Our people

Father Chris Riley AM

Father Chris Riley AM worked with young people experiencing disadvantage for more than 40 years in a variety of roles including teacher, youth worker, probation officer, residential carer and school principal. Youth Off The Streets was officially incorporated in 1994.

To learn more about Father Riley’s life and achievements, click here.

Judy Barraclough

Judy has extensive leadership and operational experience in both the for-purpose and corporate sectors, with specialist expertise in strategy and philanthropy. Her not-for-profit experience includes eight years with The Smith Family, where she held several executive leadership roles, including Deputy CEO and Acting CEO.

Fiona Campbell

Fiona has more than 20 years’ experience leading people and culture and operational functions for local councils and international hotels. She is passionate about delivering stakeholder-focused programs and initiatives that strengthen employee engagement and achieve organisational objectives. Fiona joined Youth Off The Streets in 2022 and brings creativity and strategic decision-making expertise to the role.

Catherine Harland

Catherine has been involved in education for over 30 years, holding leadership roles in the Department of Education, Catholic and independent school systems. She joined Youth Off The Streets in 2008 as a teacher at the Chapel School, Merrylands. In 2018, Catherine was appointed School Principal overseeing Key College, Chapel School, the Step Up program and The Bowen College.

Christine Roberts FFIA

Christine joined Youth Off The Streets in 2002, working across several roles focussed on ensuring the financial sustainability of the organisation. After undertaking various not-for-profit studies and gaining an Advanced Diploma of Management, Christine was invited to join the NSW Committee of the Board of the Fundraising Institute of Australia. She was recently made a Fellow of the Institute.

Nicole Laupepa

Nicole is an experienced and passionate community advocate for social justice and cultural diversity. Her expertise includes early intervention, child protection, out of home care, homelessness, domestic and family violence, alcohol and other drugs, and criminal justice. She has worked with several organisations to design and deliver services and policies that are equitable and evidence-based.

Karen Penning

Karen has over 20 years of experience in communications, content and marketing. With a background in documentary filmmaking, book publishing and the not-for-profit sector, she brings a creative and strategic approach to raising awareness of Youth Off The Streets’ work and impact, and the issues affecting young people and their communities.

Andrea Banic

Andrea has over twenty years of professional experience delivering financial, strategic, business planning and change management to organisations in the private, government and not-for-profit sectors. In her roles, Andrea has fostered strong relationships and created meaningful change partnering with teams across functions. With a passion for human rights, equality and supporting the community, Andrea is Director and Treasurer for My Foundations Youth Housing and Women in Aid & Development.

Michelle Ackerman

Michelle has worked in the Community Services sector for over 23 years across youth, community and sector development, housing and homelessness, quality assurance and compliance and organisational leadership fields. Michelle joined Youth Off The Streets in 2021 as Manager of Engagement & Support – focussing on youth justice and youth engagement programs – before moving into the Interim Operations Manager and Acting Director, Youth Support Services (YSS) roles.

Anne Fitzgerald

Anne has over 30 years’ experience as a senior executive and non-executive director spanning industries including the Federal Government, health insurance and industry associations. Anne is experienced in developing strategy and leading multi-disciplinary teams to implement and achieve that strategy. She has a strong background in research, stakeholder management, strategic communications and community engagement and spent a number of years as a Youth Off The Streets mentor to young people in a voluntary capacity. Anne is currently the CEO of the Talent Development Project and is a Trustee with the NSW Responsible Gambling Fund. She is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a qualified mediator and holds an MBA from MGSM.

Craig Davis

After a successful career playing AFL for Carlton, North Melbourne, Collingwood and the Sydney Swans, Craig is now the Facilities Manager for the University of New South Wales. He was CEO of the NSW Australian Football League (1990–1998), Chairman of Selectors, Sydney Swans (1986–1987) and Deputy Chairman of the NSW Sports Federation (1996–2003), as well as Chairman of the Non-Olympic Sports Task Force (1996–2000). In addition to his significant Board experience, Craig holds a Surveying Certificate from RMIT. Craig has served in governance positions for Youth Off The Streets over many years in different roles, including Chairman.  Craig is Ambassador to Muscular Dystrophy Tasmania.

Pamela Jack

Pamela has been a partner in some of Australia’s major law firms, specialising in construction law and acting for many of the country’s major contractors, ASX 100 companies and public sector clients. Pamela recently retired from Minter Ellison, where she was a leading partner for almost 20 years. Pamela is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and in addition to her role as Deputy Chair of Youth Off The Streets, she is also a director of Two Good Foundation, a social enterprise assisting vulnerable women.

She now runs her own consulting practice and acts as a dispute avoidance board member on some of Australia’s most iconic infrastructure projects.

Paul Smith

Paul is a Certified Practising Accountant with over 40 years finance experience in financial control, internal audit, system implementation, business transformation and process improvement, gained in the corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors.

In addition, Paul has 20 years of Boardroom experience with companies such as Seven Group Holdings, Seven Media Group, Seven West Media, NSW Trains and Countplus.

David Goldman

David has over 20 years’ experience as a strategic, digital and customer-focussed senior executive working in the corporate sector for organisations including The Coca-Cola Company and NewsCorp. More recently, he transitioned into the not-for-profit sector and is currently the Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer of Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife. David is a volunteer mentor at Youth Off The Streets, an experience that inspired him to do more and join the Board. He holds a Master of Commerce from UNSW and a Graduate Diploma in Psychology from the University of Adelaide. He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Luke Magee

Luke has worked as an IT consultant throughout Australia, the UK and Switzerland. He has managed the complex requirements of SMEs, multinational corporations and federal and state government departments, delivering innovative and industry best practice solutions. Luke’s formal qualifications include a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Business Administration. He is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). Luke first worked with Youth Off The Streets in the early 2000s when he provided IT services to the organisation, an experience that inspired him to seek appointment to the Board.

Tilda Sikes

Tilda is Director, Communications and Change for the Legislative Assembly in the NSW Parliament and has extensive experience in the education and community sectors. She is also on the board of the NSW Carers Advisory Council and has been on the boards of organisations such as NSW Carers Advisory Council, Arts and Cultural Exchange, Multicultural Arts Alliance, Community Arts Marrickville and the Greek–Australian Lemnian Association of NSW. Her professional experience includes working at the Department of Education, Premier and Cabinet, Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney Festival and Carnivale. She is passionate about community development, advocacy, the arts and education. Tilda is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Institute of Community Directors.