Our Board
Family Life is a not-for-profit incorporated company limited by guarantee, governed by a voluntary Board. The Board is the sole supervisory body of Family Life operating under the rules of the Constitution. Family Life knows the importance of a strong board, and has worked hard to achieve a balance of experienced and new board members, seeking board members who can offer diverse skills, experience and knowledge to the organisation. Our Board of Directors are committed to making a stronger and long-lasting difference to our communities.
Steve Walsh, Chair and Director
Steve Walsh, former Chairman of Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and a Victorian Personal Injuries Accredited Specialist. Steve was a Director with Respect Victoria and Director of Elenium Automation.
He has worked in many different areas of law in his career over the past 30+ years. He has a reputation as a distinguished lawyer with an extensive history of helping everyday people. Steve joined Maurice Blackburn in 1981 as an articled clerk and worked his way up through the firm. As Chairman of the Board, Steve guided substantial growth at Maurice Blackburn retiring in June 2018.
He is passionate about cultural diversity initiatives at Maurice Blackburn, which in recent years have included Iftar and White Ribbon events, and the development of a Religious and Spiritual Diversity guide in conjunction with the Australian Multicultural Foundation.
David Stewart, Vice Chair and Director
David is the Founder & Principal of RYP International, which was established in 1981. Since then David and his team have been developing teams, communities and leaders in a wide cross section of industries, organisations and communities on a global basis addressing organisational dynamics, team cultures and social issues. His approach is to build the capability, confidence and team chemistry of an organisation to drive an observable point of difference by linking Culture – Brand and Strategy. He has designed and facilitated “FROM and TO” major change processes with Major Corporates, Family Owned Organisations, Professional Sports Teams, NGO’s, Industry Associations and Government Agencies.
Click here to view David’s LinkedIn Profile.
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), Graduate Diploma Sports Science (Grad Dip Sp Science), Masters Business Leadership (MBL)
Catherine Parisi, Vice Chair and Director
Catherine has over 15 years of diverse experience in the Wealth Management industry, specialising in investment management, behavioural finance, and multi-generational wealth transition. With a background in innovation, she has held strategic roles in global banks leading large, multi-disciplined teams and change projects. She has worked in Melbourne, New York, London, and Singapore.Catherine is passionate about financial literacy and empowering women to achieve financial security, because she believes financially capable women positively impact family and community outcomes.
Carmel O'Brien, Company Secretary and Director
Carmel O’Brien is a counselling psychologist whose special interest is the recovery of women and children from family violence. She has worked in child protection and women’s correctional services, in relationship and general counselling services, in the community sector and in private practice.
Carmel was Director of Clinical Services for a large community agency for fourteen years, managing counselling and recovery programs, and developing a suite of services for women and children who have experienced abuse. Her first book “Blame Changer: Understanding Domestic Violence” was released in October 2016. Carmel also has particular experience in upskilling therapists to assist survivors, developing mentoring programs for survivor recovery and in program development that incorporates learnings from lived experience.
Carmel is the recipient of a Menzies Award and the Australian Psychological Society (APS) Elaine Dignan Award for her contribution to women through her profession and is also a Fellow of both the Australian Psychological Society and the Cairnmillar Institute. In January 2017, Carmel was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her contribution to mental health and social welfare organisations.
Geoff McQueen, Treasurer and Director
Geoff, a chartered accountant, commenced his corporate career of 30+ years with global accounting firm EY and subsequently worked in senior finance and commercial roles spanning industries of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods, Retail and Mining with Foster’s, Harvey Norman, and global miner, MMG. In 2020, Geoff made the conscious decision to move into the for-purpose sector initialling joining Expression Australia and is now with FightMND, holding the role of Corporate Services Director. Geoff has extensive experience across all aspects of Finance and Corporate Services with a proven track record of business transformation, process improvement and developing high performing teams.
Click here to view Geoff’s LinkedIn Profile.
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Business, Ballarat College of Advanced Education (now Federation University)
Professional Membership Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia (ICAA)
Member of the Corporate Advisory Panel at the ICCA; 2007 to 2010
Judy Pridmore, Director
Judy is a business consultant and government advisor, who specialises in digital and technology innovation and business transformation. She has held senior executive positions in startups through to ASX-listed companies, including News Limited, Westpac, Southcorp and Winepros.
Judy also worked as a sessional academic and industry supervisor at Swinburne and Federation University. She sits on the Advisory Board of C31 (Melbourne Community TV Consortium Ltd) and is an Ambassador for the Women’s Resilience Centre.
Click here to view Judy’s LinkedIn Profile.
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Education, Victoria University (B.Ed)
Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)
Professional Memberships:
Australian Institute of Company Directors
Michael Laps, Director
In 2014 he founded what has become one of Australia’s premier digital agencies, Yoghurt Digital, with a team of 35 across three countries.Since exiting Yoghurt in mid-2022, Michael has been helping companies by consulting on their broader business strategy, operational structure and capabilities and, of course, their marketing strategy.
In his spare time, Michael is a guest speaker and trainer at Australia’s peak marketing body, the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI), is a guest lecturer at Macquarie University and UNSW, and mentors young professionals through both the AMI and Pillar Initiative.
Duncan de Crespigny, Director
Duncan has over 15 years of experience primarily in the Mining industry in diverse financial, operational, and legal roles including strategic planning, major project evaluation, capital allocation, business development, operational improvement and commercial law. He has worked on projects across Australasia, North and South America and Africa and is fluent in Spanish having spent time living in Peru, Ecuador and Chile.
Click here to view Duncan’s LinkedIn Profile.
Qualifications:
Bachelor of Law/Arts from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Finance from the University of Cambridge.
Virginia Woodger, Director
With over 20 years of experience in marketing and business leadership, Virginia has a proven track record of driving brand growth across diverse industries, markets, and retail channels. She brings an entrepreneurial mindset combined with big business experience and ambition, and tackles big challenges using data, insights, innovation, and collaboration. She has worked for companies such as L’Oreal, LVMH, Foster’s, Treasury Wine Estates, Asahi or MECCA, and has lived in France, China, Germany, Japan and Australia.
Click here to view Virginia’s LinkedIn Profile.
Qualifications:
Master of Science in Business Management 2002, HEC School of Management Paris
Melanie Coupe, Director
Melanie brings extensive experience helping public, private, and not-for-profit sectors innovate to grow and transform in Australia and the UK. Melanie is an experienced Non-Executive Director supporting social and environmental start-ups and an Executive, Strategy & Growth at healthAbility. She has led teams to design and deliver strategic change programs for Government, Charities/NFPs and Profit for purpose organisations across Health, Human Services, Financial Services, Energy, and the Environment. Prior to healthAbility, she was a Director at Nous Group, working with executive teams and boards on growth strategy, innovation, transformation, and leadership development. She has also worked as the General Manager of a service design and advisory group with full P&L accountability, reporting to the CEO of an international government outsourced services provider. Outside work, she has volunteered to help women experiencing disadvantage attain and retain work and runs a community initiative to help women connect, thrive, and grow as individuals and a community.
Click here to view Melanie’s LinkedIn Profile.
Qualifications:
Graduate Diploma in Educational Psychology, Monash University
Bachelor of Arts Major in Psychology, Minor in Sociology, Monash University
Glenn Fernandez, Director
Glenn brings over 20 years of experience from the corporate sector, transitioning into the “for-purpose” sector over the past 12 years in various senior leadership and non-executive director roles. He has successfully led multidisciplinary teams through transformative changes and has driven strategic business planning across diverse fields, including consumer goods, education, sporting clubs, community services, and philanthropic endeavors. In 2020, Glenn was instrumental in establishing the Peninsula Kingswood Community Foundation, serving as its inaugural chair. Currently, he holds a senior leadership position at the Brotherhood of St Laurence, a prominent social justice organization. In addition to his professional commitments, Glenn is an avid club golfer and enjoys international travel. He also volunteers for Project IndiGold, an independent organization focused on the federal seat of Goldstein, where he plays a key role in the election campaign team.
Glenn resides in Bayside with his wife, Susan, and continues to be an active contributor to the local community.
Click here to view Glenn’s LinkedIn Profile.
Qualifications:
Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
Graduate Certificate in Social Impact, Swinburne University, Victoria
Graduate Diploma in Management, AGSM, University of NSW
Bachelor of Business (Marketing), Curtin University, Western Australia
