Our People

For the last 23 years Mary-Jane has worked in executive and senior management roles in the health, aged care, community and disability sectors. An experienced clinical governance, quality, strategy and risk management professional she has a Masters in Health Service Management and is a Fellow of the Australian College for Health Service Management. Ms Stolp is passionate about workforce redesign and innovation to enable delivery of person-centred care and is currently completing her MBA.

David has worked in the employment services sector for over 20 years, specialising in contract compliance, governance, quality, and risk management. He has experience working in small and large not-for-profit organisations leading their contract compliance teams as well as working for the Australian Federal Government – Department of Employment. David completed a Bachelor of Business Degree at Victoria University in 2004 and a Certificate IV in Employment Services. He is passionate about the employment services industry and supporting The Bridge Employment in assisting participants who need the most help to achieve their own independence in life through employment.

Nicole has extensive experience working within the disability sector spanning over 20 years. Nicole initially completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Intellectual Disability) and then a Graduate Diploma in Disability (Leadership). She also holds her Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. Nicole’s experience includes group based supports as well as individualised services and brokerage supports. Having worked in direct support before moving into a range of leadership and management roles, she is committed to the delivery of quality services and outcomes to enhance the lives of people with a disability.

Gordon has worked in the disability sector for almost 40 years in a variety of service types. As a qualified Primary and Special Education Teacher his experience includes teaching and Acting Principal within a Special Development School and managing an Open Employment Service for people with disabilities. More recently Gordon has been Chief Executive Officer with a disability organisation, that provided Day Services and Supported Employment in West Gippsland. After fifteen years as a CEO, Gordon is excited to be with The Bridge, in a more operational management role, where he can assist staff to provide quality supports to participants and their families.

James has enjoyed many successful management and consulting roles in the ICT industry from both a customer and service provider perspective. The Bridge has been continuously developing the maturity of their ICT landscape and James is excited about helping to drive further improvements especially around cyber security.

Melinda has extensive experience working in Human Resources for the past 15 years with a focus on leading teams and developing and implementing HR strategy. Melinda has a Bachelor of Business in Human Resources, Certificate IV in training and Assessment as well as a qualification in Gender Equality. Melinda has worked across a variety of industries and sectors including Corporate, Education, Health and Local Government. Melinda is an authentic leader with a passion for diversity and inclusion as well as having significant experience in workplace relations, change management, coaching and learning and development. Melinda is excited to have joined the Not-For-Profit sector utilising her skills and experience to lead HR initiatives and strategies, focusing on developing and building leadership capability whilst continuing to grow and inspire a culture of inclusivity and connection at The Bridge.

Naomi has extensive experience in Marketing Management. Originally from London, she worked in the Media industry for 15 years before moving to Australia in 2014, where she worked across a variety of industries including Health, Legal, Aged Care and Not-For-Profit. Having realised her passion was in the Not-For-Profit space, she now runs the Marketing and Intake team at The Bridge. Naomi has gained a wealth of knowledge and expertise in areas such as branding, content marketing, customer insights, and marketing strategy. Naomi uses this experience to help grow the marketing and onboarding efforts of The Bridge to reach more people needing disability and employment services.

Richard has worked in a variety of Financial Management roles for 30 years having qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1993. His career started in the UK and Europe where he worked in small through to international businesses. Moving to Australia in 2004, he established a consulting business that evolved to become focused on the Not For Profit sector. This led him to working in senior financial management roles in that sector, including at a disability iNGO, before commencing at The Bridge in 2018 as Chief Financial Officer. Richard is a strategically minded CFO with a passion for the “for purpose” sector and has been transforming the reliability and easy delivery of information at The Bridge to enable strong decision making.