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Our team

Our team is passionate about Kids Hope and is committed to mentoring more children each year. They also work hard at providing best practice support and resources to all of our existing programs. Get in contact with the relevant team to find out how they can help you.

Our Staff

Find out more about our dedicated team.

Our Board

Find out more about our committed board members

Our Patrons

Our amazing patrons who champion Kids Hope

Our Ambassador

Our amazing ambassador who champions Kids Hope

Our Staff

Simon Warrick

CEO
Email: simon@kidshope.org.au
Phone: 03 9780 4823

For his entire career, Simon Warrick has found himself in leadership positions. Initially, this was in the corporate sphere in sales and marketing management roles. However, he transitioned to the NFP for purpose world in 2005. Since then, he has been serving in roles at a senior executive and senior leader level. More recently this was as CEO of an organisation focusing on overseas aid and development.

Simon’s passion for the cause of Kids Hope comes from his personal story. He longs for a time when all vulnerable kids can find hope and know their inherent value. He loves to see people and organisations flourish to be all they were created to be and has a passion for seeing communities gather around a common cause. Married with three adult children, he loves camping/caravanning, global travel, tinkering in the shed or in the garden and spending time with family and friends – oh and don’t forget coffee.

Lou Fogg

OPERATIONS
Email: lou@kidshope.org.au
Phone: 03 9780 4823

Lou has held leadership positions within several sectors – private business, the church and community organisations. As such, her qualifications are diverse and include teaching, design and ministry.

Her entrepreneurial skills drove the success of two design firms and has held several church ministry roles.

Lou is passionate about connecting and caring for people in community and has lead many community initiatives both locally and abroad. As a parent, she has always been involved in school life. Being president for both school and kindergarten committees has meant she has hands-on experience working with school leadership teams, managing volunteers and coordinating initiatives.

Lou loves life with her husband, Steve, and their three children. She enjoys travel, dabbling in kids literature, is a serial renovator and a self-confessed foodie.

She believes that working for Kids Hope is a wonderful culmination of her experience and she relishes the opportunity to help bring hope into the lives of children around Australia.

Tim Smith

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, NATIONAL
Email: tim@kidshope.org.au
Mobile: 0488 991 215

Tim is part of the Kids Hope Community Engagement team and is an experienced trainer and presenter. Tim’s role is to connect and network with Churches and Schools to inform, motivate and guide them towards starting a Kids Hope program.

He also facilitates our coordinator training events and thoroughly enjoys engaging and teaching our coordinators to lead and manage this life-changing program in their church.

Churches and schools are always trying to find ways to connect and partner with other organisations in their local communities, and Tim enjoys promoting that opportunity through the unique partnership that a Kids Hope program provides.

But the ultimate motivation for Tim is hearing the stories of hope and transformation in the lives of vulnerable children through the power of one-to-one mentoring relationships.

Melissa French

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Email: melissa@kidshope.org.au
Phone: 0400 312 764

Melissa’s passion is helping children facing vulnerability find a hope and a future. After completing her Bachelor of Social Science, Melissa worked with child and youth-focused organisations including Anglicare, Fusion Australia, UK charity GFS and Compassion Australia, in both front-line and management roles.

Whether here in Australia or overseas, she believes in the power of the local Church bringing hope to their local community.

She’s a proud West Aussie and is excited to connect West Australian churches and their local primary schools, in powerful partnerships, through Kids Hope.

Melissa lives in the Eastern Hills region of Perth with her husband David and 2 primary-aged daughters. She makes the most of the regional parks nearby for bushwalking. She has recently begun multi-day hiking with a hope to sectionally complete the Bibbulmun track in the coming years.

Caz Mott

PROGRAM SUPPORT
Email: caz@kidshope.org.au
Phone: 03 9780 4823

Caz originally trained as a graphic designer and has previously worked in corporate design, fashion and retail, publishing and not-for-profit, at various management levels. Her passion is finding opportunities for the church to connect with, and serve the community.

Having also studied Christian Counselling and Family Therapy, her ministry work and church leadership roles have included young adults, coaching, small groups and running Alpha programs both in Melbourne and the UK.

As a mum of three primary school-aged kids, her commitment to the community drives her involvement with both the School Council and the Parents and Friends Committee. As a ‘Jill-of-all-trades,’ she enjoys running her online business, travel, adventure, creative projects, food, having fun and being with people.

Amrita Joseph

ADMINISTRATION
Email: amrita@kidshope.org.au
Phone: 03 9780 4823

Amrita has varied work experience in multi-national companies, not-for-profit organisations and ministry. This experience extends to event management, office administration, human resources, and volunteer management.

Additionally, as part of a core group, she helped administrate global events such as the Government of Ontario Business conference, Fortune 500 CEO Meet and Citi Group Global CEO Business Meet.

Amrita has a Masters in Commerce and a Diploma in Human Resources. She finds immense joy and satisfaction in connecting and caring for the community. Her inner calling is to serve kids and most recently she was part of the children’s ministry at a local church, where her role involved partnering with parents and facilitating the administration of the department. Whilst living in India, she was also involved in many charity events for underprivileged kids.

Amrita enjoys her life with her husband Prashanth, and they are blessed with two wonderful children. She loves meeting new people, trekking, running marathons and enjoys outdoor games.

Now that Amrita is with Kids Hope, she is committed to serving our key stakeholders with the best practices she has acquired over the years.

Gail Cameron

DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Email: gail@kidshope.org.au
Phone: 03 9780 4823

Gail is passionate about igniting hearts and inspiring action to empower the most vulnerable in our society. Gail holds a Master of International Business Studies Degree and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marketing Management and has broad experience in the corporate and faith-based not-for-profit sectors.

This has included key roles at executive level for Australian and international compassionate service NFP organisations and leadership of a rapidly growing community care service for a large church in Melbourne.

She has previously participated in developing the strategy and business model for a nationally expanding community mentoring program and has also held various volunteer and board positions.

Gail has lived and worked across three continents, speaks three languages, and loves the multicultural nature of Melbourne. She and her husband Alister have seven children. Her interests include spending time with her family, reading, water sports, and exploring new places and cultures, especially where there are beautiful beaches and hot weather!

Our Board

John Allison

CHAIR

John commenced as Managing Director of LogicalTech in 1989 and currently serves as Chairman and CEO of the LogicalTech Group (founded 1986).

He has extensive experience with leading and managing the delivery of IT solutions, software, business services and engineering. John is a Company Director of a range of companies mostly in the IT sector, and serves on the Board of several not-for-profit organisations. From 2001 he has served as Executive Chairman of a public unlisted company and Chairman or CEO of a range of innovation start-ups in ITC.

The primary focus of John’s career is to establish and grow successful global businesses particularly in areas of technology, innovation and services. His experience spans international business opportunities having spent time in 40 countries since 1984. John’s educational background includes a B Eng (Hons) degree and other leadership and management qualifications.

Catherine Korn

SECRETARY

Catherine trained as an occupational therapist specialising in paediatrics (BAppSc Hons). Her areas of work experience have been in early intervention and school-aged services, focusing on children with intellectual and/or physical disabilities, developmental delay, and autism spectrum disorder.

Prior to having children, she moved to Colorado, USA with her husband to study a Master of Arts in Biblical Counselling (MABC) at Colorado Christian University.

Whilst committing her time as a stay-at-home mum raising their three children, Catherine was involved in running the Mothers of Pre-schoolers Programme (MOPS) Australia at their local church. As a family, they have also been long-time supporters of Compassion Australia, sponsoring children, and a Mums and Babies (Survival) project in Indonesia.

Once her children reached school age, Catherine took on the role of Company Director in several small businesses they owned, ranging from food manufacturing, commercial property cleaning and facilities maintenance.

Belinda Loke

DIRECTOR

As a non-executive Director of Kids Hope Australia, Belinda holds the role of Chair of the Governance, Finance and Risk Committee and Chair of the People and Remuneration Committee.

Belinda is the Founder, Managing Director and Principal Lawyer of Legalexa, which is a digital law firm specialising in providing commercial and innovative legal solutions for business owners and health practitioners.

Belinda is also a non-executive Director of QEC, a Victorian public hospital and largest provider of residential and community parenting services with 7 sites across Victoria. She is also a Member of the Quality, Risk and Clinical Governance Committee. Belinda is also on the Advisory Council to The Royal Children’s Hospital.

Belinda is an experienced lawyer having held roles including Chief Legal Officer of a financial services division of a large multi-national corporation and senior legal counsel roles at various financial institutions. Prior to her in-house legal experience, Belinda gained over 10 years legal experience in the top-tier law firm, Allens.

Belinda has advised on a variety of cross-border transactions in a number of jurisdictions including Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and PNG. Belinda has held various Management Committee roles and was the Founder and Chair of the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA) Young Leaders Australian Committee. Belinda has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Business (Banking and Finance). Belinda is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Company Directors Course and has completed a senior executive program at Harvard Law School in the USA.

Patrick Parkinson

DIRECTOR

Patrick Parkinson is a Professor at the TC Beirne School of Law. Professor Parkinson was Dean of Law at the TC Beirne School of Law from 2018 – 2021.

Professor Parkinson is a specialist in family law, child protection, law and religion and the law of equity and trusts. His books include Australian Family Law in Context (7th ed, 2019), Tradition and Change in Australian Law (5th ed, 2013), Family Law and the Indissolubility of Parenthood (2011), The Voice of a Child in Family Law Disputes (with Judy Cashmore, 2008), Child Sexual Abuse and the Churches (2nd ed, 2003) and Principles of Equity (editor, 2nd ed., 2003). Professor Parkinson served from 2004-2007 as Chairperson of the Family Law Council, an advisory body to the federal Attorney – General, and also chaired a review of the Child Support Scheme in 2004-05 which led to the enactment of major changes to the Child Support Scheme. He was President of the International Society of Family Law from 2011-14.

Professor Parkinson is also well-known for his community work concerning child protection. He has been a member of the NSW Child Protection Council, and was Chairperson of a major review of the state law concerning child protection which led to the enactment of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998. He also works with churches on child protection and religious freedom issues.

Our Patrons

Tim Costello

Tim Costello was the CEO of World Vision for 10 years and as Kids Hope moved into an era of independence, Tim’s personal interest and belief in the program inspired him to agree to be the patron of Kids Hope.

We appreciate Tim’s commitment to represent the Kids Hope cause as he travels extensively and communicates to a far-reaching audience of influential leaders, community representatives and people with a passion to make a difference.

Tim believes strongly in the HOPE that is provided through the Kids Hope program.

Marylin Leermakers

It was through Marylin Leermakers’ vision that she established the Kids Hope program in Australia and transitioned it from World Vision Australia to a separate entity. Marylin has always been passionate and dedicated to the cause and willing to go ‘beyond the call of duty’.

Marylin worked tirelessly to provide KIds Hope with a wonderful platform, with exemplary quality assurance and a proven reputation that will continue to develop and expand long into the future.

Our Ambassador

Lisa McInnis-Smith

We are privileged to have Lisa McInnis Smith as our Kids Hope Ambassador. Lisa is an international speaker and Hall of Fame presenter and has presented to more than two million adults across twenty-six countries.

She is also the author of seven best-selling books. Lisa’s heart for children and communities is inspiring and we are thrilled to have her representing Kids Hope and promoting the many benefits to schools and churches.

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