Our Board
Dr. Andy Marks - Chair
As Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Andy drives Western Sydney University’s strategic collaborations with government, industry and the community. He is co-founder of the ‘LaunchPad’ startup incubator, founder of the CatalystWest forum, Chair of Western Sydney Community Forum, and Chair of the Committee for Sydney’s Western City Taskforce.
Andy writes regular columns for the Sydney Morning Herald, the Daily Telegraph, the Financial Review, and the Saturday Paper on politics and social issues. He features on ABC radio’s political forum, and is an occasional panelist on The Drum.
Prior to his current role, Andy was a researcher in the social services sector and professional musician with ARIA nominated band Crow.
Keith Hamilton - Vice Chair
Keith has a passion for social justice, and a drive to include people whom society often excludes. He has been a minster of the Uniting Church in Australia for 27 years, and involved in the church and community of Western Sydney for the past 17. Keith holds a Bachelor of Theology and three Masters’ degrees in Theology, Communications and Cultural Studies, and Community Management. Keith was the Group CEO of Parramatta Mission and deputy chair of the Uniting Church in Western Sydney. He is currently a Director on the Board of the Community Migrant Resource Centre, and joined the Board in 2015.
Turkan Aksoy - Secretary
Turkan is the NSW Coordinator for the Welcoming Cities program at Welcoming Australia. They are experienced in the government and non-government sectors, including building the capacity of small and emerging communities, cultural diversity training, employment skills development, women at risk, collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and youth mentoring. Turkan holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences, an Associate Diploma in Applied Science and a Diploma in Leadership and Management. They joined the Board in 2020.
Ben Jackson - Treasurer
Ben spent a decade working in the corporate sector and after project managing direct sales of charity products, he entered the not for profit sector. Since that time, he has held senior management positions in health, disability and community services. Ben is an active voice in the community sector and is the CEO of Active Care Network previously Great Community Transport and Easy Go Connect. He holds a number of leadership representative positions including being director of CTO the peak body for community transport organisations. Ben joined the Board in 2014 and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and post graduate qualifications in Public Relations.
Geraldine Dean - Board Director
Geraldine is the CEO of Youth Solutions in the Macarthur area. She is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the not for profit, charity, health & community sector. Skilled in Team Management, Organisational Development, Community Engagement and Development, Program Development, Fundraising and Event Management. Geraldine is a strong business development professional who holds a Bachelor of Arts, Social Science. Geraldine joined the Board in 2021.
Kamalle Dabboussy - Board Director
Kamalle has more than 33 years’ experience working in the fields of migrant and refugee settlement support, with culturally and linguistically diverse youth and in international humanitarian aid. He has worked actively and strategically across civil and political spheres to further the participation and successful settlement of diverse communities, including with Sydney’s Muslim communities, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AusAID, and with Parliamentary Ministers and MPs. Kamalle is the CEO at Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre and he chaired the SSI Board between 2012-2016. Both organisations have grown exponentially during this time to provide increased services and improved social impact. SSI has experienced eight-fold growth and diversified its operations into many areas, in this time, such as out-of-home care, asylum seeker support, housing services, disability support and most recently employment services. Kamalle is also Treasurer of South West Sydney Legal Centre and has been an active member and leader of numerous other boards and committees in his career. Kamalle joined the Board in 2020 and holds a degree in Industrial Relations and is an Australian Institute of Company Directors graduate.
Karen van Woudenberg - Board Director
Stephanie Oatley - Board Director
Stephanie is the CEO of Platform Youth Services. She has made an extraordinary impact on the Youth Homelessness Sector and the Specialist Homeless Service system through her commitment, dedication and passion to ensure that there is a viable and sustainable service system for young people experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness. Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Psychology and joined the Board in 2020.