Board of Directors

Warwick Cavanagh has a long career in developing and managing services for people with disabilities.  He is currently employed by the Brotherhood of St Laurence as Area Manager North (Local Area Coordination), working in tandem with the NDIA to roll out the NDIS across the Northern region of Melbourne.

Past roles have included Chief Executive Officer of MOIRA, a CSO which provides a wide range of support services for people with disabilities and their families as well as youth in crisis. He has extensive experience in rehabilitation and management with the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service, managing “Coonac” Rehabilitation Centre and later, Glen Waverley Rehabilitation Centre in Melbourne.

Warwick’s sector leadership is evidenced through his directorships; Chair of Active, elected director of National Disability Services (NDS) and Board member of Haven Home Safe a major Victorian community housing company.

John Wheller has been a partner with TWB Pty Ltd since 1979. John has experience with a major international accounting firm where he specialized in auditing. John is the director responsible for audit engagements and providing business services from small to medium enterprises with TWB Pty Ltd.

John has extensive experience in business management and development, and provides ongoing consultancy advice and support to businesses.

John is Treasurer of Active. He Chairs the Finance and Audit Board Committee and is a member of the Active Development and Fundraising Board Committee.

Chris Glennen’s career has encompassed teaching, consulting, front line service delivery and management in non-government, local and state government agencies. He has worked in disability, aged care and community housing services since 1981.

Chris has worked in the community housing sector since 2004 including receiving an Ethel Temby Scholarship to travel to England to visit a number of large and small housing associations delivering housing and associated services to people with disabilities. His previous roles have included Operations Manager and Deputy CEO, Housing Choices Australia and interim Executive Officer to establish the Disability Housing Trust.

Chris has served on the Board of the Community Housing Federation of Victoria since 2009.

Active is a state wide housing company committed to housing people with disabilities and others who require support to live in the community. Chris is a strong advocate for the role that well managed community housing companies can play combining company, community, finance and government resources to grow the supply of quality housing opportunities for Active’s client group

Ken is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Prior to retiring, Ken had 34 years’ experience as a partner and practicing accountant in Bendigo and Melbourne. He has extensive skills in corporate governance, business management and finance developed in a range of consulting roles across many industry sectors.

Ken currently holds appointments as a Director with Haven, (Home Safe Loddon Mallee Housing Services Limited), Active Community Housing Limited, as Company Secretary with Bendigo Telco Limited and as Audit Committee Chair for Local Government Councils.

Tony is a Founding Partner in strategic advisory and project management business Sweett Group (formerly BurnsBridge Sweett) and has 21 years’ involvement in strategic advice, particularly in affordable housing, retirement/aged care, health, and church/not for profits.

Leo Fincher-Johnson is an engineer with diverse experience in the construction industry, specialising in the management of the delivery of significant capital programs through all planning and development stages. Leo also has an extensive background in public procurement and contracting and his skills are regularly called upon for the development of major project governance, risk management and probity protocols.

Leo is currently Construction Manager, Major Projects at The University of Melbourne. He has previously held senior facilities management positions at the University of Western Sydney, the Queensland Department of Education and the Queensland Department of Justice. Earlier in his career Leo was a senior officer in the RAAF, during which time he managed the facilities for a number of RAAF establishments as well as spending time in Antarctica as the lead advisor on the development and assessment of a snow-ice runway.

Leo’s current responsibilities at The University of Melbourne extend across a large capital works program that includes the delivery of the +25,000m2 Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

Graham Forsyth was a former Executive Scientist with Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) from where he retired in 2008. His field is in aeronautics and related technologies and he has held memberships with several international institutes and committees.

He was a Founding Director and Secretary of the International Society of Applied Intelligence (ISAI). Graham has extensive experience in management and scientific research in the areas of machinery diagnosis and materials acquisition for the defence forces, contract supply and departmental organisation and development. He was the founder and the chair of the DSTO Health and Usage Monitoring Conference series from 1997 to 2007 and co-chair of that Conference for 2009, 2011 and 2013. He is the author of over 80 papers in DSTO and international publication series, including AIAA, AHS, ISAI and DECUS and two published books.
He is semi-retired, working as a part-time scientific consultant.

Estelle Fyffe is the Chief Executive Officer of annecto – the people network. She has a background across education, disability, mental health and child and family welfare. She has formal qualifications in Psychology and Management and particular interests in Innovation and Human Systems and Organisation and is a member of the Australian Psychological Society, the Australian Institute of Human Relations and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Estelle holds board memberships with Active Property Services Management and the annecto Foundation. She is Vice Chair of the Victorian State Committee for National Disability Services and Chair of their OH&S sub-committee.

Estelle is a member of the Active Housing Services Board Committee.

Ian McLean is the Chief Executive of Golden City Support Services, an association which provides accommodation and community support to people across Central Victoria. He has twenty six years’ experience in the Human Services field; four with government services and the balance in the community based, not-for-profit sector.

Ian is involved with Person Referenced Practice, Quality Assurance, Person Centred Active Support, assessment of support requirements through the Support Intensity Scale. He is a participant on the IASSID International Special Interest Group on Quality of Life.

Ian is a member of the Housing Services Committee of the Active Board and is a member of National Disability Services – Victoria Division and its National Accommodation Sub-committee.

Melanie Rogers is an experienced governance and HR/IT executive with many years’ experience in local government and community sector. Melanie is also a committee member of the Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee of Management.