The affairs of ACTCOSS are governed by our Board, with Directors elected from the ACTCOSS membership at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) each year. The Board meets regularly to provide financial and legal oversight and guide ACTCOSS management to achieve the strategic objectives of the organisation. It is accountable to ACTCOSS members.
If you would like to contact our Board Directors with your thoughts about ACTCOSS, its direction or performance, please contact us and we will put you in touch.
Jeremy has over two decades of management experience in the not-for-profit sector. He is currently Executive Director, Disability, Ageing, Carers & Business Development at The Benevolent Society. Prior to that he was CEO of Anglicare ACT/NSW South from 2013 to 2022. He has a passion for advocacy and is a leader in the wider community sector, currently serving as Co-Chair of the Canberra Gambling Reform Alliance (CGRA). He was also a director of national sector peak body, the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) from 2013 to 2018, including terms as Treasurer and Deputy President.
Jeremy has significant governance experience and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and also has an MBA specialising in Social Impact from the Australian Graduate School of Management, UNSW.
Jeremy’s research interests are diverse. He has authored essays, papers and research reports on a range of social justice issues. In an earlier career, he worked in the media sector and was managing editor of a newspaper.
Lisa Kelly is the incoming Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Community Coalition ACT (MHCC ACT), commencing in April 2025. She has served on the ACTCOSS Board for several years, bringing extensive leadership experience and a deep commitment to the community sector.
Lisa holds degrees in Psychology and Community Development and has worked in leadership roles at Lifeline Canberra, headspace, and Carers ACT, where she achieved significant growth and strengthened advocacy for carers. Throughout her career, Lisa has been dedicated to implementing innovative, award-winning services and fostering partnerships that amplify the voices of those with lived and living experience.
Lisa is passionate about ensuring accessible, person-centred mental health care for all Canberrans. As she steps into her new role at MHCC ACT, she is committed to driving renewal and growth within the sector, strengthening collaboration, and addressing challenges such as mental health and social isolation with compassion and inclusivity.
Blessy is the Chief Financial Officer of Woden Community Service. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Blessy has over 20 years experience in accounting, working across several for-profits and for-purpose organisations. Her experience ranges from business advisory and taxation, financial and management accounting, and financial planning and analysis in Australia and New Zealand. She has over six years of experience in the community service sector in Canberra. She is committed to the work of the community service sector and how services can remain sustainable and innovative.
Amanda is the Managing Director of ELM (ACT). Her key strengths are in her diverse experience and high level understanding of the not-for-profit, Government and corporate sectors. She has high level strategic thinking capabilities and vast experience in advocacy and considerable commercial experience. Amanda has an exceptional ability to achieve results in demanding and challenging environments and an ability to build excellent relationships at all levels.
Amanda has strong academic qualifications including a Degree in Community Education, an Advanced Diploma of Management and a Diploma of Government
Melissa is a leader and a practitioner with a background in social policy, project management and strategy. As a qualified social worker, she brings more than 20 years experience in the child and family sector. Over the last decade, Melissa has led across various roles with Barnardos Australia, most recently since 2017 in the role of General Manager with ACT Together, the Barnardos led consortium responsible for out of home care service delivery in the ACT. Previously, she worked for 14 years within the NSW government, in both direct and indirect service roles.
Melissa has a comprehensive understanding of child and family programs and the ACT social services sector. She has extensive experience working with partner agencies and across organisations to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.
Melissa is currently a participant in the inaugural ‘For Purpose Executive Leadership Program’ with the Melbourne Business School. She has diverse professional interests but has maintained at all times a strong commitment to achieving permanency and stability for vulnerable children involved with child protection systems.
Sue is a LGBTIQA+ community advocate as well as a passionate violence prevention and respectful relationships educator and advocate. She has been working in this space and aligned violence response and primary prevention spaces for over 20 years. Sue is currently the CEO of the Domestic Violence Crisis Service having been appointed to the role in June 2021.
Sue is a deeply committed Canberran working and volunteering in a range of roles in the pursuit of making our community safer and more respectful for all. Sue is currently a Director on the LGBT Domestic Violence Awareness Foundation and a member of the ACT Council of Social Service’s Board. Sue is a proud Canberran, happily raising her teenage twins alongside her wife while learning to live respectfully and in the spirit of reconciliation on Ngunnawal Country.
Tracey is the Executive Director at Sexual Health & Family Planning ACT (SHFPACT) and has been a member of the ACTCOSS Board since late 2022. With over 20 years of executive experience in the community sector across multiple jurisdictions, Tracey has dedicated her career to supporting vulnerable children, young people, and families.
Her expertise spans a wide range of community services and government reforms, including disability, early intervention, mental health, family preservation, and statutory services (OOHC). Tracey has held Interim CEO and Deputy CEO roles, earning a reputation for her pragmatic approach to governance, risk and compliance, navigating reform, and building strong, effective stakeholder relationships.
Tracey is deeply committed to improving the lives of those less fortunate and strengthening the service sector to better meet the needs of the community.
Lucy is the CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra/Goulburn.
She has over 20 years’ experience in leadership roles in the community sector, working in local government and community organisations in Australia and the UK. Lucy has a Master’s of Human Resource Management and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Before joining the St Vincent de Paul Society in 2021, she spent 10 years in the UK and held senior roles in the integrated health and social care sector and was a member of numerous strategic partnerships and boards.
Lucy is passionate about tackling poverty and disadvantage in our community and is an advocate for social justice, particularly for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
Lauren is a passionate and experienced healthcare executive with over 15 years of expertise in research and service development. With a strong focus on improving health systems and outcomes for women, Lauren’s interests include mental health, domestic violence, and reproductive health issues such as endometriosis and PCOS.
Lauren holds a Bachelor of Psychology from Charles Sturt University and a Masters in Evaluation from the University of Melbourne. Her diverse experience spans not-for-profit, private, government, and education sectors, where she has developed expertise in value-based healthcare, health system planning, and cross-sector collaboration.
Lauren is committed to fostering innovative approaches to address women’s health issues and improving health outcomes in the ACT.
An Economist and Policy Adviser by profession, Dr Madhumita IYENGAR is a passionate advocate of women empowerment and community wellbeing.
Madhumita has extensively contributed to anti-racism policy advocacy through co-designing and delivering public symposiums in collaboration with universities and peak organisations in ACT and publishing a pioneering *Report on racism experience of ACT’s culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities* in October 2025, as the Chair of Canberra Multicultural Community Forum, a peak organisation in ACT.
She founded INITIATIVES FOR WOMEN IN NEED, known as IWiN, in 2013, a pioneer volunteer run community organisation in ACT to support and advocate for multicultural women coming from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Since then, IWiN has delivered a range of impactful community projects and events for diverse multicultural women and families, particularly those who are experiencing domestic violence, gender bias, racism and discrimination, mental health issues and other barriers like language, culture, religion, age , entry to job market etc.
IWiN’s impactful advocay work on domestic violence was recognised by the ACT Government through the *2021 Multicultural Community Organisation Champion of the Year Award*.
Under Madhumita”s leadership, IWiN has created a culturally safe social networking platform for CALD Women in ACT.
Madhumita received *ACT Multicultural Champion of the Year Awards* in 2019 in recognition of her community services from the ACT Government. And recenty Madhumita has been recognised as the *Finalist, 2025 Australian of the Year (ACT Local Hero).*
Madhumita has introduced many innovative community initiatives since 2013 and some notables are:
1) NETRI , a culturally tailored leadership program for CALD women delivered in 2025
2) FEMFEST, an expo since 2018 to showcase creativity of CALD Women Entrepreneurs
3) ORANGE DAY Symposium event since 2014 to support United Nation’s Annual International Day For Elimination Of Violence Against Women and Girls
4) ACT’s first Collective Impact Action Plan (CIAP) , co-designed with CALD women groups
5) ACT’s first CALD women led social enterprise project (pilot) , Her Kitchen Table (HKT). The contributions of this HKT project was recognised by the ACT Government through the *2022 Multicultural Community Organisation Champion of the Year Award*.
In addition, Madhumita serves in multiple governing boards of peak organisations in ACT.
