ABOUT US

Alex White is the CEO of the Victorian TAFE Association and brings extensive experience as a senior executive, policy advisor, and strategic advocate.

He previously served as Senior Advisor to Minister for Skills and TAFE Gayle Tierney, where he helped lead high-level policy in the TAFE and skills portfolio, as well as the Minister’s Water portfolio.

Prior to working in government, Alex held key executive roles in the union movement, including Director of Growth at the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and Secretary (CEO) of Unions ACT. He has been a director or council member of a range of organisations including the Future Skills Organisation, ACT Council of Social Services, Greenpeace Australia-Pacific and the ACT Work Safety Council, bringing deep national and state-level policy expertise

Alex is committed to ensuring public TAFE remains central to Victoria’s social and economic future, and that the VTA remains a powerful, respected and effective voice to government and the community.

Lizzy is a compelling strategy and policy leader with demonstrated impact not only at the VTA, but also in her previous roles across public, private and not-for-profit sectors both Australia-wide and internationally.

Her experience in education and skills, economic, social and built environment policy, and track record of delivering complex programs and campaigns across and within levels of government, industry and with community stakeholders, make her a natural and highly strategic fit for the Head of Policy Reform position.

Since starting with us in April 2024, Lizzy has also been a driving force in the development of our policy and advocacy agenda and communications and engagement strategy, and championed diversity and inclusion through several initiatives across the TAFE Network.

Maeva is the Head of Policy Reform at the Victorian TAFE Association, bringing extensive experience as a senior policy leader, strategic adviser and advocate across government and highly regulated industries.

She has held senior roles across the Victorian Government, including within the Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Government Services and Bushfire Recovery Victoria, where she led significant policy, procurement and digital reform initiatives. In these roles, she provided high-level advice to Ministers and senior executives, and worked closely with government, industry and community stakeholders to shape policy and program outcomes.

Earlier in her career, Maeva held senior roles in the private sector, leading strategic, regulatory and customer-focused initiatives in complex, highly regulated environments.

Maeva is committed to strengthening Victoria’s public TAFE system and ensuring it continues to deliver high-quality outcomes for learners, industry and the community.

Pam is the Senior Policy Adviser working across policy and strategic advice for the VTA.

Pam has 30 plus years of experience in education, vocational education and training (VET), TAFE, employment, industry, and community sectors in a variety of leadership, advisory, advocacy, management, and research positions.

Through her work she has been immersed in and has developed a comprehensive understanding of the state and national education and training systems; and a deep knowledge of the skill needs and development challenges with which they are designed to meet.

Andrea Is an experienced finance and accounting professional with over 20 years’ experience across the education, not-for-profit, aged care and commercial sectors. She has worked with the Victorian TAFE Association for more than two decades in a finance capacity, providing continuity, sound financial management and strong operational support.

Her background spans financial management, compliance, budgeting, payroll, audit preparation and statutory reporting. Andrea supports executive decision-making through accurate financial analysis and ensures the organization maintains strong financial governance and operational efficiency.

Rose provides executive, administrative and event management services to the VTA and member network.

Rose is a certified coach, and brings experience in leadership development and consulting, coaching education, business administration and executive support.

Melinda Edwards has joined the VTA in the role of Head of Industrial Relations on a 12-month secondment from GOTAFE.

Melinda brings extensive experience in industrial and employee relations, having provided expert guidance to people leaders and executives at GOTAFE, in her role as Head of Workplace Relations.

Melinda brings deep experience in industrial and employee relations, professional standards, people and culture, compliance and regulatory systems from a range of roles across public sector entities.

Jack leads the development of policy submissions and undertakes in-depth research and analysis of TAFE and VET data to support evidence-based decision-making and advocacy.

Jack has a strong background in strategy, research, and policy advice, and has experience advising executive leadership on a range of complex policy issues. He holds a Master’s degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (MPPE) from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.

Emily leads the development and delivery of the VTA’s strategic communication and engagement strategy.

Emily holds an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and later pivoted into the communications field, earning a Certificate IV in Communications and Marketing from North Metropolitan TAFE. This experience gave them a deep appreciation for the transformative value and impact of TAFE in shaping careers and communities.

Emily has built a career in communications within the not-for-profit sector leveraging their scientific knowledge and strategic communication expertise to bridge technical concepts with compelling narratives that drive engagement and impact.

Elected to VTA Board in 2023 and appointed VTA Board Chair in 2026.

Michael is an experienced commercial lawyer and is currently a consultant at Russell Kennedy Lawyers. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Commerce and has over 40 years’ experience in legal practice, mainly focused on the health sector. He publishes widely in health and legal association journals and is often asked to address public and private companies, government and non-government organisations.

Michael has extensive governance experience and currently chairs the boards of Holmesglen TAFE, Monash Health and Wellways Australia. He has been a Board member of a range of health and human rights agencies, professional associations and community organisations and has served as chair of major committees and expert panels. Michael is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Taxation Institute of Australia and is an Honorary Fellow of Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. He was made a Member in the Order of Australia in 2004.

Michael joined Holmesglen’s Board in August 2017 and commenced as Chair in March 2023. He is a member of all the Board’s committees.

Ms Coppolillo is the Chief Executive of Melbourne Polytechnic. As an experienced senior education leader in Victoria, she has led the strategic development of programs and services in Vocational Education and Training and in Higher Education for both local and international student cohorts.  Ms Coppolillo has held numerous roles in TAFE including Deputy CEO, Deputy Director Programs-Teaching and Learning, and Associate Director of the Faculty of Further Education.

Ms Coppolillo is a values-based leader, working to strengthen connections to community and industry.  She is the Interim Chairperson of NorthLink, a strong regional partnership of industry, education, health and government working to grow economic opportunities for individuals and business in Melbourne’s the Northern region. International education as always been championed by Melbourne Polytechnic, Frances has represented TAFE in the Victorian International Education Advisory Council.  As a founding director on the Board of the TAFE Development Centre (now the VET Development Centre) Frances has a strong interest in enhancing the development of the VET professional educators, managers and leaders.

Ms Coppolillo qualifications include a Bachelor of Education (Arts) Secondary, and Masters Arts/Social Science (Policy and Management).

Mish Eastman is responsible for developing and leading a renewed vision and strategic direction for Vocational Education as Deputy Vice- Chancellor Vocational Education at RMIT. Since joining RMIT, this has included establishing the new College of Vocational Education and the development of a 5-year strategic roadmap for vocational and applied learning.

She is passionate about gender diversity in all aspects of education and creating space for women in non-traditional roles, continuously providing diverse opportunities and support as part of her leadership style. An advocate for creating a safe and respectful community, Mish is also co-chair of RMIT’s Vice-Chancellor’s Advisory Group on Gender-based Violence Prevention.

An experienced education and health leader, Mish has strong expertise in identifying and creating new models of education and training in
collaboration with industry, enhancing tertiary pathways, and understanding how to create educational and employment success for learners. Beginning her career as a Registered Nurse before moving into educational leadership roles, has given Mish a deep knowledge and passion for Vocational Education.  

She has previously held positions with TAFE Tasmania, Tasmanian Polytechnic and Swinburne University of Technology, providing strategic and operational leadership of teaching and learning programs in pathways and Vocational Education.

Professor Hal Swerissen is Deputy Chair of the Bendigo Kangan Institute. He has extensive experience as a senior academic and executive in government, higher education and corporate governance. 

He has held positions as Pro Vice Chancellor and Executive Dean of Health Sciences at La Trobe University and as a senior advisor to the Federal and State Ministers. He has been a non executive director of Alfred Health, Dental Health Service Victoria and the Murray Primary Health Network.

He has been the chair of a number of non government organisations including the Collingwood and Brunswick Community Health Centres.

He has published more than 150 books, articles, reports and conference papers on health and community services, policy and program development and evaluation. 

Paul retired as CEO at Bass Coast Shire Council in February 2019. He spent five years as CEO at Bass Coast and, prior to that, nine years as the CEO of the City of Latrobe. He had a long and distinguished local government career spanning 41 years which included being awarded the Public Service Medal in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours for his outstanding public service and sustained leadership to the local community.

Paul joined the TAFE Gippsland Board in 2020 and commenced as Chair in September 2021.

Grant commenced his tenure as CEO of Box Hill Institute in June 2022, bringing nearly 30 years of experience in the public sector. Throughout his career, he has held senior executive and management roles across the Department of Defence, Department of Education, and the Department of Treasury and Finance.

His leadership journey in vocational education includes key roles such as Chief Operating Officer at Chisholm Institute and CEO of TAFE Gippsland for four years. Grant is deeply passionate about the transformative power of education and is committed to improving the student experience and strengthening the quality of services delivered within the VET sector.

As a people-focused leader, Grant combines strategic planning and development expertise with strong financial accountability and meticulous attention to detail. His approach ensures that educational institutions remain innovative, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of students and industry.

Bio pending