The Board
Barry Irvin, Chairman
Barry is Chairman of Bega Cheese Ltd, Chairman of Tatura Milk Industries, Deputy Chairman of Capital Chilled Foods and Managing Director of ALJO Pastoral Company which operates a number of dairy and beef cattle properties in the Bega Valley. Barry’s background is finance. He spent the first years of his working life in banking before returning to operate the family farming businesses. He became involved with Bega Cheese while continuing to grow his dairy and beef business. He now operates over ten properties in the Bega Valley. Barry has been involved with Giant Steps for more than 13 years and Chairman since 2002. He has a son attending the GS Community College. In 2008, Barry was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the dairy industry through the management, business development and promotion of cheese products, as an industry spokesperson and to children with intellectual disabilities and their families.
Board Members:
Robert Llewellyn-Jones
Rob initiated the idea of founding Giant Steps in Sydney 15 years ago and was the Founding Chairman of Giant Steps (1995 - 2000). He is a psychiatrist in private practice in Sydney and is a Senior Visiting Psychiatrist with NSW Health. He is trained in both general and aged care psychiatry. He provides psychiatry outreach clinics to regional NSW towns and with the Royal Flying Doctor to outback NSW. He was previously Senior Staff Specialist and Service Director of the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Aged Care Psychiatry Service. He completed Family Medicine Training and worked as a GP prior to training in Psychiatry. He has a PhD from the University of Sydney, has substantial research experience and is Conjoint Senior Lecturer with the School of Medicine and Public Health at Newcastle University. Rob has given many invited lectures at Universities in Sydney, interstate and overseas, including at Harvard. He has published widely in the medical literature, has presented papers at numerous scientific conferences and has served as an advisor to state, commonwealth and international bodies on the management of depression and dementia. He is very concerned that health services respond to the needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities and to the needs of their families.
Geoff Stein
Geoff is a partner of Brown Wright Stein Solicitors in Sydney. His daughter transitioned from the Giant Steps K to 6 program to mainstream education in 2007.
Leanne Maccallum
Leanne is a Licensed Conveyancer and JP. She is also the Coordinator of the annual Giant Steps Ball, a major fund-raising event. She has a daughter in the Secondary program.
Rachel Launders
Rachel is a partner of Gilbert + Tobin, one of the law firms which assists Giant Steps. She joined Gilbert + Tobin over 10 years ago, after working for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and as a lawyer for an energy company. Rachel has been a board member of Giant Steps since 2001 and Company Secretary since 2003. Rachel is also on the council of Sancta Sophia College at the University of Sydney.
Brett Kelly
Brett is a Chartered Accountant who has worked in the accounting profession for over 25 years. Brett worked in a global Chartered Accounting firm for over 10 years where he was involved in Audit and Business Advisory working with a wide range of organisations including government, non-profit, unlisted and listed companies. For the past 15 years Brett has worked for Bega Cheese Ltd where he is the Chief Accountant and Company Secretary. Brett is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Brett likes to support community groups in his spare time which include Landcare and the local football club. He has been involved with Giant Steps since 2003 where he provides financial advice and helps run the bike ride each year.
Anna Kelly
Anna runs her own marketing and communications consultancy and is undertaking an honours degree in psychology. Anna also chairs the Giant Steps Parent Advocacy Group and has a daughter in the K to 6 program.
Wil Wilhelm
Wil is a principal at Egon Zehnder International, a Swiss senior executive search firm. Previously Wil spent 9 years as a senior operating executive with the USA telecommunications company, Sprint, in Kansas City and Hong Kong. Wil's early career was in strategy consulting with Bain & Company. Wil holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University; a BSc. (Comp. Sci. & Pure Math) from the University of Sydney; and is a F Fin of the Financial Services Institute of Australia. Wil has a daughter in the K to 6 program.
