Executive Team
Wayne Merritt
Chief Executive Officer
Wayne is an experienced values-based leader with over 20 years’ experience in the community services sector.
After beginning his career on the front line working directly with vulnerable young people, Wayne has embraced a range of diverse roles including direct service delivery and leading large and multi-faceted teams to bring effective support to marginalised communities.
He brings to wayss a broad experience in leadership and people management, policy and governance, strategic and financial planning and service development and integration.
Robyn Roberts
General Manager, Family Violence
Robyn has brought a people-focused, entrepreneurial spirit to a range of executive leadership positions in the community services sector and she has also led community and private sector partnerships to deliver ground breaking initiatives in microfinance and family violence prevention. In 2015, Robyn partnered with private company Protective Group to design and implement a ground breaking national family violence program, that continues to achieve significant outcomes today. Robyn’s driving motivation is to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable people and her work at wayss provides her with that opportunity as she leads key changes to disrupt people’s experience of homelessness and family violence.
Robyn holds teaching and social work qualifications and has undertaken executive-level studies at Melbourne Business School. She has also held director and committee roles on several Boards in the community services sector.
Shari McPhail
General Manager, Homelessness and Housing Support Services
Shari has worked for over 20 years in the homelessness and housing sector in non-government and government settings, contributing to improving homelessness service provision and access to social and affordable housing. Shari has a Masters degree in Public Policy and Management and is a recent graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Shari is responsible for the delivery of homelessness and youth services programs and developing innovative and creative responses to homelessness and housing across the Southern Metropolitan Region.
Craig Colgan
ACTING GENERAL MANAGER, CORPORATE SERVICES
Craig is a finance and commercial executive with over 20 years experience within the private and not-for-profit (NFP) industry and has held senior leadership roles in Oxfam Australia, Australian Red Cross, Unison Housing and Glen Eira Kindergarten Association. Craig brings a wealth of strategic financial management experience aimed at maximizing organizational impact and stewardship of resources. Craig’s career has been dedicated to driving financial sustainability while upholding the mission-driven values intrinsic to the organisations he has worked in.
He commenced his studies with a Bachelor of Commerce at University College Dublin and is a qualified chartered accountant.
Craig leads our Finance and ICT teams.
Tina Kiamos
General Manager, People Enablement
Tina has worked across a variety of complex and multifaceted organisations and industries to become an experienced senior HR leader skilled in transformation and cultural change in people and culture.
She brings her people-centred approach to help create environments where people can become their best so that they can provide the best support to our clients.
Ben Burrows
Head of Quality, Risk and Compliance
Ben, an outcomes-driven leader with 20 years of experience in government, community service, and humanitarian sectors, domestically and globally. As a regulatory and compliance expert, he heads the Quality Risk and Compliance (QRC) team of specialists providing advice, guidance, and managing accreditation, legislative compliance, risk, and more at wayss. He has vast experience in program design, management, monitoring, and evaluation across various sectors and client groups.
Wayne Harper
Head of ICT
With more than 30 years of experience in strategic, operational, and technical delivery of large-scale IT services, Wayne is an ICT professional and an innovative thinker who can balance business and customer requirements with technical achievability.
In previous roles, Wayne has led and managed global, cross-functional, and multi-disciplined teams and projects, with a focus on ecommerce, identity, and logistic solutions. With a strong people leadership with a sales orientation, and a mastery in managing large programs and change management Wayne also is equipped with a broad operational business acumen from financial, commercial, legal, and sales perspectives. An active team player, Wayne is passionate about using his skills and expertise to deliver IT solutions that make a positive difference in the lives of people and communities.
Barbara Pesel
Head of Communications
Barbara, a seasoned corporate communications specialist, excels in crafting and executing cohesive, integrated campaigns. With a wealth of experience, she adeptly formulates communication strategies that align with business objectives, yielding impactful and quantifiable outcomes. Leveraging her expertise in corporate communications, she navigates issues adeptly, engages stakeholders effectively, and excels in strategic planning.
