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Our Board

Our Board

Playgroup NSW is run by our members for our members.

The Playgroup NSW Board is made up of Directors who are elected from and by our membership under our constitution.

The responsibilities of the Board include setting and reviewing our strategic direction, monitoring organisational performance, establishing policy, the appointment of the CEO and enhancing the organisation’s public image.

The Board bring extensive expertise in governance, business operations, accounting, law, project management, marketing, not-for-profit management and human resources. They have experienced the benefits of playgroup first-hand and are passionate about supporting the delivery of playgroup to families in NSW.

Role of the Board

The role of the Board is to maintain a high level of corporate governance across the organisation. The Board is responsible for:

Overall governance of Playgroup NSW
Determining the association’s policies
Approving the association’s annual budget
Receiving, considering and acting upon advice from the organisation
Entering into agreements with government or authorities
Investing the association’s funds in trustee investments

Members are elected at the Association’s Annual General Meeting.

To find out more about the roles and responsibilities of the Board, read the Playgroup NSW Charter and the Playgroup NSW Constitution

Playgroup NSW Board

	Annette Ruhotas Morgan Chairperson Annette is a qualified Engineer and Secondary Teacher with 15 years of experience in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors in Australia, the UK and the South Pacific. She has held positions in business leadership, social sustainability, community development, project management and construction delivery. When Annette had her daughter Georgia in 2012, she started up a new playgroup session with Oatley West Playgroup in southern Sydney. Annette has been the overall Coordinator of the playgroup since 2013 and currently attends with her newborn son, Nicholas Annette is also the Coordinator of the Management Committee of St George Zone of Playgroups. The Zone is a voluntary not-for-profit organisation operating under the umbrella of Playgroup NSW that promotes the benefits of over 40 local playgroup sessions to families within the St George area of NSW.
	Tracey Watts Treasurer Tracey joined the board of Playgroup in 2016 and is also a current member of the Audit, Compliance and Finance Committee. She has attended playgroup with her son for the last two years and has also volunteered as the day leader during this time. Being a single mum with a very active little boy, she relies on her local playgroup not only for her child’s benefit, but also for the support and friendship she has received from the other parents/grandparents/carers. She believes strongly in the value of playgroup in bringing families together. Tracey is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants ANZ with over 20 years' experience in tax, accounting, management and business advice including 12 years running her own firm.
	Karen Lui Vice President Karen has two children and believes strongly in the value of playgroup to bring families together, the way it can foster the social development of children and provide support within the community. She joined the Playgroup NSW Board in 2017 and is a current member of the Audit, Compliance and Finance Committee. Karen is a Chartered Accountant and a member of the Taxation Institute of Australia, with over 20 years’ experience in tax and accounting.
	Karen Lu Secretary Karen has more than 10 years of experience as an IT professional. Extensive industry experience in application design, SOA service design, data modelling, solution architecture and delivery. Karen became a member of the playgroup when her son Alexander was born in December 2016. The journey with Playgroup started with the January Sutherland mother’s group seeking a playgroup to entertain the babies. They visited multiple play centers e.g. Oyster Bay, Menai and Gymea Bay and ended up joining the Gymea bay playgroup. Karen has learnt a lot about the playgroup program since and would like to further devote herself to support the community and bring joy to families
	Janine Ferris Board Member Janine is a mum of a super energetic daughter who can't wait for Playgroup each week! She lives in a small farming town in outback NSW which had no activities for young children and their families, so she established the local Playgroup in 2016. Through a wonderful partnership with the local Country Women's Association and community support, parents, carers and grandparents with young children now have a fantastic place to meet and support each other through the drought and general challenges of raising children. Janine is a qualified high school teacher and manages a national education program for a not-for-profit organisation helping young children and school students of all ages learn how to be safe around trains. She is also a postgraduate research student looking at ways to improve the way children learn about transport safety. Janine has also been a volunteer with the NSW State Emergency Service since 2011.
	Bettina McMahon Board Member Bettina is a mother of two young girls. She has a Master’s degree in Public Policy and one in Business. Bettina is Head of Risk and Assurance with the National eHealth Transition Authority. Her daughters attend playgroup with their grandmother and Bettina is particularly interested in advocating for better recognition of the role grandparents play in raising our children, through acknowledgement of this work in our community and through better support and funding for grandparents who are also child carers.
	Xin Yin Ooi Board Member Xin is a mum of two boys and is currently running a Mandarin playgroup in Beaumont Hills. Xin has worked with KPMG, office of the Auditor-General of NSW, and is currently with a team that manages water resources within NSW Department of Industry. Her professional skills are mainly in the Finance, Data Analytics and Government management areas.
	Siobhan King Board Member Siobhan is a mother of 3 school-age boys and began attending playgroup in her regional hometown when her eldest son was 6 weeks old. As a primary teacher, she has always been passionate about providing opportunities for rich play experiences during childhood and enjoyed contributing to the all-ages and baby playgroups that she attended and coordinated over the past 11 years. Siobhan studied both Early Childhood and Gifted Education while her children were young.
	Tamera Lang Board Member Tamera is a co-ordinator and session leader of Clovelly Playgroup in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The group has operated for more than 40 years, with a membership in excess of 100 families and more than 30 families regularly attending 3 weekly sessions. Tamera joined the Playgroup NSW Board in late 2018, and brings the perspective of an active volunteer and current playgroup member. Professionally, Tamera has a background in taxation consulting and financial policy, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Laws and Master of Taxation.