Our Team
Management
Melanie Stray
CEO
Melanie brings experience in social change and strategic development from the community and commercial sectors. She worked previously for United Way Australia on employment and literacy initiatives for disadvantaged young people. Prior to that she spent 15 years in global telecommunications for British Telecom (BT) across sales, marketing and product development.
Carmen Welss
Communication & Programs Manager
Carmen is a communications all-rounder with more than 10 years experience in the not-for-profit sector with experience in tertiary education, environment, advocacy and community services in local and national organisations in Australia and overseas. She brings project management, media, marketing, sponsorship and business development experience to this role with a keen interest in organisational capacity building.
Sam Andrews
Awards Administration
Sam has over 10 years administration experience in a variety of settings including government, not-for-profit organisations, and small business.
Ruby Abrahim
Digital Media Assistant
Ruby is a recent graduate in communications who already has a wealth of hands-on industry experience to her name. She contributes not only expertise in social media but also experience in communicating with a wide range of audiences through her roles as a UTS Student Ambassador and as PR Junior in an agency environment.
David Coleman
Volunteer Archivist - Big Brother Movement
David Coleman came to Australia in 1963 with the Big Brother Movement. He volunteers his time to archive the records of thousands of Little Brothers who came before and after him. He archives paperwork and photographs and preserves the stories for the Little Brothers and their families who continue to reconnect with the organisation.
The Board
Stephen Wilkinson
Chairman
Eric Haines
Director - Treasurer
Eric migrated to Australia under the BBM migration assistance scheme in 1974. He studied at UNSW to earn a Commerce Degree and progress to becoming a Fellow of Chartered Accountants in Australia. He has been working throughout in assisting small business and individuals with tax, superannuation and financial planning for over 30 years. Eric is a Registered Tax Agent, Registered Company Auditor, Registered SMSF Auditor, Authorised Representative of Count Financial Ltd & a Justice of the Peace.
Ken Johnstone
Director
Ben Madden
Director
Ben Madden was a BBM Youth Support Awardee in 1997. He now runs the successful cabinet making business Capital Veneering, employing over 80 staff and apprentices.
Bryan Jones OAM
Director
Bryan has been a member of the BBM board for 25 years and served as Chairman from 2013 to 2016.
His working life has been involved with the training of young people, commencing in 1964 with British Steel and then the Engineering Industry Training Board (EITB).
Moving to Australia in 1971 he became the Corporate Training and Development Manager at EMAIL LTD for 30 years, whilst serving on a number of Government Training boards, including the NSW Vocational Accreditation Board,(VETAB), NSW Board of Vocational Education and Training Training (BVET) and the Australian Student Training Foundation (ASTF).
Co - Founder of WorkSkill Australia (now WorldSkills Australia), he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1996 for service to Education and Training.