Pearl Proud was born in Durban, South Africa and migrated to Australia in 1987. Pearl has a background in Psychology and has held clinical and policy roles in government, not-for-profit and private practice settings.

Pearl is a Member of the Institute of Company Directors, an alumna of the Cranlana Leadership Colloquium, Executive Coach, Board Chair, non-Executive Director and endorsed Mentor in a governance career spanning 15 years. Pearl has a commitment to contributing to the civic, social, cultural and artistic life in Western Australia, was Patron for the Perth Arts Festival, the Founding Patron for the Perth Writers Festival and a Medici Donor. Her civic and philanthropic contribution acknowledgements include the national Living Legend Award 2012. Pearl has a deep respect for Noongar land and culture and acknowledges its elders, past, present and emerging and its cultural safekeepers.

Sally is a nationally recognised director, writer, dramaturg, producer, advocate & consultant working in the performing arts in Australia.

As Artistic Director of Steamworks Arts (since 2001) she has created numerous works for contemporary dance, theatre, puppetry & circus. A past board member of the Australia Council Theatre Board & alumni of the Australia Council Arts Leaders program, she is also a member of the Helpmann Awards Theatre panel since 2011. A past Director of Playworks & Stages WA, she has collaborated with Performing Lines WA regularly since 2008. She is Director of circus theatre company MAXIMA & a current PHD candidate at WAAPA ECU.

It has never been more important to bring together the diverse voices that make up our community. Culture is an expression of identity, of what we value and believe. It is the lens thought which we experience the world and is also an expression of how we want to see the world. I hope to contribute to CAN by assisting the organisation and team to continue the great work they are doing in supporting and growing the creativity and artistry of our communities, and our connection with each other.

Lorraine has been practicing as an accountant for over 15 years. Passionate about community, people, and culture she has spent most of her career working for Not for Profits.

Some of the sectors worked into date are aged care, disabilities, alcohol and drug, arts, and culture. Having worked in areas of corporate governance, strategy, and financial management in her various roles throughout the last 20 years. Lorraine is currently employed as the Corporate Services Manager for Holyoake.

Bringing communities together is a passion of Lorraine’s and always keeps that in mind in all the work that she does.

Antonella Segre was born in Milan Italy and migrated to Perth in 2001 after having resided overseas for 30 years.

Her background is in Leadership,Business Development, Marketing and Event Management. She is an alumni of the Cranlana Leadership Community, received a special commendation in 2011 by the WA Women’s Hall of Fame committee and is the recipient of the Rosemary Caithness award. She is the CEO of ConnectGroups Peak Body for Support Groups in WA since 2008. She has a strong interest in social anthropology and the arts and a drive for social justice and inclusion and social return.

Johnny is a migrant settler with Chinese, Vietnamese and French heritage, whose family came to Australia as refugees post-Vietnam War.

Guided by the collective knowledge and wisdom of the communities he is surrounded by, his work lies at the intersection of arts, technology and built form. He is a Co-Director at Paper Mountain, Chair of Northbridge Common, sits on the Amnesty WA Activism Leadership Committee and is the Incubator Manager for ProFound Incubator.

Derreck is an experienced commercial disputes lawyer with Herbert Smith Freehills.

Derreck maintains a broad practice, with a focus on corporate insolvency, government issues and administrative law, and media and defamation.

Derreck’s experience includes conducting and resolving disputes in the state supreme courts and the Federal court, including reaching resolutions by negotiation and mediation. These have ranged from large scale trials involving voluminous evidence, to smaller disputes.

He joined the Board in 2020 and is an enthusiast of diverse workplaces:

For me, the best reason to value diversity is because it makes the day in the office a lot more fun. Who wants to work with a bunch of clones? I enjoy working with people who have different outlooks, backgrounds and ideas. It keeps things lively and interesting.

Geri has worked with both Aboriginal community organisations, non-government organisations and government bodies. As the former chairperson of the Southern Aboriginal Corporation she gained experience working in Noongar communities to implement social justice and wellbeing projects. She worked as a project officer with South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council for several years and has been a part of the South West Native Title Settlement, the largest native title settlement in Australian history, which will affect an estimated 30,000 Noongar People 200,000 square kilometres in South West WA.

Harley is part of the Menang clan group from Albany. He was a Coordinator of Aboriginal Education for many years and implemented the Department of Education’s Aboriginal Studies Curriculum and Cultural Awareness programs. In his current role as a Senior Heritage Officer with the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, he is active in protecting Aboriginal heritage sites across the South West region of WA. His work also involves the repatriation of Aboriginal Ancestral remains across the state in partnership with the WA Museum. He is also a member of the WA Museum’s Aboriginal Advisory Committee that provides advice to the museum on matters related to Aboriginal heritage and culture with a particular involvement in the curation of Aboriginal content in the State's new museum, which will be opened in 2020.

Margaret is a Nyoongar/Yamitji woman from the Yued, Yamitji and Wadjarri regions of Western Australia. Margaret has worked in federal and state government and community and non-government organisations for 20 years. She has built her skills and experience in program management and customer and community outcomes. Margaret is currently employed as Aboriginal Community Partnerships and Outcomes Manager with a non-government organisation. She participates on a number of Boards and committees with Aboriginal organisations including Native Title and she is current chairperson of the New Norcia Stolen Generations Board. Margaret’s experience gained through working in Native Title and Aboriginal Heritage includes building her knowledge of associated Acts and Legislation and interpreting it from a Nyoongar perspective. Much of her work in this area included working closely with Traditional Owners, Elders and local communities to understand cultural protocols and values of land and water to Nyoongar people. She is currently the chairperson of the Yued Native Title Trust.

Monica is born and raised on Wadjuk Noongar boodja and is a mother of two teenage boys. As co-CEO of CAN, Monica leads the organisation to create positive social change through the arts, building inclusion and understanding between people.

Monica has been an arts leader for over nine years. She is passionate about how arts and culture connects stories and people to diverse audiences and is committed to sharing stories that truly reflect the plurality of voices that make up Australia. Monica has been in management for over 25 years and is an experienced facilitator of management and business qualifications across a range of sectors including working cross-culturally in Pakistan and Turkey.

In 2010 she completed a BA Arts (Communication and Cultural Studies), and a BSocSc, (Sociology), focusing on human rights. In 2021 she completed a Masters of Human Rights with Curtin’s Centre for Human Rights and Education.

Monica passionately believes that arts impacts social and economic equality and that CAN’s work contributes to achieving this.

June has more than 30 years professional experience in the arts, working in senior positions and as a consultant across all artforms.

Graduating as a theatre animateur from the Victorian College of the Arts in 1984, she job-shared the inaugural Executive Officer position at CAN Victoria before working on the NSW Bicentennial arts program. After returning to her hometown of Fremantle, June ran the Fremantle Arts Centre for six years.

Since then her consulting practice has seen her working in diverse contexts with organisations, communities and individual artists. She has been a member of the Community Cultural Development Board as well as the Community Partnerships Committee of the Australia Council, and was a recipient of an Australia Council Fellowship in 2002.

June has had a long connection to CAN through her Australia Council involvement and as a consultant. She loved it so much she had to come visit for longer!

Meelee Soorkia is CAN’s General Manager. She has several years of experience in managing creative projects and teams. Meelee worked as a book editor in Melbourne for more than a decade, before moving to Perth on a whim to take up an opportunity at a business management consultancy.

There she learnt a lot about improving organisations, managing change and getting the best out of people, but her heart longed to return to the arts. In 2019 when the opportunity arose to join Community Arts Network, Meelee jumped on it and contributes her professional learning and lived experience to the cultural change being implemented at CAN.

Michelle is an award winning former ABC journalist with more than thirty years’ experience in television, film, radio, print and digital media.

A proud Yamatij storyteller, she is passionate about sharing the stories of First Nation people and they have formed the basis of many of her creative projects, including short stories, publications and plays.

Michelle’s role at CAN is to look for opportunities to platform CAN’s work and partner with like-minded organisations so we can continue to deliver transformative arts and cultural development programs with communities.

When not working for CAN, Michelle volunteers on the board of 100.9fm Noongar Radio, Seesaw Magazine, As One Nyitting and is a member of the Kalamunda Arts and Culture Advisory Committee.

In 2019 Michelle was featured in the SBS series Every Family Has a Secret which explored her Mother’s stolen generation experiences of removal as a child. She also discovered her Grandfather was sent from England to Australia as a child migrant.

Miranda is an experienced Arts Manager who joined the CAN team in mid-2019. Starting in an administrative position she transitioned into the Operations Manager role in early 2020. During this time Miranda managed the teams transition into working from home requirements and facilitated an IT overhaul for the organisation.

In addition to Miranda's work as Operations Manager, she also manages CAN's social media platforms and assists in the coordination and delivery of CAN's marketing activities.

Miranda's background was initially in design, graduating with a degree in Interior and Spatial Design through Edith Cowan University. She left that career behind in 2015, travelling across the globe and landing in Fernie, a small town in the Canadian Rockies. On returning to Australia, Miranda returned to university and studied Arts and Cultural Management through Deakin University before starting her career in the arts at Ausdance WA.

Miranda is a skilled seamstress and all around crafter. In her spare time you will find her sewing away, knitting up a storm and hanging out with her beloved cat Billy.

Starting out in regional WA, art education was Rebecca’s initial passion, but after living in International House in Illinois her love of people and culture became the driver for her future career. Later moving to Oakland, California, Rebecca spent several years developing curriculum to inspire early childhood involvement in literacy for a local non-profit. Her time living in the Bay Area and her studies at UC Berkeley provided a solid grounding for over 15 years of positions in marketing and community development.

Rebecca works closely with Michelle White and Miranda De Baughn across all projects. She champions the CAN brand and supports the strategic marketing goals of the organisation.

Rebecca believes in giving all people space to be their best selves, to have their voices heard, with encouragement and without judgement. In her spare time, Rebecca is often found listening to podcasts or talking about her kids!

Pauline Sikweti has a strong interest in Culture & the Arts and finance.

This has led Pauline to a career as a freelance bookkeeper/BAS agent to various arts companies and small businesses. Pauline has been working in the accounts industry for over 20 years and enjoys being surrounded with the creativity that the Arts sector brings.

As Finance Officer, Pauline oversees all areas of finance including: payroll, accounts payable and receivables, cash management, general ledger, banking and reconciliations. Pauline assists Management prepare budgets and is responsible for preparing the financial aspects of funding body reports.

Elly is a community music making enthusiast. With a passion for creating connections and opportunities for people to be heard, Elly has worked in a variety of roles including coordinating arts and health projects, supporting young people to develop social action projects and empowering young people with an Out-of-Home Care experience to advocate for their rights and create positive systemic change.

As a recent member of the CAN family, Elly is coordinating CAN’s Lullabies project. Lullabies brings together Noongar families to learn and celebrate Noongar and use these language skills in creative outlets including songwriting, lullabies and doll making.

In her spare time, Elly loves being outside running and biking, making music and singing with friends.

Poppy is a filmmaker, artist and producer who specialises in collaborating with communities. Her work’s been broadcast nationally on ABC, SBS and Nickelodeon as well as presented internationally including at London International Festival of Theatre and Japan Media Arts Festival. She’s also a previous recipient of the Fremantle Print Award and Australia Council Kirk Robson Award.

Poppy is currently working with ten Elders on a multimedia storytelling project. The project focuses on stories of living and working on Whadjuk Noongar boodja, and how the Elder’s experiences have influenced their contribution to the City of Perth Council’s Reconciliation Action Plan and Elders Advisory Group.

Poppy also works as a freelance artist and filmmaker. You can check out her work at www.poppyvog.com

Paola is a PhD candidate in Biological Anthropology at UWA and an artist. Her research focuses on the intergenerational transmission of trauma and her art involves signing and participating in community art projects. Paola aims to merge these two areas and contribute to the development of local communities.

Paola started with CAN working on the Lotterywest Dream Plan Do project with Carolina Duca. Paola stayed on with CAN and is now the Project Manager for Chorus 2022 in partnership with Annette Carmichael Projects.

A tradition that inspires Paola is the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead. As a Mexican, Paola embraces the celebration of death as another way of valuing life; living each day to fullest because life itself should not be taken for granted.

Natalie Scholtz is an African Persian British Australian visual artist. She is inspired by creative conversations around the relationship of self and society, action and response, culture, arts and change.

Natalie has had the pleasure of being part of CAN’s Place Names over the past 5 years, connecting with local Noongar Elders, community and a range of learning and talent from Langford, Albany, Katanning and now Fremantle.

Sandy is an arts practitioner who works across performance, puppetry and multimedia. She runs Sandpiper Productions, a company creating hybrid art collaborations and performances locally and nationally. She has been an artist in residence in Zambia, South Korea, Cocos and Christmas Island. She is driven by a passion to give voice to the unheard.

Sandy was involved in CAN’s Place Names Moora project, working with local Elders and community members to explore their stories, experiences and languages of Moora and surrounding areas.