Cahoots Board and Staff
Our CEO
David Armstrong
Chief Executive Officer
David Armstrong has two decades of CEO experience leading charitable and community focused organisations such as Surf Life Saving WA, Leeuwin Ocean Adventure Foundation, Perth Football League and WA All Abilities Football Association.
Together with tertiary qualifications in communication and post graduate qualifications in business, David has consulted to state government agencies, not-for-profits and local government on governance, strategic planning, risk management, volunteer management and club development.
He has held Board roles as Chair Cycling WA and Deputy Chair Sportwest
Our Board
Christine Truscott
President
Christine is a chemical engineer who worked in the mining industry for twenty years in a variety of positions. Her experience includes managing operating plants, running technical teams across an organisation and working with government, environmental, community and indigenous groups to allow the start-up of new mines. Christine has sat on various sporting and community committees and is currently a member of the Hockey WA Board and chairperson of their Risk Management and Governance Committee. Christine has been a member of the Cahoots Board since 2009 and Chairperson since 2010.
Damien Williams
Vice President
For over a decade, Damien has provided a sound working knowledge of working strategically at Executive and C Suite levels whilst maintaining day to day management accountabilities with teams ranging in size from 4 through to 150. He has worked in both Business to Business and customer facing organisations and has developed a cross functional skill set that allows for successful completion of operational deliverables across planning, resourcing, logistics, execution, quality control and customer management. He also specialises in mobile equipment mining technology; has intimate knowledge of the identification, deployment and ongoing support of technology solutions and systems.
Melinda Cahill
Secretary
Melinda joined the Cahoots Board in 2021 and is a member of the Marketing Subcommittee. As a previous owner of a successful marketing agency, Melinda has been exposed to a wide range of industry sectors including medical, legal, property, retail, leadership, charity and consulting, in Australia, USA, Mexico, Malaysia and New Zealand. Today, Melinda specialises in strategic marketing consulting, working with organisations to align marketing strategy with brand energy and purpose. She delivers clarity on positioning, branding and customer journey curation, and has a passion for differentiation that sets a brand apart from competitors and captivates attention from an audience.Melinda also has passion for purpose-driven causes, which led her to Cahoots.
“It’s an honour to be a part of Cahoots”, says Melinda, “the staff, volunteers and supporters are creating such a difference in the lives of children and young people living with disability, as well as their families. I hope to contribute meaningfully to the inspiring Cahoots mission”.
Jorrit Muller
Treasurer
Jorrit joined Cahoots in 2021 as a member of the Finance and Audit Subcommittee and is well versed in accounting, finance, economics, and business. Jorrit has over 10 years of experience in commercial property development and is currently employed as a Senior Development Manager, overseeing large commercial property development projects for one of Australia’s most active ASX listed property funds. Having studied a Masters of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Economics and Construction Management, as-well-as a Graduate Certificate Property Finance and Investment, Jorrit is a valued member of the Finance and Audit Subcommittee.
“I am passionate about giving back and am excited to be a part of Cahoots, contributing to improving the lives of young people facing exceptional challenges in a meaningful way.”
Peta Kennedy
Board Director
After studying and then sailing around the world on the Endeavour Replica, Peta moved to Sydney and started a new chapter in telecommunications. She was involved in Project Management for the next 15 years, managing large scale rollouts of networks and lived in over 12 countries. Peta feels very fortunate to have experienced first-hand many different cultures and is now proud to be back in Perth with her family.
Peta is the Chairperson of both a Primary and Secondary, Special Education Support Centre school and on the Advisory Council for an all-girls school. She has two wonderful children, one who has special needs. Cahoots have been part of their family’s life for 3 years and she feels fortunate that she has been able to send her child there and ensure that they feel included, supported, and most importantly have fun there.
Life has been very exciting and kind to the family whose purpose for the next few years is to give back and serve.
Peta is very excited to have joined the Cahoots Board as a Director in 2023.
Kim Knott
Board Director
Kim is a risk and governance professional within the mining and shipping industry, with a passion for the not-for-profit and community sector. Her experience includes risk management, compliance, business continuity, and insurance.
Kim joined Cahoots in 2021, following her tenure as Director and Risk and Audit Committee Member of WA Blue Sky. Kim has also sat on the City of Perth’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group and volunteered her expertise to other NFP organisations across WA.
Finance and Audit Subcommittee (FASC)
- Jorrit Muller (Chairperson)
- Christine Truscott
- Damien Williams
- Nik Trajcevski
- Geoff Patching
- David Armstrong
- Kalpesh Kotecha
Governance, Risk, Audit and Quality Committee
- Damien Williams (Chairperson)
- Kim Knott
- Ben Johnson
- Marcos Tabacow
- David Armstrong
Executive Leadership Team
Kalpesh Kotecha
Corporate Services Manager
Pearl Cruickshank
Operations Manager
Lilou Peaud
Community Engagement Manager
Matthew Rologas
Marketing Manager
Tim Drown
Kerem Adventure Camp Manager
Our Team
Sarah George
Quality and Safeguard Lead
Operations
Joel McKenna
Workforce Coordinator
Daniel Gibbons
Volunteer Coordinator
Brandon Lindquist
Service Administrator All abilities and Volunteer officer
Amanda Gibbons
Service Administrator High Support
Sarah Harris
Service Coordinator High Support
Julian Spencer
Service Coordinator All abilities
Customer Experience
Celine Thulliez
Senior Family Relationships Officer
Carly Hancock
Family Relationships Officer
Sarah George
Family Relationships Officer
Jamie Hickey
Family Relationships Officer
Marketing and Fundraising Team
Stephanie Jackson
Regional Business Development
Marie Gooley
Marketing Coordinator
Ben Cox
Community Engagement Officer
Georgia Payne
COMMUNICATIONS officer
Deena Hineidi
COMMUNICATIONS Coordinator
Finance
Phanny Nong
Finance and Admin Officer
Moksh Patel
Accounts Officer
Kerem Adventure Camp
Oliver Clendenning
Kerem Adventure Camp - Activities Manager
Daryl Lawrence
Kerem Adventure Camp - Maintenance officer
Jodie Espinos
Kerem adventure camp - kitchen manager/admin
Alison Silver
Kerem Adventure Camp - Camp Chef
Interested in joining the team?
If you are interested in joining the Cahoots team we would love to hear from you.
Board and Subcommittees
Human Resources
david.armstrong@cahoots.org.au