Status Board

Gary Hatwell

I have over 35 years strategic management experience within government and non-government sectors; 34 of which have been dedicated to the development of Inner Western Workskills/Status.

In 1989, I co-founded IWW and have served as Managing Director and Public Officer of the Association throughout. As a constant member of the Executive I have also held Board positions as Executive Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of the Association. I am currently the Executive Chairman of the Association.

Recognising the need to legally separate the commercial activities from the benevolent activities of IWW, the Board established Status Works Pty Ltd trading as Status in 2001, as a wholly owned subsidiary of IWW. Managed by an independent Board of Directors, I have also been Executive Chairman of the Status Board since foundation.

In 2015, I was made a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, recognising the stewardship and success achieved in directing the work of the Organisation.

Enterprise development has been my life's work, which has been both a blessing and a curse at times but I am still passionate about the work that we do and the outcomes we achieve. Most recently, researching and developing a business plan to bring the international charity Dress for Success Worldwide to Adelaide has been a humbling experience. I am proud of our resilience and innovation and our foresight and application that has built an outstanding enterprise that is recognised nationally as one of Australia's finest examples of business community development, and one of South Australia's leading providers of Australian government employment services.

Julie Hatwell

I initially commenced with Status in 1989 in a voluntary capacity, consultant, and then in 1997 as the Executive Manager, Finance.

My roles with Status and its parent entity, Inner Western Workskills, are founding member of the Board of Directors of Status Works, Treasurer of Inner Western Workskills, and founding Board member of Dress for Success Adelaide.

As a University qualified Accountant and a Fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Public Accountants, I am responsible for all of the management accounting processes and financial reporting of these Organisations.

I have been an accountant for over 35 years, and my prior work experience includes positions held with KPMG and News Limited.

Vikki Lewis

I commenced with Status on 25 September 1995.

I am a founding Director of Status Works, and since retiring from the operational side of the Organisation in 2014 I have continued as a non-Executive Director. I am also on the Board of our parent body, Inner Western Workskills Inc.

I started at Status as a retail trainer over 20 years ago at our only site at Welland. This was a change from my career in Education as a manager, student counsellor and secondary teacher with the SA Education Department. As the training side of Status grew, I was appointed the Executive Manager: Training Services, a position I held until retirement.

As a non-Executive Director, I have a particular interest in Training Services and especially the roles that literacy and numeracy, vocational training and employability skills development play in assisting disadvantaged people into paid work. I am also involved with our Dress for Success program and strongly believe that building self-esteem, especially in unemployed women, plays a vital role in preparing for work.

David George

I commenced with Status on 1 July 1997.

I am one of the original Directors of Status Works, and until I retired in 2014 was the Executive Manager: Corporate Projects. This involved writing tenders for contracts such as SEE, DES and Employment Services as well as contract management and assisting with legal work. From 2010 to 2014 I also directly managed our new DES contract, which remains a special interest of mine. My interest in this work is both personal and professional as a Fellow of the Australian Society of Rehabilitation Counsellors.

Before joining the Organisation I was the Manager of Glandore SkillShare, part of the government-funded nation-wide employment program that ran until 1998. Previously I worked for the Federal Government as a professional in the mental health field.

Over the years I have been proud to see Status grow from one site at Welland to ten offices across Adelaide, and nowadays I am actively involved as a non-Executive Director of Status as well as being a Board member our parent body, Inner Western Workskills Inc.

Emma Farina

I commenced with the Organisation in October 1999, spending my first 12 months in the Training Division as a Recruitment Consultant.

Until August 2010 I worked within Employment Services in coordinator and management positions, across 3 sites – Welland, Edwardstown and Modbury.

For the past 5 years I have had the responsibility for the functioning of the Human Resources Department, which encompasses Human Resource Management, Quality Assurance Certification, and Work Health and Safety.

I have been an active member of the Senior Management team since 2007, and appointed as a Director to the Status Works Board in 2015.

Prior to my time with Status my previous experience was in the retail sector in management positions up to a regional level.

Yvonne Christophides

I commenced with Status in March 2004.

Having migrated to Australia from Zimbabwe in October 2003, commencing work with Status was my first "real" job in Australia.

I initially worked in the Training Services administration team at the Welland site; providing administration support to trainers in the Traineeship Unit as well as contract administration for the Language, Literacy and Numeracy contract. I have delivered some non-accredited training to job seekers for our employment services contracts at Marion, Edwardstown and Modbury. I moved into a Senior Administration role in 2007 and then into a management role as Administration and Communications Manager: Training Services in 2011.

In March 2014 I commenced as the Senior Manager: Training Services.

Prior to my work in Australia I was the Brand Manager for Lancôme cosmetics and the associated perfume brands in Zimbabwe.