Our Management Committee

Claire Paddison GAICD

Chair

Claire Paddison is a Communication, Engagement and Facilitation Specialist with a 22-year history delivering complex projects for major organisations across all levels of government, resources providers and the NFP sector. She has a recognised track record working across Australia as an experienced practitioner, advocate and advisor in Corporate Stakeholder and Community Engagement; Community Development; Crisis and Issues Management; Strategic Communications; Organisational Strategy; Aboriginal Engagement; and facilitating group decision making.

Claire’s qualification history includes a BA in Journalism from the University of Cardiff; Negotiation Mastery from Harvard Business School, a Foundation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Competence from TAFE NSW and Governance Financials for Not-for-Profit from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Claire has been Chair of Orana House since November 2019 and served on the Management Committee since 2017. She is passionate about leading the organisation in planning and delivering its strategic objectives whilst building and managing key stakeholder relationships to fulfil Orana’s goal of ending family and domestic violence in the community.

Kath Snell GAICD

Vice Chair

Kath joined the Orana Management Committee in May 2019, with a 14-year track record on not-for-profit Boards. Kath has been CEO of United Way WA since June 2017 and was previously CEO of Volunteer Task Force. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has a BA Hons from the University of Sheffield.

Kath is passionate about opportunity, equity and empowerment. She has worked in Community Services, Sports Tourism Management, Commercial Radio and Marketing. Kath finds her most significant purpose working in and volunteering for NFPs and is driven to support women and children to live safely with opportunity, freedom and choice.

Madeleine Green

Secretary

Madeleine joined Orana’s Management Committee in 2017, becoming Secretary in 2018. She is a Corporate Lawyer with a strong focus on governance and compliance. Madeleine holds a Bachelor of Laws and Commerce (Corporate Finance) from the University of Western Australia. After spending many years in private practice as a Corporate Lawyer for HWL Ebsworth and Ashurst, she is currently a senior listing Compliance Officer at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) 

Rowena Reid

Treasurer

Rowena has been the Treasurer for Orana House for three years and for the West Australian Youth Theatre Company from 2017 to 2020. She currently works as a director for PwC in the Financial Advisory Practice, specifically within Research and Development and Government Incentives, assisting companies undertaking innovation and other projects to access funding.

Rowena is a Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Western Australia, majoring in Financial Accounting and Economics and a Graduate Diploma of Taxation Law from the University of Melbourne.

Rowena is also raising three young children, so she wanted to contribute to an organisation that helps women and children who have experienced family and domestic violence.

Matt Sharp

Matt has served as a Board Member since 2018. He has worked for the WA Police Force for 21 years, including across the Counter-Terrorism and State Protection portfolio, and as the inaugural Community Engagement Coordinator for the South East corridor, where he enjoyed working with the community in a busy, challenging, and culturally diverse district.

He’s an active participant in the City of Belmont’s Domestic Violence and Impact on Belmont Youth project, the Canning District Family and Domestic Violence Community Strategy steering group, and the Town of Victoria Park’s Youth with Complex Needs stakeholder working group. Currently, Matt supports the Assistant Commissioner – Metropolitan Region to provide strategic advice on operational matters to Senior Management and the Minister for Police.

Matt is a professional member of the Australian Institute of Management WA (AIM WA) and sits on the Beaufort Street Network Executive Committee, working in partnership with the City of Vincent to activate spaces and create an inclusive community.

Ivonna Dansbergs

Ivonna is a Lecturer in Community Services at North Metropolitan TAFE. She holds a Bachelor of Laws; Bachelor of Social Administration; Grad. Dip. of Vocational Education; Cert1V Training & Assessment and is an AASW member. 

She has practised in Canada and Australia as a Social Worker and Children’s Rights Advocate, also working in various Management roles within the community services sector to establish innovative and responsive services that meet the needs of children, youth & their families.  She has extensive experience in governance, having served on various Boards and Management Committees within the NFP sector and has served in other roles, including Chair, for six years with the Board of Orana House.

Ivonna’s interests lie in the improvement and development of accessible, client-centred service models for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence, advocacy and public education around the impact of violence within families.

Sarah Bass

Sarah believes that everyone has the right to feel safe, happy and fulfilled, whatever their personal circumstances. She has worked in Human Resources and Organisational Development for over twenty-five years, helping individuals and teams to achieve this.

Her qualifications in Psychology, HR, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and Psychometric tests, together with hands-on experience working with a diverse range of organisations, industries and cultures worldwide, enable her to lead teams to success.

Alan Fairhead GAICD

Alan Fairhead is an experienced strategist, business planner, facilitator, project manager, and organisational change specialist with over 25 years’ practice leading and managing strategic programs for various expansive and multi-faceted West Australian government agencies.

His field of expertise includes organisational change management; strategic and business planning; governance and reporting; policy development; and outcomes-based management.

Alan has performed a range of senior leadership roles for the Department of Communities, WA Police Force, Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor, and within the local government sector. During his 12-year tenure at the WA Police Force, he played an integral role towards the planning and development of various community-orientated strategies, including Crime Prevention, Road Safety, and Family and Domestic Violence.

With a Graduate Certificate in Applied Management and a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management, Alan is an Associate Fellow with the Australian Institute of Management WA, and volunteers on their Professional Managers’ Network and Mentoring Program.  Alan has a young daughter and is extremely passionate about assisting Orana House to deliver on its mission to end family and domestic violence in the local community.

Tony Lazzara

Tony has an extensive background in the Australian Higher Education sector, with a strong commitment to reconciliation, equity and access. His experience includes strategic and operational planning, internal and external relationship building, responding to Government policy settings and legislative compliance.
Previous roles include:

Director and Treasurer of Engagement Australia

Director of Policy, Planning, Quality and Equity at ECU

Internal and External Auditor at the WA office of the Auditor General

Tony is committed to a truly collaborative approach, with an eye on supporting the team and building strong and productive professional relationships.

Staff

Mel Rowe

General Manager

Mel Rowe has been the General Manager at Orana House for over four years. Prior, she was Manager of the Eastern Region Domestic Violence Services Network (Koolkuna) for more than ten years and has worked with youth at risk in the community and residential settings in both WA and the UK.

She has professional Social Work qualifications (Reading University, UK, 1991) and a Masters in Therapeutic Childcare (Reading University, UK, 1998). She also has a Diploma in Management completed at MODAL in Perth (2005), which specifically examined management’s role within the community sector.

Mel has a passion for working with women and children and has worked across both NFP and Government sectors in multiple Service Delivery and Management roles. She is proud to manage an organisation that positively advocates and supports women and children who have experienced family and domestic violence.

Regina Collier

Assistant Manager

Regina Collier has been with Orana House since 2003, following her student placement in 2002. Initially employed as a Refuge Support Worker, she demonstrated great competence when acting in a Managerial role, earning a promotion to Assistant Manager in 2010. Regina then went on to complete an Advanced Diploma of Community Sector Management in 2017.

Regina is a passionate women’s Advocate and takes great pride in her role as an Educator, delivering programs to clients and presentations to the broader community. Her greatest pleasure comes from watching the strength and self-esteem build within her clients.