Our members

Business and community members

Tracey Slatter – Chair

Tracey is a respected community leader. She values diverse perspectives, good governance, and high performance, aiming to deliver the best possible outcomes for her organisations, the region and Victoria.

Tracey is the CEO of the Transport Accident Commission, was previously the Managing Director of Barwon Water for 6 years, has been a CEO of 2 Councils and held senior executive roles in health and community services. Tracey has postgraduate qualifications in business leadership, a Master of Commerce, is a National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration, a graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a level 2 IECL coach.

Nat Anson – Deputy Chair

With an extensive career in urban and regional planning, Nat leads the Geelong office for urban advisory firm, Urbis. He contributes to Geelong-based committees for G21 Geelong Region Alliance (Chair, Cultural and Economic Pillar), Property Council of Australia (Geelong Committee member) and Committee for Geelong (Strategy and Policy Committee member). At Urbis, Nat leads major projects throughout the region on behalf of private and government clients. He has previously held senior roles at the City of Greater Geelong and the Victorian Planning Authority. Nat advocates for smart planning, sustainable development and economic opportunities that benefit the community and environment. Nat holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Urban Planning.

Lisa Kingman

Lisa is a highly respected advisor to corporates, foundations, and for-purpose organisations in Australia. She was awarded the Order of the Medal of Australia (OAM) for over 30 years of work connecting businesses and charities and was named one of Australia’s 100 Women of Influence in 2019.

Lisa’s initiatives span education, Indigenous affairs, arts, and social enterprises nationwide. She co-founded EdConnect and Housing All Australians. A proud Geelong resident, Lisa is dedicated to addressing major social challenges in the Barwon region and promoting sustainable growth for future generations and is the CEO at Tanarra Social Purpose.

Frances Diver

Frances is a respected healthcare leader in Victoria with over 20 years of senior leadership experience. Initially trained as a nurse and midwife, she has worked in hospitals in New Zealand and Australia.

Frances served as Deputy Secretary, Hospital and Health Service Performance at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services until 2016 and led the Country Fire Authority (CFA) until 2019. She chairs the Barwon South West Region Health Service CEO Council and holds multiple board and advisory positions, including G21, Health Round Table, and Deakin University.  In 2020, Frances was appointed Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health at Deakin University and is the current CEO at Barwon Health.

Tracy Carter

Tracy Carter brings over 20 years of experience in growing the visitor economy in Geelong and The Bellarine and is the Executive Director of the Regional Tourism Board – Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine. She is experienced in strategic leadership, manages relationships between the organisations, government partners, and the tourism industry, and implements programs aligned with regional goals.

Tracy’s expertise includes communication, negotiation, stakeholder engagement, and data-driven decision-making.

Michael Johnston

Michael is an experienced senior executive in policy creation, strategy development, and stakeholder management across government, and sport sectors. He leverages his leadership experience to work with members in creating a vision for the city and advocating for it. Michael understands complex operating environments and fosters effective collaboration to achieve meaningful outcomes.

Michael has played a central role in significant governance reforms within Australian sport, contributed to the development and implementation of match-fixing policy, and successfully built an integrity function at Hockey Australia. Michael is the current CEO of the Committee for Geelong.

Corrina Eccles

Wadawurrung Woman Corrina Eccles lives and works on Wadawurrung country and has 23 years of employment experience in Aboriginal organisations and community engagement.

She actively contributes to various advisory and committee groups and on many regional Boards. Corrina has undertaken board governance training and brings knowledge of Wadawurrung and First Peoples culture, perspectives and values to see growth, recognition and self determination.

Thys Heyns

Thys is the deputy chair of the Geelong Manufacturing Council, a company director and a consultant. With has 35 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, most recently with Viva Energy as Chief Operating Officer, Thys is a globally experienced Industry leader, with a recognized ability to inspire teams to great performance through the values of excellence, collaboration and respect. Prior to joining Viva Energy and moving to Geelong in February 2015, Thys was with BP for 28 years in an international career across 4 continents that covered Supply Chain, Oil Trading and Refining.

Thys now calls Geelong and the Barwon region home and is excited to be able to use his skills and experience in service of industry and his community.

Meg Price

With 18 years in government and non-profits, including 12 years in leadership, 3 years as a Board Director, and 3 months as Acting CEO at Give Where You Live, Meg has extensive experience in strategy, stakeholder engagement, governance, policy, and program management. She specialises in social procurement, inclusive employment, food security, disability, public health, multicultural issues, community development, and gender.

Meg is a values-driven leader committed to continuous professional development and leading teams to achieve social impact and sustainable systems change, something she lives everyday as the Head of Social Impact at Give Where You Live Foundation.

Shaun Cumming

With 7 years of executive leadership experience and the current Managing Director of Barwon Water, Shaun has regional knowledge and a focus on community development. Shaun has implemented transformative initiatives aligned with the Barwon Regional Partnerships vision of good growth.

His leadership has led to pioneering strategies in affordability, circular economy, and infrastructure delivery.

Regional Development Australia representatives

Keith Bailie

Keith joined gforce employment and recruitment as Chief Executive in September 2020. Before this, Keith was Chief Executive for Surf Coast Shire Council and was Chief Executive for the Shire of Campaspe.

Keith started his career in the commercial sector, with senior roles in project management, information technology and financial management. Keith is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Fellow of CPA Australia.

Keith is committed to improving people's lives in our communities and is Board Chair for Gateways Support Services and Board Director for G21 - Geelong Region Alliance.

Peter Dorling

Peter has over 25 years’ of experience in local government, primarily in economic and strategic development.

He was recently appointed Deputy Chair of Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority and is currently the Business Manager for Avalon Airport. His global connections at Avalon Airport make him well-placed to advise on ways to boost South-West tourism.

Peter holds a Masters in Business Management from RMIT and studied city development in the United States, England, Scotland, New Zealand and China.

He played a key role in driving the CBD redevelopment of the Greater City of Geelong through Vision II.

Victorian Government representative

William Tieppo – Deputy Secretary, Network Design and Integration, Department of Transport

Local Government CEOs

Robyn Seymour – CEO, Surf Coast Shire Council

Robyn joined Surf Coast Shire Council as CEO in July 2021. She moved to local government after a career in transport strategy and delivery.

Robyn was previously Deputy Secretary, Network Planning, with Victoria’s Department of Transport. Her role included a strong focus on future transport needs and delivering Victorian Government strategies. One is the Road Safety Strategy, which aims to halve road deaths and reduce serious injuries by 2030.

She was previously Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive of VicRoads after having started her career in the sector as a counsellor, working for 8 years with individuals and families impacted by road trauma.

Robyn enjoys working in close collaboration with the community, which is a key motivation in seeking the Surf Coast Shire Council role.

Anne Howard – CEO, Colac-Otway Shire Council

Anne is a passionate champion of regional communities and has lived and worked with many diverse communities across the country. Anne commenced as Chief Executive Officer for Colac Otway Shire Council in August 2021. Prior to her current role, Anne spent 5 years with the Surf Coast Shire Council and 15 years with the Shire of Campaspe. Anne’s success in realising outcomes and achievements is underpinned by her commitment to building safe and inclusive workplaces where everyone can bring value to their local communities.

As a Civil Engineer, Anne’s career includes a broad range of experiences, spanning contaminated site remediation, stormwater and floodplain management, roads and drainage, water and wastewater, project management and asset management. Prior to joining local government, Anne worked in the private sector overseeing the delivery of environmental health infrastructure in outback communities.

Martin Gill – CEO, Borough of Queenscliffe

Martin Gill has worked in Local Government for 16 years and was appointed CEO at the Borough of Queenscliffe in 2019. He has formal qualifications in Architecture and taught at the School of Architecture at RMIT for 10 years before joining the local government sector as a strategic land use planner.

Martin currently sits on the executive of Climate Emergency Australia and is a Board Director with the G21 Regional Alliance.

Ali Wastie – CEO, City of Greater Geelong

Ali is a purpose-driven leader with degrees in Arts and Education, complemented by a Master of Diplomacy and Trade. She has vast experience in executive roles in the Victorian Public Service and Local Government. She is now the CEO of the City of Greater Geelong, overseeing a large workforce delivering more than 120 community services.

She is a seasoned Board Director in the not-for-profit, community, tourism, and health sectors, holding key positions such as Chair of Alpine Resorts Victoria and Royal Melbourne Showgrounds. She is also a Board Director for organisations like Bass Coast Country University, Destination Gippsland, and Destination Phillip Island.

Ali, an accredited executive coach and mediator, helps teams excel. She fosters a strategic, results-oriented, and trusting workplace culture that is also enjoyable.

TAFE CEO

Joe Ormeno – CEO, The Gordon Institute of TAFE

Joe Ormeno, CEO of The Gordon Institute of TAFE since 2019, brings over 16 years of experience in the vocational education sector, in addition to a career in the private and not-for-profit sectors. His own educational journey began at The Gordon with a Certificate III in Business Studies, followed by a bachelor's degree from Deakin University.

Joe is passionate about the transformative power of vocational education. He holds several leadership roles across the Community and the TAFE Network, highlighting his commitment to vocational education's development in Australia and its positive impact on the Geelong region.