds a sports management degree and is a qualified company director.

Brendan has played sport all his life. He has worked professionally in sport and recreation for nearly 20 years. He envisions a true ‘sport for all’ philosophy where people have a choice to participate in their favourite sport regardless of their ability, gender, or age.

We asked Brendan what social inclusion means to him and this is what he said…

Social inclusion is about every individual regardless of their circumstances having the right and opportunity to make their own choices for an active life. It’s about every individual being an active member of society to their desired level making their own choices instead of choices made based on society’s expectations or by other individuals. I’m passionate about supporting people to find their voice, be heard, and being supported to enjoy the life they want to live.

Matthew is a tax professional with over 25 years of experience in providing tax advice to a range of entities including not-for-profit organisations.  He currently works for a large multinational gold mining company and has a Degree in Business Economics. Matthew is married with 3 children and, together with his wife Jennifer, plays an active role in the WA swimming community for people with disabilities. In his spare time, Matthew likes to run in exotic places, is a rugby coach, plays touch rugby and wheelchair basketball and enjoys most sports.

Matthew has 3 wonderful, sporting children. One of his sons is an elite para-swimmer who happens to have cerebral palsy. This is why he is passionate about social inclusion and the inclusion of people with disability.

We asked Matthew what social inclusion means to him and this is what he said…

I believe that social inclusion is when all people, no matter their background or circumstances, are fully welcomed in the communities in which they live, work and socialise. I would like to see a day when individuals and communities look beyond differences and find and embrace the shared passions and interests with those that are outwardly different.

Reece has personal and professional experience in the disability industry. Having a life long physical disability, he has also had 13 years experience with direct care including a role at inclusion WA before being involved with supporting people moving onto the NDIS from their state funded plans.

Reece has a strong ambition to empower people with disabilities, helping and encouraging them to take control of their lives.

Reece is also a proud father and enjoys playing footy and golf in his spare time.

Catherine has over 15 years’ experience working in management and engineering consulting in Australia and the UK. She is passionate about helping people and organisations reach their potential, through good governance and great working dynamics. Catherine is pleased to have joined the Australian Inclusion Group Board in 2022 and support social inclusion in our communities.

Catherine’s expertise is in advising organisations of all types and sizes on strategy, governance, program management and operations as they navigate significant change or implement challenging projects. She brings together analytical thinking and broad industry experience to filter and process complex data, identify key issues, develop innovative strategies, and navigate challenging stakeholder environments to drive outcomes. She has worked across a wide range of industries, with not-for-profit, government, community, education, health care, engineering, construction, defence, utilities, resources, manufacturing and financial services organisations.

Claire is a Registered Psychologist with a Masters in Industrial and Organisational Psychology and a passion for inclusion and diversity. She has over 20 years experience working across a cross-section of internal and consulting roles in organisational development and behaviour change management.

Claire spent the first decade of her career in a consulting environment, helping client organisations across industry sectors with their organisational development, coaching and psychometric assessment needs. After extensive experience assisting organisations optimise their performance and manage change projects, Claire advanced to a General Manager position, leading a profitable consulting business. She then broadened her exposure via appointment to an internal, strategic leadership role in Learning and Organisational Development, with Monadelphous Group, before moving into a Culture, Inclusion and Diversity lead position with Woodside Energy and HR Business Partner leadership positions with the Finance, Engineering, Sustainability and Climate divisions at Woodside. Claire is a well-respected professional in the areas of organisational development, culture and inclusion with a strong commitment to positive progress in social inclusion and a drive to help individuals, teams and organisations operate to their fullest potential.

Paul was born in the small wheat belt town of Pingelly, before moving with his family to Albany when he was 7. Having spent his formative years in regional WA, and then working in roles that were significantly connected with regional communities, Paul still has a major interest in all that occurs outside of Perth.

Paul holds a Bachelor of Science from UWA, a Graduate Diploma of Education from Edith Cowan University and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration at UWA. He is currently the CEO of Australian Inclusion Group, a company that runs 4 social inclusion focused businesses.

We asked Paul what social inclusion means to him and this is what he said…

True social inclusion occurs when people are truly valued, connected and have the ability to equally contribute. Unfortunately, we still see the ‘inclusion box’ ticked just because of an increased presence of marginalised groups – in community, in employment or around the Boardroom table – without thinking more deeply about what inclusion actually is.

Jess grew up on a farm in the Wheatbelt before attending boarding school in Perth. She still enjoys getting out of Perth for regular weekends at the farm and in Margaret River. Having studied Art & Design, a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) and a Diploma of Youth Work, she has been lucky enough to find unique roles that combine her passions for working with young people, education and art.

Jess joined Inclusion WA as a Youth Development Officer (or Mentor) in 2011 and a few roles later stepped into the role of General Manager of Inclusion WA. In 2021, Jess took some much-deserved time off after she and her partner welcomed their second child. In 2022 she returned and took up the role of General Manager – People and Culture with Australian Inclusion Group.

Jess is passionate about social justice and everyone having the same opportunities in life. In particular, she has used her role to ensure that young people with a disability have their own voice and are treated in a way that allows them to have an authentic teenage experience growing up, mistakes and all.

Kristy commenced working in the disability sector in her early 20’s because of the impact that her experiences with people living with disability had on her growing up. These experiences led her to seek out a career in the disability field where she initially started working for the Disability Services Commission in 2000. This helped shape Kristy’s values. She firmly believes that people living with disabilities needed to be supported to live their own life in a way that made sense to them.

Over the last 13 years Kristy has worked for Inclusion WA and Plan Navigators assisting with the development of services that reflect people living with disability to take more control over their funded supports and services.

We asked Kristy what social inclusion means to her and this is what she said…

Social inclusion is a human right. To me, this means that people have access to a community where they feel safe, are known by others and who are defined by their valued role instead of their disability label.

Karla has been an institution within the organisation. She’s worked for Australian Inclusion Network’s sister organisation, Inclusion WA, since 2012. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge as AIN’s Manager. She is an amazing asset and has worked as a Mentor, Coordinator and Manager in her time with Inclusion WA. She has real-life, successful experience in working alongside people with disabilities, helping them achieve their goals.  

Karla loves her amazingly large family and is a big motivator on where she lives. She lived in Perth for 14 years surrounded by her cousins. She is now moving closer to her siblings in Brisbane which also happens to be a stone’s throw away from New Zealand where the rest of her family is. She is a really social person and is passionate about the work Australian Inclusion Network does as it aligns with her own beliefs and values.

We asked Karla what social inclusion means to her and this is what she said…

Social inclusion is about everyone having the right to be connected to their community, whatever that looks like. It’s about being able to share your gifts, strengths and talents with others but also others being able to share their story. It’s about feeling a part of that community and people knowing who you are.