Leadership Team

Glenn Johnston is a proud Dharug man from Western Sydney who has at least 6 generations of his Aboriginal heritage from the Dharug Nation, forming a long continuous connection.

Glenn has more than 30 years of leadership experience in commercial, procurement and logistics positions across the private and public sectors. He is a nationally recognised, passionate  advocate for Aboriginal business development and employment.

He is a Director and Deputy Chair at Supply Nation, a Director of AIATSIS Foundation, a Director at Wellbeing Australia and on the Advisory Board of Academy Global. Glenn is Adjunct Faculty at UNSW – AGSM, helping with Aboriginal content creation and program delivery across MBA and other executive programs.

Glenn is a recognised leader in the development and delivery of Reconciliation Action Plans for a wide range of organisations in the NFP, private and public sectors.

Karen Cooper is a proud Kamilaroi woman from Southwest Queensland.
Karen has extensive experience in senior leadership in both the private sector and not-for-profit organisations.
She has over 25 years of experience in banking, employment and community development, most recently as CEO of RISE Ventures, a Community Development provider aimed at building capacity of local Indigenous communities and their economies.
Through her private consulting business, Karen works with Boards and Senior Executives in strategy development, organisation design, governance and leadership development. She has served on numerous RAP Committees and Advisory Groups to local and state committees. Karen holds a Masters of Business Administration.

Cecilia is a strategy, research and engagement expert with specialist knowledge working with and for diverse communities across a range of policy areas, including education and employment. She is General Manager, Advisory Services at Inside Policy, an Aboriginal owned and led consultancy. Cecilia has been involved in Aboriginal policy, advocacy and affairs for more than 20 years to support equity and advancement for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in NSW and nationally, including as a senior advisor to the NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, at the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and with National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, and as a freelance consultant. She has worked in the area of Aboriginal employment and economic development across many of her roles. At the core of her work ethic is the belief that all communities have a right to self-determination and to have their voices heard. She has recently stepped down after five years as non-Indigenous Co-Chair of Reconciliation NSW.

Sean’s traditional lands are located at Padthaway in South Australia from the extended Potaruwutj family of the Tatiara region and has worked serving Indigenous communities around Australia over the past decade.

Sean joined IBA in June 2020, he is an experienced executive in corporate, community and not for profit sectors. He has managed and delivered nationally award-winning programs impacting communities throughout Australia in collaboration with Federal and State governments resulting in the employment of more than 900 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people and tens of millions of dollars procured through Indigenous businesses.

His community engagement involved co-founding CareerTrackers, and board membership across multiple foundations.  Sean is a member of the alumni council at the University of Melbourne.

Malcolm has held senior executive roles in a number of large corporations. He is Chair of three Boards, holds a Masters of Economics and Bachelor of Engineering and is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Lee is a proud Bundjalung women through her father’s heritage from Grafton NSW. Lee is an experienced people leader with 20 years’ experience in human resources, training and learning & development. She has worked in corporate, professional services, SME and NFP sectors. She is the CEO and founder of Optimal HR, a consultancy specialising in workplace mediation, alternative dispute resolution, HR strategy and executive coaching. Lee is an NMAS Accredited Mediator, MAICD, Certified Executive Coach, and holds a Bachelor of Training & Development (Adult Education).

Matt is a proud Ngunnawal man from the Far South Coast of NSW and was appointed as the inaugural CEO of Yilabara in 2020. Matt comes to Yilabara with over 20 years of combined experience in employment services and Aboriginal Health. He has worked in the not-for-profit sector, including as Deputy CEO of the National Employment Services Australia (NESA) and National Executive Manager for Campbell Page. 

A passionate advocate for advocate for Aboriginal employment and economic development, Matt has spoken on these issues domestically and internationally.  

With a committed focus on equity Matt has been at the forefront of government reform leading several national Closing The Gap projects in areas of employment services, capacity building, mental health and remote school attendance. 

Matt values collaboration and adopts a solution-oriented mindset, firmly believing in the power of teamwork and a thoughtful, measured approach. He ensures that discussions always transition smoothly from identifying challenges to exploring effective solutions. 

Matt is the current co-chair of the Minister of Indigenous Affairs First Nations Reference Group (FNRG) and Deputy Chair of Birribee Housing, working on Aboriginal Community housing initiatives. 

Matt has a Bachelor of Science (Indigenous Health) and lives on the land of the Dharawal people

Alix has been with Yilabara since its inception leading the Corporate Services Team. Alix has transitioned to lead the forward Business Development Strategy for Yilabara.

Alix has held a number of senior executive roles within the human services sector. During her career in government in the NSW health, ageing and disability sectors, she led both strategic and program policy areas spanning a wide range of areas including Aboriginal health, supported accommodation for people with disability, boarding house regulation and individualised funding. Alix has been a director on a number of volunteer Boards, holds a Bachelor of Social Work and Masters of Public Policy and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2014.  

Alix lives on the lands of the Dharug and Gundungurra people in the Lower Blue Mountains. 

Julie is a proud Wiradjuri woman, with over 20 years’ experience in senior management roles in both the government and the not-for-profit sector. Julie has a diverse employment background including financial management, community engagement, education and employment and training. Throughout these roles Julie has demonstrated effective strong leadership, performance management and supervisory skills as well as an ability to manage change.  

Most recently Julie was the Regional Manager for Aboriginal Affairs for the Central, Far and Riverina Murray regions. 

Joining Yilabara on 2021 Julie has played a significant part in the successful establishment and growth of Yilabara’s western NSW operations.  As Operations Manager, Aboriginal Community Programs, Julie is responsible for 

• Community Development Program in Western New South Wales 

• Parent Pathways Program in Dubbo and Central West 

• Barranggirra funded by Training Services NSW in Western NSW, Western & Central Sydney and the Riverina 

Susan Deverson 

Operations Manager Corporate Services 

Sue joined Yilabara in 2023 building our People and Culture Strategy. Sue now leads our Corporate Services team taking on broader responsibility for People and Culture, IT, Finance, Quality Assurance, Marketing and Facilities.  Sue brings to Yilabara over 25 years’ experience in human resources and corporate administration management in not for profit and community services organisations as well as corporate experience from diverse range of industries including research & development, information technology, architecture and design. Sue has a passion for building positive workplace culture, building systems to ensure structured career progression and overall to have a positive impact on the communities we serve.  

Sue has a Masters in Business with a major in Human Resources and lives on the lands of the Dharawal people. 

Glen joined Yilabara in 2023 and leads the Yilabara Employment Services team delivering Workforce Australia for Aboriginal community members across the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and South Coast and in partnership with Busy at Work Australian Apprenticeship Support Services for Aboriginal apprentices in NSW. 

Glen brings over 15 years experience in Employment and Training Services having developed and lead engaged, high performing teams across Employability Skills Training, Career Transition Assistance program and JobActive programs.  He is particularly passionate about mentoring and supporting the development of his team to provide informed and culturally safe services to the community.   

Glen has a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) and is a proud to be born and raised in the Illawarra and lives on the lands of the Dharawal people.