Meet the team

Rebecca Kotow

Chief Executive Officer

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Chief Executive Officer

Bec Kotow is our Chief Executive Officer.

Bec was appointed to the CEO role in 2024, having joined the Community Hubs Australia team in 2020 as the Head of Operations.

As a senior leader with extensive experience in the leadership of highly effective teams across program and product design, corporate responsibility, operations and change management, and communications, Bec has gained this knowledge through organisations including NAB, Telstra, Australia Post, and MYOB.

Bec holds a Bachelor of Business in Marketing and Human Resource Management from the University of Southern Queensland and is a Board Director, St Bede’s College.

Julianne Gardiner

Head of Program (Acting)

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Head of Program (Acting)

Julianne Gardiner is our Head of Program (Acting).

Jules (as she prefers to be called) joined the CHA team in 2023 as Program Manager, to support the network of community hubs across Australia.

Jules has worked in the not-for-profit sector for more than 18 years, and has a background in teaching English as a second language. Jules holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Linguistics from Macquarie University.

Maurice Syber

Operations Manager

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Operations Manager

Maurice Syber is our Operations Manager.

His responsibilities include managing contracts with agencies and schools and their related reporting requirements, ensuring high data quality and the performance of our IT-related platforms, and managing CHA’s compliance requirements.

Maurice’s background is in consulting, project management, data analytics and business intelligence tools. Maurice holds a Bachelor of General Mathematics and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Monash University.

Natasha Gomi

Government Relations & Program Manager

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Government Relations & Program Manager

Natasha Gomi is our Government Relations & Program Manager.

Natasha joined the CHA team in 2024 to manage our government relations strategy and specific projects. Natasha has more than 17 years experience working in the not for profit and community development sector, and has experience in teaching English as a second language. Natasha holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from RMIT University and a Bachelor of Forest Science from the University of Melbourne.

Maia Nelson

Program Officer

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Program Officer

Maia Nelson is our Program Officer.

Maia joined the CHA team in 2022 and is responsible for supporting the delivery of our program, working directly with schools, their hubs and support agencies as part of this.
Maia has a background working in medical practice management and administration and holds a Bachelor of Public Health and a Bachelor of Global Studies from the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne.