IofC Australia Team
Meet our Community
About the team
Our staff and volunteers play an active role in connecting, equipping, and supporting the IofC network as well as supporting the strategic plan of IofC Australia.
Quynh-Tram Trinh
Laurence Gray
Jonathan Lancaster
Sarah Mayor Cox
Lan Diep
Daya Bhagwandas
Judith Pimental
Elizabeth Lee
Sarah Yue
Parveen Muhammed
Mike Lowe
Wendy Vanderleest
Tanya Fox
John Mills
Liz Weeks
Cheryl Wood
Rob Wood
Elisse Higginbotham
Maurice Clisby
Quynh-Tram Trinh
| Quynh-Tram serves as a Non-Executive Director and Chair on the boards of education and community service organisations. Prior to this she worked as a senior public servant in both the Commonwealth and Victorian Public Services in education, human services and treasury. Quynh-Tram is passionate in building long-lasting safety and wellbeing cultures and systems for communities and schools, supporting families, vulnerable children and young people to foster relational safety, ethical living, leadership and sustainable growth. Quynh-Tram’s qualifications include a Master of Education from the University of Melbourne, a Master of Public Policy and Management from Monash University, a Bachelor of Business from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), and a Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults (RMIT-Cambridge). She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). |
Laurence Gray
Laurence leads a community development team at Wyndham City Council in Melbourne’s West. His work includes overseeing a community grants program, supporting multicultural and interfaith engagement, promoting community safety and building social cohesion in one of Australia’s most diverse and fast-growing municipalities. Laurence has a Master’s degree in politics and policy from Deakin University and a Graduate Diploma in management from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). He has served on the Board since 2019 and leads its Risk, Legal and Audit committee.
Jonathan Lancaster
Jonathan worked with Initiatives of Change (Moral Re-Armament) in India, Europe, and South-East Asia as a full-time volunteer from 1965, following his sense of calling to devote his life to the movement. Educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School in Melbourne, he returned to the city in 1981 to support the IofC Australia’s national administration, serving as Secretary and Treasurer for extended periods. He attends to matters relating to organisational transparency, accountability, compliance and sustainability as a registered charity.
Sarah Mayor Cox
Sarah Mayor Cox has worked as a primary school teacher, librarian, literacy coach and university lecturer. In 2016 she founded the educational consultancy Ecology of Learning=MC2 and is its lead consultant on literacy, educational technology and instructional design. Her qualifications include a Diploma of Teaching, a Master’s degree in Education from LaTrobe University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Melbourne. She is currently a PhD candidate at RMIT University. She leads the Nominations and Performance Committee.
Lan Diep
Lan Diep is a change management professional and first-generation Vietnamese migrant to Australia. She has served as a regional advisory member of the Victorian Multicultural Commission. Lan’s journey with IofC began in 2018 when she participated in a Life Matters workshop, Creators of Peace circle, and the Sprout! Program, an initiative for mentoring in spiritual ecology. She joined the Board in 2024.
Daya Bhagwandas
Daya is an educator in the field of neuroscience-based personal development. Her educational program, Achieving Brain Competency (ABC), which began in Australian schools, has been rolled out in many countries. Daya’s work experience includes working with child soldiers in Sri Lanka and at-risk youths in Malaysia, and a previous role at Gymbaroo where she was responsible for staff professional development. She is the founding director of Neuro Network, a wellbeing program to support individuals to achieve their fullest potential.
Judith Pimental
Elizabeth Lee
Elizabeth has over 20 years of experience as a company secretary, offering services in preparation of board papers, minute taking, corporate registers and administration. She has held company secretary positions for Phosphate Resources, Macmahon Holdings, Lend Lease Primelife, Macquarie Bank, and Austock Group. She holds a Bachelor of Business with majors in finance and business law from Edith Cowan University and a Graduate Diploma in corporate governance from the Governance Institute of Australia.
Sarah Yue
Parveen Muhammed
Parveen came into contact with IofCA at a time when she was looking for work after having been at home as a full-time mum for a few years. The people and the work captivated her and have kept her hooked since 2016. Starting as a volunteer Web Writer, which let her put her writing skills into practice, she moved on to a paid role as a Communications Assistant and as IofCA expanded a permanent role as a Communications Officer. The compilation of newsletters, website maintenance, the marketing of events, and database management keep her on her toes while letting her learn new skills and enjoy the company and views of the diverse people that make up IofCA.
Mike Lowe
| Mike first encountered IofC when he was an idealistic uni student. 40 years later his passion to be part of the healing and transformation of the world is just as strong. His adventures with IofC have included training young leaders in Eastern Europe in trust-building, facilitating reconciliation between former militia commanders in the Pacific and learning with Australia’s amazing diverse communities (many from refugee backgrounds) how to overcome our fears and “Discover the Other” – always in teamwork with incredible colleagues and friends engaged in IofC. He loves the idea that “change starts with me” and draws hope in that fact that when someone finds the courage to open their hearts to heal and grow it inspires a similar journey in others, leading to initiatives of change! |
Wendy Vanderleest
Wendy has worked in local government and university environments, as well as for her family building company. Wendy joined the not-for-profit sector about 10 years ago and specialises in office and facilities management. Time away from work is spent with family or visiting friends all around the globe.
Tanya Fox
| Tanya has held administration and management roles in the advertising and service industries. She brings this experience into her role as national network liaison for Creators of Peace Australia. She has trained as a facilitator of Creators of Peace circles, with a vision to empower others with the understanding that to be a peacemaker, we need to be at peace within ourselves. |
John Mills
| John has worked in a full-time voluntary capacity with Initiatives of Change) since 1965 and helped with the organising and delivery of IofC programs for young adults, including the long running Life Matters workshops. Currently he coordinates the Program Support Working Group which provides grants to assist individuals to attend IofC programs and conferences, as well as assisting with the management of Armagh, the Australia-Pacific Centre in Melbourne. |
Liz Weeks
Prior to working with Initiatives of Change (IofC), Liz trained as a nurse. She and her husband spent 3½ years in Papua New Guinea in the 70’s, including Independence and had an ongoing association with that country. In recent years she has been involved in the IofC programme Creators of Peace Circles and has, with others, taken training sessions in Solomon Islands and Bougainville. She is a proud mother of two and grandmother of five.
Cheryl Wood
Cheryl is a trained teacher who has worked full-time with IofC for the past 45 years. She previously managed Grosvenor Books, IofCA’s publishing arm, as well as living in community at IofC’s Australia-Pacific Centre for 35 years, working with partner Rob to host the centre for 28 of those years. Her work is built around a lifelong sense of calling to build bridges between people in Australia and other countries in the region. She served on the IofCA Board for 21 years.
Rob Wood
Rob has worked with IofCA for many years, developing and conducting its life direction and leadership programs. He has also engaged in a variety of community building and strengthening initiatives in Australia and in different parts of the Asia-Pacific region. With his partner Cheryl, he helped host the Australia-Pacific Centre for IofC in Melbourne for 28 years.
Elisse Higginbotham
Elisse is a practising optometrist and lecturer at the University of Western Australia’s School of Allied Health. She serves on the organising team of the Initiatives of Change Leadership in Practice community, and volunteers on the Life Matters team, organising workshops for life skills. Elisse was elected to the Board in June 2021, having been earlier appointed to fill a vacancy in April that year.
Maurice Clisby
Maurice is a management professional at the Nous Group, where he provides organisational consulting and program evaluation services. He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Melbourne Business School at the University of Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Engineering and Arts degree from Monash University. Maurice has been a business owner, management consultant, project engineer and theatre producer. He serves on the Finance, Assets and Investments Committee.