VIC YFP Diversity Forum 2023

A Yorta Yorta man, Ian has extensive government and community sector experience, particularly at executive and governance levels. Ian has overseen major policy and strategic reforms for government and community organisations. He works with people from a vast array of backgrounds, managing complex and sensitive relationships to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. Ian was CEO of a major Aboriginal community organisation from January to August 2018.

Ian chairs and is a member of a number of boards, including the Indigenous Land & Sea Corporation, the Community Broadcast Foundation, Connecting Home, the Koorie Heritage Trust, Yarra Valley Water and the Australian Red Cross. He is also devoting himself to improving the representation of Aboriginal people on boards and other high level governance, through strategic action, advocacy and mentoring.

Chair of the Board of Directors: First Nations Foundation (national)

Sessional Panel Member: Planning Panels Victoria

Board Member: Holmsglen

Board Member: Yarra Valley Water

Chair of the Board of Directors: Koorie Heritage Trust (Victorian Indigenous arts trust)

President: Community Broadcasting Foundation

Trustee: Queen Victoria Market

Board Member: Australian Red Cross

Board Member: Inclusive Australia

Board Member: Community First Development

Board Member: The National Trust of Australia (Victoria)

Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors: Aboriginal Housing Victoria

Chair of the Board of Directors: Connecting Home Ltd (Stolen Generations Service)

Member (Ministerial appointment): Camps Committee of Management

Rochelle Pattison is one of the principals of Chimaera Capital Limited; a licenced financial services provider with specialties in investment management, custody and corporate advisory.

Raised on a farm outside Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, in the 1970s Rochelle was a typical young boy – who happened to dream of being a girl! Whilst they did not have the knowledge or vocabulary to understand their sense of not being right, they adapted to fit in; electing to suppress their identity.

Over time, the stresses of that suppression and their gender dysphoria began to significantly interfere with their life resulting in increasing mental health challenges including anxiety and depression.

In December 2017 she transitioned and now lives full time as a woman. Rochelle speaks about her life, gender dysphoria and her experience living as a woman of transgender experience.

In 2020 she was chosen as one of Australia's Outstanding 50 LGBTI+ Leaders by a survey undertaken by Deloittes, Google and Energy Australia.

She lives in Melbourne with her wife and two sons. She plays hockey in Hockey Victoria women’s competition, is Chair of Transgender Victoria, Treasurer of Pride Cup and is a member of the Pride Committee for the Carlton Football Club.

Zoe Brinsden has over 30 years’ experience in banking and finance, investment banking, private wealth, and superannuation.

She has been a people and business leader for almost 20 of those years, both in Australia and overseas. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce, an Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning and has completed her CPA qualifications and the AICD Foundations of Directorship course. Zoe also has specialist brain-based and business coaching credentials from the Neuroleadership Institute and The International Coaching Institute.

Currently providing mentoring and coaching services to new and emerging business leaders, Zoe has served on banking, private wealth, and for-purpose Australian boards as Deputy Chair, Non-Executive Director, and Advisory Member, providing senior expertise in strategy and risk, corporate governance, finance, and stakeholder engagement.

She is known for her humanistic and collaborative leadership style and for her passion for supporting others in their own career journeys. Zoe sets clear expectations, creating a vision around common goals and energising teams to succeed.

Her ability to connect and inspire people lays the foundation of her leadership approach, driving businesses forward and increasing the engagement and performance of employees wherever she goes. She is a motivational and inspiring leader, thoughtful coach, and empathetic mentor who effectively changes how teams operate and grow.

James Do is the National Manager Virtual Acquisition for the Westpac Group and oversees Virtual Home Lending for Westpac, St George, Bank of Melbourne and Bank of South Australia.

James joined Westpac in 2015 and has since held various State Manager roles in both Victoria and South Australia for the Westpac Group specialising in Digital. He specialises in transforming businesses through adoption of new technologies and ways of working. James has over a decade of experience in the Financial Services industry and is passionate about technology and how we can use it to contribute towards creating innovative solutions and customer experiences in the digital age today.

James comes to Australia as a refugee and is passionate about increasing diversity in leadership roles across the industry.

In 2010, I successfully completed a 4 year secondment with ANZ London, Markets.

The mandate was the build ANZ’s Fixed Income Distribution business. It was a defining moment in my career which helped refine my technical skills and develop a broad understanding/appreciation of financial markets – most of all though, it helped me build strong leadership skills – skills of determination, focus, honesty and empathy.