about
the
board
DEA BOARD
Disability Employment Australia is governed by a Board of directors elected in staggered two-year terms.
Delegated authorities from member organisations are eligible to run for election to the Board.
The current Board is comprised of:
David Coles, EPIC Assist – Chair
Keryl Neville, LEAD Employment – Vice Chair
Thérèse Campbell, MedHealth Group
Mark Chaffey, Ability Options
Tracey Fraser, The Personnel Group
Mat McIntyre, The Disability Trust
Karen Rainbow, APM
Peter Bacon, CEO DEA
David Coles
Chair
David is currently Regional Coordinator/Policy Advisor for EPIC Assist based in Regional Queensland. In his 20-year career, David has held management positions in the Disability Employment and Employment Services sectors with EPIC, Barkuma, SYC Job Prospects and Employment Plus.
He has considerable expertise in governance and strategic direction and has previously served on the DEA Board and held the executive positions of Chair and Vice Chair during his three terms of service. David also served on the South Australian DES member peak body, Disability Employment SA (DESA) for five years, with three years as Chair.
Keryl Neville
Vice Chair
Keryl is the CEO of LEAD Employment having held that position for over 30 years. LEAD was an early entrant into the Australian open employment movement for people with disability, securing a research grant in 1989 to look at better employment models for people with significant disability.
A passion of Keryl’s is to see employment support for everyone wishing to work, not cutting out people because of capacity nor insisting people’s employment support be siloed into a particular funding bucket. Just a simple system that enables people to hold a job with whatever support they need to do that.
Thérèse Campbell
Board Member
Thérèse has worked in employment services and occupational rehabilitation for 25 years, initially as a case manager, then moving into management and a range of executive roles, predominantly in the areas of strategy, business development and stakeholder engagement.
Thérèse is an Occupational Therapist, with post graduate qualifications in Management from the University of Western Australia and the Australian Graduate School of Management. She has 16 years’ experience as a board director at the WorkFocus Group, including a six-year period as Chair, and has completed the Company Directors course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Mark Chaffey
Board Member
With more than 25 years’ experience, Mark has an extensive background in management and strategy across a broad range of traditional and not-for-profit industries. Since 2003 he has held senior management positions in organisations delivering a range of Disability and Employment programs including DES.
Mark is a result-driven business executive, currently working in the role of Chief Operating Officer – Specialist Services , at Ability Options, one of the largest disability and employment service providers in NSW.
Tracey Fraser
Board Member
Tracey is the former CEO of an expanding, successful DES service, The Personnel Group. She holds a Master of Business Administration and over 20 years’ experience in Disability Employment Services.
During that time Tracey has worked across all roles within an expanding organisation. Key roles and responsibilities have included the entire gamut of DES, including operations, marketing, business development, HR and finance.
Tracey is a staunch supporter of community connectedness and ensuring services to regional and remote jobseekers are equal to that of our metro partners.
Mat McIntyre
Board Member
Mathew is a proud First Nations man having extensive experience working across the Disability and Employment Service Sector.
Prior to joining The Disability Trust, Mathew has held senior management and executive leadership roles across regional, state and national footprints where he was responsible for leading high-performing teams, developing emerging leaders and implementing strategic change initiatives.
Mathew is passionate about advocacy and policy and the social impact of employment of people with disability.
Karen Rainbow
Board Member
With more than 30 years of Disability Employment and jobactive experience, Karen’s current role as APM as CEO Employment Services has responsibility for over 1700 personal and more than 500 locations across both regional and metropolitan areas. APM currently delivers DMS and ESS in 92 ESA.
Karen is passionate about people and genuinely believes that transparency, clarity, and consistency in messaging are critical to achieving a true culture of performance and excellence.
She is equally passionate about assisting People with Disability into employment, and truly believes the work is integral to self-worth, dignity, and social inclusion.
Peter Bacon
DEA CEO
Peter started as Chief Executive Officer at DEA in March 2023, having spent over 15 years in the disability
employment sector.
He began his career on the frontline as an Employment Advisor to claimants of health-related benefits in East London, before moving into a range of business development and strategy. He has always been passionate about the transformational impact that decent work can have on people’s lives.
Outside of work, Peter is the proud father of two young daughters and follows Fulham Football Club in the English Premier League.
OUR PARTNERS
We are immensely proud to collaborate with our dedicated partners, who play a crucial role in advancing our mission.
