Open Doors Youth ServiceOpen Doors Youth ServiceOpen Doors Youth Service Inc officially began operation as an independent Organisation 1st July 2003.
Chairperson
Matthew (he/him) is an experienced Human Resources Manager. Partnering executive leadership he specialises in delivering transformational change, people strategies and process improvement. He has a Bachelor of Business in Human Resource Management, a Post Graduate Certificate in Legal Studies and is completing a Master of Business, in Applied Finance.
Matthew is passionate the changing nature of work and the role inclusion and diversity play in enabling high performing teams and organisations. He is the co-chair of Aurizon’s LGBTIQ+ employee network and has been on the Board of Open Doors Youth Service for two terms, currently serving as Vice Chair.
Identifying as gay, Matthew is proud to see the positive and life changing impact the ODYS team have on the lives of young people within the rainbow community and is excited to be able to support and enable the team in fostering empowerment and social inclusion.
Secretary
Melissa (she/her) is a Social Worker with over 25 years’ experience. During this time, she has worked in the areas of child protection, youth justice, sexual abuse counselling and crime prevention. Over the last 12 years she has worked in specialist teams within child and youth mental health in Queensland, including in the forensic, complex trauma/attachment-based treatment and eating disorders. She currently works as a clinical educator within Queensland Health (mental health). She holds a Masters in Counselling and is currently undertaking a Masters in Suicidology.
She has her own lived experience of being ‘the only gay in the village’ having come out to friends and family holding conservative Christian beliefs. She is happily partnered, has a totally cool stepson, a beautiful golden retriever and two cats! She enjoys cycling, mountain biking and sleeping. Melissa is delighted to have joined in board of ODYS in late 2019.
Treasurer
Ryan (he/him/his) is an experienced Decarbonisation Advisor working to deliver Australia’s energy transition. He has delivered decarbonisation strategies for clients operating in hard-to-abate industries, technical due diligence for renewable energy M&A activities, mining decarbonisation across rail and fleet, as well as work across the hydrogen value chain. His expertise is grounded in the provision of energy and emissions measurement and reporting advice to Australia’s largest producers and consumers of energy and emissions.
As a Professional Member of the Economic Society of Australia, as well as Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Ryan has an extensive background in finance with degrees including GradDipCA, BEcon (Industry) and BCom (Finance).
A proud gay man, Ryan has focused on elevating inclusion in the corporate environment. He previously led Deloitte’s Queensland Inclusion & Diversity network for two years from 2019 and was a Co-Founder of the Interfirm Brisbane network in 2019 which included Deloitte, PWC, KPMG, EY, Clayton Utz, HSF, Allens, Ashurst, Accenture and MinterEllison, and aims to promote LGBTIQ+ inclusion across legal, accounting and consulting spheres. More recently he has worked to expand this impact to the engineering sector as a Co-Founder of Interfirm Engineering, comprising Aurecon, AECOM, Arup and WSP.
Ryan is focused on expanding the life-changing impact of Open Doors in Brisbane and beyond by stabilising funding through successful partnerships with the corporate sector.
General Member
Rhys (he/him) is an experienced business development specialist with a track record building successful relationships and partnerships as well as developing and implementing organisational strategic plans. He has worked across government and the private sector in a variety of roles across social infrastructure, urban development, energy and resources.
General Member
Josie (she/her/hers) is a social worker and counsellor with additional experience in clinician development and practice supervision. Josie has largely worked in health care, human rights, and youth mental health. Currently working at yourtown, which operates Kids Helpline and other services that support young people. She has worked as a counsellor with Kids Helpline and more recently as a Learning and Development Consultant to support Kids Helpline Counsellors and other clinical staff to develop their skills and best support young people. Josie is passionate about improving mental health literacy, decreasing barriers and stigma attached to help-seeking and increasing representation and respect for lived experience.
I am honoured and excited to be working alongside Open Doors. So often I talk to young people who are struggling with belonging, identity and safety. This organisation is an amazing opportunity for young people to seek a space of connection, celebration and the important opportunity to explore who they are and how they experience the world.
General Member
Colette (she/her) is a Lawyer and Director of the Family, Domestic Violence and Elder Law Practice at Caxton Legal Centre. She has practised in family law, child protection, domestic violence, civil law and elder law. She has extensive experience in advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. Colette is passionate about access to justice and empowering those who face intersectional issues.
