Our People
Our Board
David Brine
Chair
David is an independent consultant working on large business change programs, providing people-centred thinking to initiatives. David’s experience has spanned professional services and recently within financial services at CBA and ASX. David has been a Board member since 2019.
Frank Costigan
Board
Frank is currently Chief Customer Officer at QBE Insurance, based in Sydney. He was previously CEO at Youi Insurance and prior to this held senior positions with Berkshire Hathaway and IAG Limited. Frank’s care started with Deloitte before moving into investment banking with UBS. Frank and his partner live in Paddington and have twin 4-year old boys.
Alvi Ahmed
Board
Alvi is part of the Education team at Minus18 and is a youth advocate within the broader LGBTQIA+ not-for-profit sector. In 2019, he was part of the Victorian Government's LGBTIQ Leadership Program and currently works in the Victorian Pride Centre, Australia's first purpose-built LGBTQIA+ community hub. He holds a Bachelor of Accounting from the University of Technology Sydney and is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) with over five years of experience across banking and finance.
Board
Janine Middleton AM
Janine is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has a Masters in Applied Finance from Macquarie University. She was named as one of Australia’s Top 100 Women of Influence in 2016, a Boss Magazine True Leader in 2018 and, in January 2020, was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) - for significant service to the LGBTIQ+ community, and to marriage equality.
Sophia Frentz
Board
Dr Sophia Frentz is originally from Tauranga New Zealand, and expatriated themselves to Melbourne/Naarm for their PhD. They are currently a Senior Data Consultant at Eliiza, and a Councillor for the Royal Society of Victoria. They have a PhD in Medical Genetics from the University of Melbourne and have written for a range of publications. They are non-binary, bisexual, autistic, and disabled, and passionate about improving how we understand and describe gender, especially in a medical setting. They live and work on the unceded lands of the Kulin Nation. Sophia is really excited to build connections to the STEMM LGBTQIA+ community for OFA.
Blake Connell
Board
Blake is a Senior Lawyer at the Australian Government Digital Transformation Agency and a former CEO of Out for Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, Diploma of Languages and Juris Doctor from the University of Melbourne. In 2019, he was named the Rising Star of the Year at both the Australian Law Awards and the Law Institute of Victoria Awards. Blake is passionate about making sure LGBTQIA+ Australians have secure work and are equal in the workplace.
Emily Scott
Board
Emily is a management consultant with Nous Group and an admitted lawyer who is currently completing her MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM). She was the previous CEO of Out for Australia and currently serves as Director for the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics Association (IGLA). She was awarded an AFR 100 Women of Influence in 2019 for her contribution to the LGBTIQ community. She is passionate about mental health awareness and LGBTIQ+ inclusion in sport and workplaces.
Alan Wu
Board
Alan serves on the board of racial justice organisation Democracy in Colour, and is a senior advisor with the Open Government Partnership, a multilateral project to make governments more inclusive, responsive and accountable. Previously, Alan served as Chair of Australia’s peak body for young people. He has worked with the Australian Government, including across the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Attorney-General, and Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Senior Leadership
Frances Gamble
Chief Executive Officer
Frances (she/her) is based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, (so-called Canberra). She is passionate about positive social change through strategy, collaboration and evidence-based policy making, and works in data integration at the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Frances has 10 years+ experience in the for-purpose sector, including 8-years at the NGO Oaktree. Her background is in policy, leadership, marketing and wine studies. Frances was Victoria's State Director in 2019 and Deputy CEO in 2020. She has been CEO since the start of 2021.
Kevin Lin
Chief Finance & Governance Officer
Kevin is an employment consultant at KPMG Australia and works with businesses to design and transform their HR operations and payroll functions in order to meet their obligations to employees. He is a Chartered Accountant (ANZ) and holds a Master of Finance from the University of Melbourne. Based in Melbourne, he enjoys quality time with his friends, walks with his dog and is passionate about promoting LGBTQIA+ representation in the workplace.
Heather Preston
Deputy CEO
Heather (she/her) works in Strategic Relationships Management at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, WA. She holds a Master of Business Administration, specialising in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, also from ECU.
Heather is a Mum to two young kids and is passionate about making sure the next generation have visible role models, providing a safe space for LGBTQIA+ youth to be their authentic selves in every aspect of their lives.
Leah Mañago
Chief Marketing Officer
Leah is of Filipino descent, and works at Tyro, an Australian payments company based in Sydney, as the Head of Partnerships & Performance Optimisation Marketing. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Liberal Studies) from The University of Sydney, majoring in International Relations and Marketing. In 2021, she joined Out For Australia as the National Communications Director.
Chief People Officer
Kirsty Miller
Kirsty (she/her) works in data insights & analysis within Health. She holds a bachelor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and is passionate about helping others to use data to make informed decisions. Kirsty’s passionate about helping individuals bring their whole selves to each aspect of their lives & integrates this into her role as Chief People Officer.
Brandon Elmer
Chief Impact Officer
Brandon (he/him) works for Westpac Group in risk and compliance and has previous experience in change management and learning and development. He holds a Bachelor of Business from Griffith University, majoring in HR. Brandon is passionate about ensuring LGBTQIA+ youth are given opportunities to be their authentic selves and feel empowered by their identity.
Alvaro Rodas Fernandez
Chief Business Officer
Alvaro has over 15 years’ experience in commercial planning, partnerships and strategy and currently works for Qantas. Originally from Spain, Alvaro has lived in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Middle East. He holds a Bachelor's in Law and recently completed an Executive MBA from the University of New South Wales. Alvaro is also a Board Director of Media Diversity Australia, a not-for-profit championing greater cultural and linguistic diversity representation in the Australian media.
John Willers
Chief Community Officer
John (He/Him) is passionate about everything Out For Australia. Joining the ACT team in 2018, John is OFA's Chief Community Officer, supporting all states with their strategy and event planning. On not-so-busy days he enjoys cooking, the piano and hiking around Canberra.
Hank Paul
Chief Storytelling Officer
Hank (they/he) is a distinguished business owner, writer, and LGBTQ+ advocate. Hank works full-time as a wedding photographer, specialising in inclusive weddings. They are also the co-host of the Profit on the Margins podcast, author of the book Queer-Owned, and the creator of the ground-breaking documentary audio series First Look: How Marriage Equality is transforming the wedding industry. In 2018, Hank co-founded the mental health charity Listen Up Music, where they served as Chair for 3 years.
Jonathon Tseng
Head of Mentoring
Jonathan (he/him) works in customer growth and revenue initiatives at Neuron Mobility and has had over 8 years of experience working in leadership roles with a focus on achieving key customer outcomes and growth across a range of public and private sector companies. He is passionate about creating positive social change and impact in the community through strategy, transformation and analytics.
State Directors
Vacant - Apply Here
ACT
George Zhao
NSW
Vacant - Apply Here
NT
Renee Shike
QLD
SA
Zachary Borthwick
Vacant - Apply Here
TAS
Al Noor
VIC
Vacant - Apply Here
WA
National Directors
Business Development
Jarrod Glascott
Business Strategy
Darcy
Community Engagement
Katsu
Data
Gizem
Governance, Risk and Administration
Maddy
Managing Editor and Communications
Sarah Mendoza
Brand, Media and 30 Under 30
Mitchell Bulley
Mentoring
Josh Newton
Partnerships
Ash Pandey
People & Culture
Ruben Clark
People Operations
Jemma McIntyre
Regional
Nic Steepe
Laura Letheby
Outreach
Events
Andre Link
Equity & Accessibility
Rosie Luscombe
AJ Birchall
Web Administrator
Mardi Gras
Glenn Hall
Research and Insights
Leslie Peters
Equity & Accessibility Deputy
Alice Manning
Mentoring Thought Leadership
Elana Berton
Coordinators and Support
Equity & Accessibility
Ebe Ganon
Outreach - VIC
Michael Tian
Community Engagement - VIC
*Gregory Francis
Events - ACT
Wylie Pang
JIRA Projects
*Remya Pillai
Events - SA
*Emily Williams
Podcast Producer
Callum McDonald
Partnerships
*Adhiraj Rana
Executive Assistant to the CEO
Caden Lee
Outreach - QLD
*Yohaann Jafrani
Mentoring Experience
Daniel Wong
Secretary
*Drew Cutler
Podcast Host
Rhen Callinan
Partnerships
Andy Chiem
Content Writer
Elisabeth Hansen
Grants Coordinator
Gabriel Filer
Newsletter & EDMs
Jane Zouch
Mentoring Experience
Jen Mai
Partnerships
Lauren Wesbury
Partnerships
Lucas Peers-Catt
Legal Support Officer
Marisha Fernando
Business Analyst
*Chantelle Gregory
Content Writer
*Louisa Keron
Recruitment
Lal Rai
Learning and Development
*Sarah Waters
JIRA Projects
*Clara Tang
Data Analyst & Podcast Content
Eleanor Horn
Equity & Accessibility
Leo Bortolotto
Content Coordinator
Diego Esquivel Alvarez
Graphic Designer
Kenny Phan
Legal Support Officer
Brandon Le
General Volunteers
*Luna Dhaniswara
*Jenna Jensch
Michele Franco Villacorta
Juan Campos
*Alex Gehrke
Kerry Chu
Laura Falkner
Lucas Hourani-McEwan
*LJ Zhou
*Miranda Foreman