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Strong governance is an essential part of providing services in the disability sector.

The Board of Directors governs The Bridge Inc. and is accountable to Members for its performance.  The Board comprises six independent Directors, elected by members of the association, and the Chief Executive Officer.

In conjunction with senior management staff, the Board sets the strategic direction and delegates the responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the organisation to the Chief Executive Officer who, with the management team, is accountable to the Board.

Our History

Our Board

Jim Hall
President
Jim has over 35 years’ experience in the chemicals and plastics industry with 15 years at the general management level with BASF. He was appointed a director of BASF Australia in 1991. Jim is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also a Fellow and a Certified Practicing Marketer of the Australian Marketing Institute and a Member of the Melbourne University Business School Alumni.
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Sue Banks
Vice President
Sue is a qualified accountant and MBA working with commercial client-focussed businesses. She has a broad range of operational experience, particularly in running the internal aspects of a company. This includes a strong interest in people development and a belief that everyone should be given the opportunity through education, training, activities and on the job experiences to become the best person that they want to be.
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Sally Bennett
Director
Sally is an experienced governance, risk, and compliance professional with a mix of Board experience. She is currently the Director of Risk Management for The Arts Centre Melbourne, but has prior experience with enterprise and clinical risk management in health, aged care and disability organisations. Sally, a transformational change leader, believes strongly in embedding a strong risk culture throughout organisations. Sally is qualified in Science, Engineering, Leadership and Change, and has an MBA.
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John Jeffries
Director
John has been the long-term CEO of one of Australia’s most successful International NGOs, specialising in all disability in the developing world. He brings a unique blend of leadership experience, combined with extensive governance experience from serving on boards of several Australian and International Non-Government organisations working in disability, medical research and community housing.
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David Mallinson
Treasurer
David is Fellow of the CPA and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, he is currently the Group CFO at Elenium Automation Pty Ltd , a leading technology Company that manufactures electronic equipment for the Aviation and Medical sectors. Prior to this David had 27 years in Senior roles in the manufacturing sector both in Finance and Operational Management. David also has held Non Executive Director Roles with Dairy Australia and Snapsil Corporation and has a strong understanding of the governance requirements in both listed and unlisted Companies.
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Phillip Toovey
Director / Secretary
See below for Phillip’s full bio.
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Our Staff

Phillip Toovey
CEO
Phillip has worked in the disability services sector for over 30 years, including starting in direct service with children, moving into working in support roles with adults, then leading and managing services. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of The Bridge.
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Ausra Wells
General Manager
Ausra started with The Bridge in 2002 as an Employment Consultant, working through to 2005, and has been back with the organisation since 2010. She has worked in the disability and employment sector for over 15 years. Ausra is driven to create sustainable opportunities for people with disabilities and is passionate about providing a quality service that delivers.
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Mary-Jane Stolp
General Manager
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.
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Carolyn Pabst
Workforce Relations Advisor
Carolyn has over 20 years’ experience in organisational development and strategic leadership across the disability sector. As Workforce Relations Advisor with The Bridge over the past 11 years, Carolyn’s role involves developing and driving people and culture strategies that deliver on organisational goals. Carolyn is passionate about creating a highly engaged workforce, one that is deeply connected to the organisation and each other. Carolyn has a Certificate in Leadership, Diploma of Community and Health Management, Bachelor of Human Services and in 2019 became an accredited Dispute Resolution Practitioner.
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Tracey Thomas
Quality Manager
Tracey has been with The Bridge for 20 years, first commencing in Employment services before moving into Quality Management. Her role is to make sure The Bridge’s services are delivering high quality programs that comply with quality standards. Tracey manages internal reviews of processes, external audits, documentation and systems relevant to quality management and continuous improvement. She loves working for an organisation that has a positive impact on people’s lives.
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Nadia Parzybok
Workforce Development
Nadia first joined The Bridge in the 1990s as a Recreation Worker for Leisure Link Up (now Getaways) and left and returned to work for The Bridge numerous times. In total Nadia has worked in the disability and Tafe sector for over twenty years in a variety of direct support, teaching and Leadership roles. This time round, she is in Workforce Development and thrives on recruiting, onboarding and training staff to provide quality supports by alongside the participants to achieve their goals. Nadia holds a Bachelor of Disability Studies and Diploma of Human Resources.
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Nicole Stribbles
Connects Operations Manager
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.
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James Righetti
ICT Manager
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.
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Marie Hale
Operations Manager
Marie started with The Bridge as an Employment Consultant in 2009. During her time with The Bridge, she has held a variety of roles, including Post Placement Support Consultant, Employment and Partnerships Manager and now Operations Manager. Marie is passionate about enhancing the lives of people with a disability via meaningful employment and is dedicated to the delivery of quality services and outcomes across our diverse range of employment programs. Prior to joining The Bridge, Marie spent over ten years living and working in London.
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