Our Board

Georgie Carey

Chairperson

Georgie is a social impact enthusiast, determined to make lasting positive social change in the community. Her primary areas of passion are social entrepreneurship and youth empowerment. As a UWA Fogarty Scholar, she is currently undertaking her Honours in Marketing, looking to research the social enterprise space in WA. Georgie has a background in Youth Advisory Councils in WA, as well as being the 2016 WA National Youth Week Ambassador. When she’s not studying, you can find Georgie on the volleyball courts or strumming her ukulele.

Katherine Browne

Vice Chair

Katherine is passionate about creating a better Western Australia for children and young people. With a background working in child protection and out-of-home care, her most recent and current roles have been working in policy and advocacy for children and young people's rights - working to create positive changes across our communities for children and young people. Katherine also loves scuba diving, our oceans, making music and a good ol' crafternoon!

Sharon Gough

Treasurer

Sharon has an enthusiasm for change, advocacy and improving the way things work. Her work has focused heavily on program development, service design and advocacy in response to the needs of vulnerable young people. Sharon’s more recent work as the Program Manager at Indigo Junction relates to supporting young people and families experiencing homelessness. Sharon is a 2016 Churchill Fellow and was the recipient of YACWA’s Significant Contribution to Youth Work award in 2018. Sharon loves playing the guitar, folk music and the forest.

Sal Cleveray

Secretary

Sal is a questioner of systems, constantly fighting for those caught in structures that enforce the status quo. Using their background in psychology, Sal has worked in crisis accommodation, with the most marginalised and at-risk young people, as well as alongside child protection to reduce reporting rates and child removal. Sal's drive to ensure that the individual is at the centre of the conversation led to her completing a Master of Human Rights (with Distinction) in 2020, writing their dissertation on the experiences of trans and gender-diverse young people in historically oppressive systems. Retired from ultimate frisbee, Sal's life outside of work revolves around her two kids and wrangling their three cats.

Locket Lee

Ordinary Board DIrector (under 26)

Locket strives to make the world a better place. She is a Strategic Planning and Engagement Consultant in the public sector, with experience in managing projects and strategic policy and planning. She is passionate about mental health matters and hopes to reduce the stigma of anxiety and depression as a volunteer for beyondblue. Her passions led her to create Blossom Friendship, a project aimed at bringing people together in the community. She also has a soft spot for children and is a Companion to children impacted by cancer at Camp Quality. She enjoys binging TV shows in her spare time.

Naomi Blitz

Ordinary Board Director

Naomi is an young active Jewish contributor in her community as well as in the multicultural space. Naomi has involved herself in her local YAC youth advisory committee (Stirling Youth Advocates) for the past 3 years. Naomi is also the Treasurer at her local town team (We Are Yokine). Naomi also has extensive experience as a project officer organising events across Perth. When she is not proactively supporting local causes she can be found hiking on top of a mountain or laughing at a comedy show. Naomi is committed to ensuring youth are valued in the community.

Arbie Pattiselanno (he/him)

Ordinary Board Director

With an extensive background in Youth Work and Youth Development, Arbie is passionate and dedicated to serving and helping others. He’s never been one to shy away from asking the tough questions like “Why?” and “How does that benefit young people?” and gently challenges the way things are done to innovate improvement. He’s a passionate advocate for the rights of young people and a champion of youth leadership and youth consultation. Arbie brings a keen eye for quality youth work practice and a focus on process improvement to create positive outcomes for young people. Rarely seen inside a gym, Arbie is a digital tech tragic, an avid dog cuddler and can be often found immersed in the ocean, the bush, getting creatively involved in an art project or banging on a drum.

Clare Grealy

Co-Opted Board Director

Clare is always looking for ways to do things better, smarter, quicker, easier. She has worked in finance in the UK, Cameroon and Australia and is a Chartered Accountant by trade, but she’s not all about the numbers. While YACWA’s work is outside of her usual area of expertise, Clare sees the organisation as well aligned to her personal values and she’s excited to be able to use her skills in such an important sector. Outside of work, Clare loves travelling, eating great food, and the arts – basically all the good things life has to offer.

Celeste Astorino

Co-Opted Board Director

Celeste is a firm believer in collective action and bringing people together to create radical change. Celeste isn't afraid to look outside the box to find solutions to wildly complex issues and encourages others to get involved and lead change efforts, amplifying the voices of those that need it most. Her work focuses on community development, advocacy and systems change while supporting the community services sector to improve outcomes for our most vulnerable. With a background in social policy, community development, youth work, fashion design, and health and wellbeing, Celeste brings a variety of skills learnt and honed from diverse sectors to this role. Currently employed at the Western Australian Council of Social Service as the PIlbara Manager, Celeste brings a regional lens to the work she undertakes and to the Board. Away from work, Celeste can be found spending quality time with her baby, experimenting crazy poses on her yoga mat, reading a good book, or learning Italian.

Sandy McKiernan

Ex-Officio