Our Management Committee

Kath Snell GAICD

Chair

Kath is the CEO of Shelter WA, the independent peak body for housing. She joined the Orana Management Committee in May 2019 and became Chair in 2022, bringing 15 years of experience on not-for-profit Boards.

Kath was CEO of United Way WA from 2017 – 2022 and was previously CEO of Volunteer Task Force (now Chorus). 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.

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 of 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 various 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 in the planning and developing 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 in delivering 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, focusing 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 examined management’s role in 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 completed 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 her clients’ strength and self-esteem build over time.