Board of Directors

Helen Conway (President)

BA, LLB, FAICD, MICDA, Member of Chief Executive Women

Location: Sydney

Helen Conway is an experienced leader, director, senior executive and lawyer who has worked in a range of organisations in the commercial, public and not-for-profit sectors.

Helen spent 10 years in private legal practice, including 7 years as a partner in a major law firm in Sydney, and then moved into the corporate sector where she worked as a senior executive. She has extensive experience as a Board Chair and Director in various sectors including health, transport, energy, housing and homelessness, education and training, financial services and domestic and family violence.

Helen has undertaken a range of voluntary activities in the not-for-profit sector. She was previously the Judicial Head of the NSW Equal Opportunity Tribunal and set up the Australian Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency, a statutory authority with regulatory and other responsibilities.

Khayshie Tilak Ramesh (Vice President)

B Law (Hons), GDLP (in progress), Certificate of Mediation Accreditation

Location: Melbourne

Khayshie is a passionate advocate for youth, multiculturalism and diverse representation at influential decision-making tables. She is an experienced board director, youth mentor, legal advisor and is the Multicultural Youth Commissioner of Victoria. 

Khayshie’s expertise in governance, risk and strategy, alongside her lived experience has created value within a number of organisations including Ambulance Victoria, ARCJustice, Inaugural City of Greater Bendigo Youth Council and various State government appointments. As a pioneer of youth leadership within the community, her long-standing dedication has been recognised through accolades including Young Citizen of the Year, Law Student of the Year 2019, Premier’s Volunteer Champion 2019 and being named in the top 100 future leaders of Australia.  Khayshie seeks to bring an intersectional lens to the YWCA and is most excited to champion capacity building for the voices of diverse young women in leadership on a national stage.

Molly George

B Arts (Fine Arts), GC Social Impact (in progress)

Location: Melbourne

Molly is a creative, curious and perceptive Social Impact professional. She has contributed extensively to the not-for-profit sector in both paid and voluntary capacities. Molly currently works as a Program Advisor at the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, and has previously worked at SYN Media in various positions. She was Youth Representative at the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) from 2018-19, and a 2019 Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) ‘Young Social Pioneer’ for her proposal to improve governance diversity and inclusion policies and practices.

Molly has been a non-executive Director at YWCA Australia from 2019, and a non-executive Director at YWCA Housing and YWCA National Housing since 2020. She currently chairs the Nominations Committee and has previously sat on the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and People, Culture and Governance Committee.

Apoorva Kallianpur

B Comm (Finance, Accounting), CA

Location: Sydney

Apoorva is a dedicated Chartered Accountant and strategic leader, with 12 years of professional experience in financial planning, strategy development & execution, and audit.  At 17, Apoorva commenced her Finance career at Deloitte and consistently strived to develop Young Women, through mentoring, speaking at UNSW leadership panels and facilitating youth empowerment workshops at High Resolves Australia.  On the Pymble Ladies’ College Alumni Board, Apoorva contributed to female mentoring programs and implementation of Indigenous scholarship initiatives. 

Apoorva is a Senior Commercial Manager at Vocus and sits on the organisation’s Diversity & Belonging Council to foster an environment of equal access to opportunities, inclusion & education on gender and culture. She serves as a Non-Executive Board Director & Treasurer at Regional Disability Advocacy Service, ensuring its long-term financial sustainability and drives initiatives to support people with disabilities in regional Australia. 

In 2021, Apoorva was Acuity magazine’s Future Leader Under 35, for her strategic roadmap and commitment to drive positive change in the community & Finance profession. 

As a Director at YWCA, Apoorva aims to close the gender equality gap, empower young women to challenge the status quo and overcome barriers impacting female representation at management levels.  Apoorva will leverage her professional expertise, authentic purpose-driven attitude, and intersectional lens to deliver the YeS 2026 strategy. 

Caroline Lambert

BA (Hons), MA, Postgraduate Diploma (International Law), PhD, GAICD

Location: Melbourne

Dr Caroline Lambert has been contributing to social change for over 35 years, particularly in the area of gender equality. She has held senior management roles in feminist organisations in Australia, with a focus on gender equality within Australia and in the Pacific and Asia. As a Board Director and Chair she has contributed to organisations focused on women’s housing, young women’s leadership, human rights activism, and the creative industries (with a particular focus on artists with disability).

She currently works as an independent consultant with feminist and human rights organisations, providing accompaniment on evidence-informed strategy, governance, impact evaluation, and organisational development – with a particular focus on intersectional feminist tools to support this work. She works with clients in Australia and internationally, and has significant experience working in cross cultural contexts.

Caroline has authored books and articles on feminist governance, and feminist and human rights activism. Her doctorate focused on feminist economics and political theory in the context of human rights and trade.

Marina Rofe

B Bus, CA 

Location: Sydney

Marina is a senior commercial finance leader with 18+ years of experience in finance, business transformation, process excellence, risk & governance, and strategy. She has led and developed group wide solutions for strategic projects by providing operational and financial expertise on business activities and drivers. She has held roles with oversight and critical accountability of large finance functions driving strong visions for business partnering, governance, process excellence and digitisation. Marina is a Chartered Accountant, holds a Bachelor of Business from UTS, and was a finalist in AFR BOSS Young Executives 2021.  Currently, she is the General Manager, Strategy & Operations for Development at Mirvac, responsible for a number of functions across Business Solutions, HSE, Sustainability, Quality and Product Strategy. 

Marina is passionate about change and driving gender equality by recognising that different backgrounds and life experiences colour one’s circumstances. She believes that education and empowering women are essential for gender equality. Marina strongly values diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the broader community. Creating a community of diverse people and ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute, influence and feel safe is key to achieving a healthy society. Marina’s experiences to date both professionally and personally provide strong appreciation and key foundational skills to support the core activities of YWCA Australia and YeS 2026.   

Rebecca Thomas

B Sc (Hons), Investment Management Certificate

Location: Sydney

Rebecca is a banking and funds management professional with deep experience in debt and equity financing, having led large scale investments across both Europe and Australia over the last 15 years. She has a strong passion for driving change, especially in the Australian housing sector believing that everyone should have a safe place to call home. She works with the impact investment firm Sentient Impact Group.

She brings her enthusiasm and extensive expertise in investment in the social and affordable housing sector to her Board Director role.

Mannie Kaur Verma

B Law, Masters of Politics and Policy (in progress)

Location: Melbourne

Mannie Kaur Verma is recognised by Herald Sun as one of Melbourne’s most influential lawyers, for giving a voice to those who are often absent from our complex judicial system. She is also a finalist of Women of the Future 2021, a Women’s Weekly initiative celebrating the incredible social work of young women in Australia. 

As a Principal Lawyer and Founder of Regal Lawyers, Mannie is responsible for the strategic development and governance of the law practice. Regal Lawyers is an innovative disrupter in the legal industry, being one of the only law practices in Australia that places intersectionality at the core of its work. To extend her knowledge of intersectional feminism, Mannie is also conducting research with Deakin University to improve the representation of diverse women in politics. 

  For the last six years, Mannie has been representing and advocating for domestic violence victims and has worked with the Victorian government and organisations such as Whise and Intouch to deliver tailored and targeted programs to prevent family violence and provide temporary housing. 

 Mannie has contributed more than 750 hours of pro bono work and is a 2021 finalist of Lawyers Weekly 30 under 30 – Pro Bono. 

Shaylem Wilson

B Sociology (in progress)

Location: Adelaide

Shaylem is a proud Ngarrindjeri woman and passionate advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination and intersectional feminism. Shaylem has several years’ experience working in the education and child advocacy sector. Shaylem currently works at the Office of the Guardian for Children & Young People as the Principal Aboriginal Advocate. Shaylem is a knowledgeable leader and wants to see an equitable future for marginalised women and children.

As a non-Executive Director, Shaylem hopes to empower young women to challenge the status quo and overcome barriers impacting female representation in leadership, especially for women from diverse backgrounds whose journeys to leadership are often challenged by experiences of discrimination. Shaylem is excited to lead through her lived experience, to further highlight the importance of Aboriginal perspectives in these spaces of intersectional feminism and gender equality.

Renée Wirth

B Planning, Masters of Development Studies

Location: Sydney

Renée is passionate about affordable housing as a feminist issue and has spent her career working on policies, programs and initiatives to increase the supply of social and affordable housing for the community.

Renée has over 19 years’ experience in managing the planning and delivery of social and affordable housing including roles in the NSW Government, UK Government, local councils and the not-for-profit community housing industry. Her recent experience includes time in the executive team of SGCH (St George Community Housing), the largest community housing provider operating in Sydney with 7,000 social and affordable homes under management.

Through a range of roles, Renée has gained experience developing government policies for social and affordable housing, delivering affordable housing through the planning system, funding and financing mechanisms for affordable housing, compliance and regulatory settings for community housing and developing and executing strategic growth initiatives.

Zodie Bolic

Zodie is a passionate youth advocate with experiences across the public, private and the not-for-profit sectors. A recent Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts, Zodie combines artistic expertise with an understanding of public policy as an early career public servant. She is currently pursuing a Diploma of Governance at the Institute of Community Directors Australia, supported by the Victorian Government’s Office for Women’s Board Leadership program, and a Graduate Certificate in Public Administration at the University of Canberra. 

Zodie has a proven track record in leadership and governance, having served two terms on the board of the University of Melbourne Student Union. Currently, Zodie sits on the Youth Affairs Board Subcommittee of the Y Victoria and volunteers for several youth led not-for-profits. In 2023, Zodie chaired the Victorian Government’s flagship youth advisory body, the Victorian Youth Congress, whilst working as a young co-designer and peer facilitator at the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria.

In addition to her professional endeavours, Zodie is an independent contemporary dance artist. She recently presented an original work, ‘COOKING WITH GAS,’ at Buxton Contemporary, supported by the University of Melbourne’s flagship program for global sustainability, the Wattle Fellowship. Her artistic practice complements her advocacy work, reflecting her multifaceted approach to driving positive change in the community.

Linda Le

Linda is a passionate feminist focused on advancing gender equality and creating a future where all women, young women and girls are safe and respected, with equal access to power, opportunity and resources.

She has a breadth of experience across law, startups, not-for-profits and marketing. She has previously worked with not-for-profit organisations to maximise their social impact including as the Chair of Youthlaw, the President of the Global Consulting Group, and Vice President of a social enterprise focused on empowering women. 

Outside of this, she has also contributed to a number of youth advisory committees, including for Unilever’s Dove and the US Embassy. Most relevantly, she was also YWCA delegate to the sixty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2021!