Foundation Board Members
Gary is the former CEO and Director of Newcastle Port Corporation and worked in maritime operations for Newcastle Port Corporation for over thirty years. He previously served as Chairman of Ports Australia, Newcastle Seafarers Centre Limited and Lifeline Hunter Central Coast and was a Director of the Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator Limited, Hunter Valley Research Foundation and Lifeline Direct Ltd. He has also been a Board Member of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
Gary holds a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (Executive); Graduate Diploma in Education (TAFE NSW) and a Bachelor of Surveying (Honours), is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and in 2008 was named as Newcastle City Council’s Australia Day Citizen of the Year.
Joss is a well-known member of the Hunter business community and has successfully built a number of manufacturing and engineering enterprises in the Hunter region. Joss currently holds the position of Director of Custom Fluidpower Ltd Pty, Comrie & Weir Pty Ltd, Dynamic Hydraulics Pty Ltd, Australian Automation Centre, Gamde Pty Ltd, Fluidtech International Pty Ltd, Newcastle Port Consortium Pty Ltd and WESF Pty Ltd. De Iuliis Wines is a stakeholder in the Hunter region’s wine industry, and Joss is an ambassador for the Hunter’s wine and tourism industries.
John has held Senior Management/Director responsibilities in the Manufacturing industry spanning a career of more than 30 years. During this time he was also a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia and a Member of both the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. John was the inaugural President of the Hunter TAFE Foundation, leading the Foundation from 2000 – 2013, and again in 2018 – 2019.
As a graduate of Queensland University of Technology, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the University of Adelaide, Susie has experienced first-hand the value of education and training in career advancement and development.
In 2016, Susie joined TAFE NSW as the General Manager People and Safety was then promoted to the Regional General Manager at TAFE NSW, North Region in May 2018. Susie has been instrumental in modernising TAFE NSW to be a corporate, commercial and sustainable business. TAFE NSW North Region provides vocational education and training to tens of thousands of students each year across 35 campuses located from Gosford to Kingscliff.
Greg is the Chairman of The Lake Macquarie Foundation and a Director of the Newcastle Golf Club. Greg has extensive business experience, both within the Hunter region and in hospitality and tourism sector. Greg was inducted into the NSW Restaurant and Catering Hall of Fame in 2004 and in 2012 Greg was the inaugural Lake Macquarie “Business Person of the Year”. Greg was the President of the Warners Bay Chamber of Commerce for 19 years, a former Chairman of the Lake Macquarie Tourist Association and a former Director of Hunter Tourism.
Kay was a Director with the NSW Department of Education from 2007 to January 2016, having leadership and management responsibilities for NSW public schools and their Principals in Lake Macquarie East. For over a decade she was a member of the Department’s Hunter/Central Coast Regional, later Tamworth Network, Executive, and led a range of education portfolios including Equity, Student Wellbeing, Vocational Education and Professional Leadership. Previously she was principal of Lisarow High School on the Central Coast for over six years. She has also held executive positions in four other NSW high schools, has been the NSW Board of Studies Liaison Officer for the Hunter region and a previous NSW Education Regional Manager for equity and vocational education initiatives.