Our volunteers drive our organisation.

From our board to our helpers in the warehouse, we're almost entirely volunteer-run, and we're endlessly grateful for what they allow us to do. They pack hampers, make deliveries, talk to clients, organise fundraisers, and most of all, they make our community stronger by helping out those in it who are most in need. Our volunteers are too numerous to name, but thank you to everyone past and present who has played a part in making West Welcome Wagon what it is today.

If you would like to become a volunteer, click here.

Hang Nguyen - Chair

Hang Nguyen lives in Melbourne’s West with her young family and brings in her experiences from working with communities, stakeholder engagement, project management and strategic planning.

Hang is a dedicated advocate for inclusion and diversity. Her passion for social justice, multiculturalism and the rights of diverse communities led her to pursue a career as a community capacity building lead in a not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance a fair Australia.

Hang has been on the board since July 2024.

Julie Nguyen - Treasurer

Julie has been volunteering with WWW since 2022. Julie was impacted when she saw the statistics regarding the sheer volume of necessities provided by WWW and the number of families who are touched by our work. 

Having refugee parents who fled Vietnam, she admires all the volunteers who put in countless hours for a cause that’s very close to home. Julie’s hope is that WWW continues to provide valuable support for many families and individuals for years to come.

Julie has been on the board since February 2023.

Wendy Grimston - Company Secretary

Wendy has been volunteering with West Welcome Wagon since 2017. Wendy’s specialty areas include change, communications, and strategy. Wendy is also a member of the volunteer Australia Committee of the Change Management Institute and provides pro bono mentoring and coaching services around change and communications.

As well as her Board role with West Welcome Wagon, Wendy supports our Donations program working with a small team to respond to emails offering donations from our generous donors. She also assists with our Christmas and Education drives and is part of our Saturday morning team at the warehouse.

Wendy has been on the Board since 2020.

Calum Stewart - Director

Calum Stewart is risk and compliance analytics specialist with over 12 years of professional services experience across external audit, internal audit, legal and regulatory investigations and direct consulting engagements.

Calum migrated to Melbourne from the UK in 2014, after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant and is now very happily settled in Melbourne's West.

Calum has been a West Welcome Wagon Board Member since November 2023.

Jessie Mitchell - Director

Jessie Mitchell lives in Newport with her young family and brings her experiences from working in state government as an executive, and fifteen years in international engagement roles within higher education. 

Highly experienced in partnerships and international engagement, Jessie previously led the Multicultural Affairs Policy team in the Victorian government with oversight of complex partnerships and reforms regarding language services, the governance of the Victorian Multicultural Commission and Victoria’s settlement and humanitarian policy. Before that, Jessie led the South and Southeast Asia International Engagement function for two years in the Department of Premier and Cabinet, with leadership of the India Strategy.  Jessie has been on the board since November 2023. 

Madeleine Charles - Director

As a Footscray resident, Madeleine loves the vibrant multiculturalism within the west.

Madeleine is a senior lawyer with 7 years experience in corporate and government legal teams. Throughout Madeleine’s career she has maintained a commitment to social justice and integrity.

Whilst at University, Madeleine focused on creating a more inclusive culture and at the end of her leadership with her student union, increased international student satisfaction with her university by 14% and put her campus above the national average. Madeleine is passionate about creating a place where we all belong and most importantly feel welcome.

Madeleine has been on the board since July2024.

Catherine Ryan - Director  

Catherine is as a Teacher Librarian with many years experience working in the library sector in media, university and school libraries. She has taught at both secondary schools and university and was the co-instigator of the Williamstown Literary Festival.

Catherine has worked with refugees in some way or another since the 1980s starting with home-tutoring Vietnamese refugees. She volunteered with AMES Settlement services before joining with West Welcome Wagon over 9 years ago. She co coordinated the Education Essentials program since 2018 and has been on the board since 2021.

Samantha Murray - Director

Samantha has spent 25+ years as an experienced Operations Leader with quality skills, delivering change and capability, with excellent stakeholder and communication skills.  Delivering value to organisations and teams through facilitation, diplomacy, drives to get things done and brings teams together.
She excels in working with all stakeholders (e.g. Board, Community) as a trusted partner, who understands the challenges and complexities of providing superior customer service, differentiated service delivery and process management. A highly motivated, methodical, thorough person who is organised and brings key strengths in leading and communicating to all stakeholders as a leader of teams to deliver quality service, with a strong customer focus, bringing value by enabling successful outcomes for teams.
Leading by example (Women in IT, Leadership roles, Volunteering), inclusivity and diversity, bringing out the best in people – setting them up for success, instilling confidence.
Samantha has been volunteering at WWW for 4 years and previously volunteered with St John Ambulance in support of the elderly.

Colette McInerney (CEO)

Colette is a seasoned leader known for her expertise in governance, strategic planning, and stakeholder engagement. With a career spanning financial inclusion, international development, and community empowerment, she has a proven track record of delivering measurable impact. As the inaugural CEO of a financial inclusion foundation and Country Director for an international NGO, Colette successfully navigated complex operating environments to drive meaningful change. 

Colette’s inclusive leadership style has consistently translated into tangible improvements in people’s lives, making her a respected figure in the realm of social impact and community development. 

Colette was appointed CEO in June 2023.