Meet our leaders

In my 30 year career, I have worked in the private sector, the public sector, and the for-purpose sector. My leadership is characterised by working within and across these sectors, and in partnership with government, to support amazing people deliver outcomes to our community and to bring about social change.

Throughout the ages, society has expected conformity with rigid and unspoken social rules and expectations that seek to define and categorise us. These categories then determine what parts of society we can and cannot access. I was drawn to the for-purpose sector to try and find ways in which to challenge the status quo and create a space for those who aren’t part of the conforming class. To me, ‘Embrace Your Otherness’ means a world in which people can express themselves fully and without fear of being closed out of society. The only thing that should define us is our common humanity…not our disability, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, or age.

With 30+ years of my career dedicated to community services, I maintain a focus on the privilege and responsibility we have to make a positive difference to the lives of people in our community. Through my leadership, I strive to empower and support the people who change lives through the provision of quality care and services to people who need support

From an early age we tend to feel a strong need for us to comply and blend to fit into what society expects of us. Strangely though, as we get older, we often celebrate and are envious of those who didn’t conform, who owned and celebrated their individuality. ‘Embrace Your Otherness’ inspires and encourages us to be who we are - proudly and determinedly so we can make the world a better place for everyone – because being different is like normal, but better.

I pride myself in opening the line of communication between participants, partnerships, and businesses to achieve mutual life-changing employment opportunities. I have over 15 years experience in the employment services sector and heavy industry sector that supports and aligns to our key initiatives. My passion is supporting and empowering our Castle team to deliver the best services for our participants and community stakeholders.

Firstly don’t underestimate the importance of being you!

Embrace your otherness is a call to action to provide opportunities for everyone to be truly seen, supported and valued. I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to be involved in contributing to society no matter their circumstances.

What I bring to Castle is an innate sense of ‘what is the right thing to do’ that is coupled together with what I have learnt whilst at Castle - 15 years of experience within governance and risk roles.

Governance and risk roles by nature can be removed and in some sense viewed as being de-personalised. Compliance is usually defined as parameters that must be operated within. Whilst this can be the case, holding these roles within the disability industry has enabled me to contribute to something that is genuine, bigger and more profound that just myself as an individual.

Standing up for what is right, exploring how to best uphold the rights of individuals is my passion.

I am very fortunate to use my employment experiences and life knowledge in a way that is meaningful and can be heard.

Acceptance that the only thing that we all have in common is we are humans and that we feel. Accepting this and be at peace with your own uniqueness – if you can do that, even a little, your light shines brighter.

I am a Human Resources professional with 30 plus years of experience working with Not for Profit, Government (Federal, State and Local), Higher Education and Private Organisations.
I have extensive experience in industrial relations, development and implementation of learning and training interventions, change management projects and strategic human resource management planning, forecasting and implementation. My work specialties include: Facilitating organisations to make successful Communication Choices, develop Change Management Interventions, develop and implement Workforce Planning Frameworks and support strong Organisational Development involvement from across the organisation at all levels.

To me embracing your otherness is about supporting all in our communities and in particular disability community members and their leaders and advocates with policy and cultural change in relation to disability identity, culture, work and rights. Also, a key emphasis in embracing otherness is to invite people to challenge their thinking and consider the whole person and their contribution and potential contribution to our communities.

A Director of Castle since 2009 and 30 years’ experience in public practice accounting.

Blair has dedicated his career to working with people in business. For more than 25 years he has been driven by a desire to help people achieve their goals and reach the level of success they long for. Blair’s attention to detail and measured way of dealing with every task is impressive. He has the ability to cut through the jargon and explain the process involved in each service in simple terms so that it’s clear.

Jennifer has been a Board member since 2014 and has been Chairperson since 2015. Jennifer has over 36 years of experience working in senior management roles responsible for service delivery, operations and people management in employment and social services. She is very passionate about contributing to services that support individuals achieve their goals.

Nino is a local businessman who comes from a construction and development background. He has been operating his own company in the local area since 1989. Nino holds a Diploma of Marketing and joined Castle as a committee member in 2003 and became a Director upon incorporation in 2011. Nino was appointed company secretary and has been vice-chairman since 2014.

Over 20 years of Chartered Accounting and more than 10 years of being a business owner I have developed business growth, management and governance skills which can help to grow the organisation. I have a personal connection to disabilities and the challenges they create for family's and look to use my skills to benefit Castle and the sector.

Otherness can be a superpower, a different perspective on the world, a different approach to life and competitive for business. By Embracing our otherness and the otherness of those around us not only can we create a more inclusive community but also a more productive one.