Cr Kim O’Keeffe has lived in Shepparton for most of her life.  Greater Shepparton offers a wonderful lifestyle and is a wonderful place to live and work. Kim has run her own business in the service and training industry for the past 28 years. Kim’s vision is for growth and to prosper with forward thinking and a progressive approach. She is passionate about the Greater Shepparton community and sees opportunity, diversity and so much potential for the region.

Peter Harriott is the CEO of Greater Shepparton City Council. Before that he was the CEO of Wattle Range Council (South Australia) 2013-2016 and a Director at Greater Shepparton City Council 2000-2012. Over the past 30 years he has worked in local government throughout Victoria as well as 3 years on the Limestone Coast of South Australia. Peter has a Bachelor of Civil engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration.

Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf joined Greater Bendigo City Council in 2016 representing the Whipstick Ward and was re-elected to a second term in 2020.

Cr Metcalf’s career has focused on customer service and disability support, first with Centrelink and then in financial planning supporting customers to navigate the Centrelink system. At Centrelink she held a range of leadership roles and worked with the organisation for 37 years.

In her role as a Councillor, Cr Metcalf sits on the board of Bendigo Heritage Attractions and Bendigo Stadium Ltd. She is also Chair of the Eaglehawk Table Tennis and Badminton Association, a member of the Epsom Ascot Huntly Flood Mitigation Committee and a member of Empowering Eaglehawk.

Outside of her community commitments, Cr Metcalf is a trained masseuse. Her hobbies include gardening and she has a young Border Collie to help keep her active.

Craig Niemann has over 30 years’ experience working in local government. He has been the Chief Executive Officer at Greater Bendigo City Council since December 2007 and was Director, Organisation Support prior to that.  He previously served as CEO of the Shire of Loddon. Craig has excellent knowledge of the Central Victoria area and a tremendous understanding of community issues and processes. He plays a key role in facilitating and encouraging the self-reliance of local communities, with a strong focus on community engagement and improving services.

Councillor Daniel Moloney is public relations and stakeholder relations professional who was elected to represent the City of Ballarat’s North Ward.  He served in the 2016 – 2020 Council term and in October 2020 was re-elected for the 2020-2024 Term.  He was also elected Mayor of Ballarat from October 2020 to October 2021.

Cr Moloney brings to his role as Councillor more than 20 years’ of high‐level policy experience advising and working with corporate directors, councils, government departments and ministers.

His strong background in tourism includes work as a Board Member of Ballarat Regional Tourism and as a marketer with V/Line; his communications experience includes work advising Victorian government agencies, a London-based charity, and as a suburban Melbourne-based journalist.

Cr Moloney’s extensive business experience includes management of state government campaigns, work for the Victorian Office of Fair Trading and Business Affairs (now known as Consumer Affairs Victoria) and the establishment of his own small business, a Ballarat and Melbourne-based public relations company.

He has worked for some of Australia’s biggest transport and infrastructure companies; he is passionate about public transport and as one of the thousands of Ballarat residents who regularly commute by train to Melbourne to work, he is determined to see public transport services continue to improve.

Cr Moloney has a BA (Journalism) RMIT, MBA (Federation University Australia), Dip Business; he was made a Fellow of the Public Relations Institute of Australia in 2016 in recognition of his achievements in the industry.

Cr Moloney grew up in Ballarat and region, and returned to raise his two children.  He remains active in the community in volunteer roles in addition to his elected representative role.

Evan King commenced as the Chief Executive Officer at the City of Ballarat in February 2021.

Evan has spent the past two and a half years as CEO of Hepburn Shire, and has a Local Government career which includes executive roles at Pyrenees Shire Council as the Director of Corporate and Community Services and Hepburn Shire Council as the General Manager Corporate Services.

Prior to working in Local Government, Evan had an extensive career working in manufacturing and held senior management positions with Mars Wrigley and FMP (Bendix Mintex) as well as working within the social sector and notably working as the Business Manager for Salvation Army Western Victoria.

Evan has a Bachelor of Business from Federation University, is a qualified CPA and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Having lived and worked in rural and regional Victoria all his life, Evan is passionate about rural living and ensuring that those who live in regional Victoria have access to high quality services and facilities.

Stephanie Asher has been a Greater Geelong councillor since 2017 and the Mayor since 2019. A resident of Ocean Grove, she is passionate about standing up for the community in a strong and principled manner. Mayor Asher chairs the Council’s Sustainability Performance portfolio and CEO Employment Matters Committee and she is Deputy Chair of Finance and sits on the Audit and Risk Committee.

Mayor Asher also represents the City of Greater Geelong on the Regional Capitals Australia committee and she was elected Chair of the G21 Geelong Region Alliance in November 2020. Mayor Asher is CEO of a management consultancy with a successful career as a corporate strategy, policy and communications specialist. She is also the best-selling author of Susan Alberti’s authorised biography.

Martin Cutter was recently appointed CEO of the City of Greater Geelong, following several years at the City of Melbourne in a range of roles including Director of Corporate Services and Director City Business. He held senior roles at Australian River Co, ANL Limited and KPMG before entering the public sector.

Cr Gulline has called Longerenong home for 25 years. Originally from Queensland, she moved to the Wimmera after meeting her late husband Don.

As well as a prominent farmer in the region, she is an experienced teacher from pre-school and primary to TAFE and university levels.

The mother of three’s qualifications include a Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Education, Diploma of Accounting, Diploma of Teaching – Primary-Preschool, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and Governance of Registered Organisations.

She has served the Wimmera through involvement in organisations such as Wimmera Development Association, Regional Development Australia (Grampians) and Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership.

Cr Gulline is also an active member of the Victorian Farmers Federation and a strong contributor to the Wimmera Machinery Field Days, local Landcare groups and Horsham Hockey Club.

Sunil has worked in Local Government for 24 years, including 12 years in senior management.  He was previously Director Infrastructure Services at the City of Maribyrnong, where he had finance and operational responsibility for over 120 permanent staff and the delivery of services and programs totalling $60 million.

Prior to this, Sunil worked at the Surf Coast Shire Council for more than 14 years in a range of management positions including General Manager Governance and Infrastructure, Director Corporate Services, Director Infrastructure and Infrastructure manager.  He was also with the Hume City Council for six years and the Shire of Bulla for over two years.

Kellie was first elected to Latrobe City Council in 2008 and is currently serving her third term as Mayor.

Kellie is recognised for her strong leadership in health, community services and governance.

Kellie is a well-respected and authentic community leader with a passion for health,
wellbeing and community-led development. In 2016, she led the development of the
Latrobe Strength-Led Transition, a community co-designed approach structural and
economic change leading up to the Hazelwood Power Station closure, which
resulted in significant State and Federal Government investment and enhanced partnerships in the region.

Kellie served for many years as the Chair of a Regional Health Service Board and has served on a range of State boards and committees. She has well established
networks across a broad range of industries and is a champion for creating pathways to new opportunities for the Gippsland region.

Steven joined Latrobe City Council in 2014 as General Manager Community Infrastructure and Recreation. He was appointed CEO in December 2018. He has over 20 years’ experience in local government, including eight years at Bass Coast Shire Council, where he worked as Community and Economic Development Director and prior to that, Infrastructure Director.

Steven has a degree in Civil Engineering and graduate certificate in Business Administration.

Cr Liam Wood was born and bred in Mildura and grew up on the banks of Kings Billabong.

After graduating from the Red Cliffs High School, Cr Wood went on to study landscape architecture at RMIT University. He moved back to Mildura 13 years ago and now runs three businesses.

Cr Wood has a keen interest in events/tourism and the small business sector which he says are vital drivers for the local economy, and has dedicated significant resources and time into events and hospitality in Sunraysia for over a decade.

Dean was born and raised in Wangaratta to parents both in retail businesses before heading to Melbourne for 6 years to study and to work in the Real Estate field.

He returned home to Wangaratta in 1995 to be closer to family and friends and opened his first Real Estate office. Throughout his time away he always appreciated the closeness of a small community and what a country lifestyle had to offer.

After 20 successful years in Wangaratta, a fantastic marriage and two beautiful children he and his wife opened the Rees & Rees lifestyle store in 34 Ovens Street to expand on their property development business and lifestyle loves.

Elected to Council in 2016 and Mayor for the last 2 years, Dean’s priority and focus for the Rural City of Wangaratta has been on the economic development and growth of Wangaratta to ensure it continues progressing into a modern city.

Brendan McGrath’s philosophy is for Council to provide the best customer service to residents and visitors, work in partnership with the community when possible, and maintain a financially robust bottom line.

These three pillars will ensure Council remains a viable, relevant and responsive organisation well into the future.

Mr McGrath commenced as Chief Executive Officer of the Rural City of Wangaratta on 11 February 2014.  Prior to this he had been Chief Executive Officer of Indigo Shire Council, a role he had held since February 2008.

Before starting with Indigo Shire, he was the General Manager of Community and Recreation with Mitchell Shire and had at different times acted as Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Corporate Services.

Brendan has also worked in the private sector in the conference, accommodation and hospitality areas and has managed recreation facilities.

Mr McGrath is a board member and current vice-president of LGPro, the peak body for Local Government professionals in Victoria.  He is also a board member with Tourism North East Victoria.  He has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree and is studying Business through the Australian Institute of Management.

Peter Schneider is Chief Executive Officer of Warrnambool City Council.

Prior to starting at Warrnambool Mr Schneider was the chief executive of the Perth-based Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council which provided waste management, resource recovery, environmental management and regional development services for its six member councils.

Wodonga Mayor Cr Kevin Poulton is a first-time Councillor, having lived in the area for almost all his life.

Born to dairy-farming parents, Cr Poulton is an active community member in the region, and has governed on boards and committees in the education, disability, sport and fundraising sectors. He is a dad to five young children.

Cr Poulton holds business management qualifications in retail, hospitality, events and marketing and has been a radio presenter and entertainer for almost two decades.

Mark Dixon commenced his role as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wodonga City Council in April 2019.

Prior to his appointment Mark was the CEO and Managing Director of Wodonga Institute of TAFE for a period of four years.  During his tenure at the TAFE, it grew to be the most successful regional TAFE in Victoria winning the Australian Large Training Provider of the Year in 2018.

Before entering civilian life, Mark was a military officer for more than 30 years in both the British and Australian Armies.  He has seen active service in Iraq and Afghanistan and worked throughout Europe and the United States.

Mark is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and also holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from the UK’s Cranfield University.  He has completed the Cranlana Institute’s executive leadership program and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) course.

Mark continues his association with the Defence as an Honorary Colonel for the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps and is also a member of the Ovens Murray Regional Partnership, supporting Regional Development Victoria.