Our team
At Diversity Council Australia, our senior consulting staff have strong business and legal backgrounds in the fields of diversity and EEO and extensive experience in human resources, training, investigations and policy development. We will work closely with you to understand your needs and develop programs to suit you. Our goal is to provide you with expert advice and service that is practical and anticipates your needs.
Collectively, consultants’ work history includes substantial experience in:
- All private sector industries, government, quasi-government, higher education, non-government school, trade union, employer association and non-government organisations sectors, and;
- Law, human resource management, workplace relations, organisation development, change management, adult learning, diversity management, policy and procedure development, and preventing and managing workplace discrimination and harassment.
Please see below for more information about each of our senior salaried and consulting staff. In addition to these, we also have a range of other highly experienced, DCA accredited consultants who work with our members and clients.
Nareen Young, Chief Executive Officer
Lisa Annese, Acting Research Director
Mark Ney, DCA Consultant
Jane O'Leary, Research Director
Catherine Petterson, Communications Director
Nareen Young, Chief Executive Officer
Nareen Young was appointed CEO for Diversity Council Australia (DCA) in June 2007 after working for DCA for two years as Senior Consultant. The CEO appointment is the most recent highlight in her notable career as a senior strategic diversity practitioner and acknowledges her role as one of Australia's leading strategic diversity practitioners and thought leaders.
In early 2009 Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard appointed Nareen, representing DCA, to Chair the Judging and Accreditation Panel for the revamped National Work and Family Awards.
Nareen was the Director of the NSW Working Women’s Centre, funded by Federal and NSW Governments, from 1998 to 2005. In 2003 she was nominated for a Human Rights Award and Medal for her leadership at the NSW Working Women’s Centre in “… developing and implementing innovative and sustained activities …” so that the Centre was an accessible service and could play a significant role in employment matters in New South Wales.
Prior to her appointment at the NSW Working Women's Centre, Nareen was a trade union official and during this time served in female affirmative action positions, in both cases elected by her peers, on the executive of Unions NSW and the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
Nareen has presented and published widely and considers the many career opportunities she has been presented through working in diversity to be a great privilege.
In August 2009 she was appointed to the inaugural Community Advisory Group for the AFL. The group will assist in building awareness for the 18th team in Greater Western Sydney and help develop and deliver a business case that validates the capacity for Western Sydney to sustain an AFL team.
Nareen lives in Sydney with her partner, two children and numerous animals.
Lisa Annese, Acting Research Director
Lisa Annese joined DCA as Acting Research Director in April 2009 while Jane O'Leary is on parental leave. Lisa has extensive background in equal opportunity for women and diversity including several years working at EOWA (Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency).
At EOWA, Lisa was instrumental in the management of the majority of projects of the time, including the first ever census of ‘Australian Women in Leadership’, the first-ever ‘Business Achievement Awards’, the beginning of the ‘Employer of Choice’ citation, the development of a new website and the implementation of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act (1999) through assisting employers with both compliance/waiving applications and conducting assessments.
In 2004, Lisa co-authored “Chief Executives Unplugged: CEO’s Get Real About Women in the Workplace” which was named a “must-read business book” by AFR/BOSS magazine in 2005.
Lisa’s career began in 1991 as a business graduate at Westpac Banking Corporation. She soon realised her strong calling in the area of social justice and developed her talents in human resources as a stepping stone into diversity management. She spent many months running sexual harassment and discrimination training sessions to an often hostile audience. She also developed many ‘best-practice’ (at the time) company policies and communicated them to a workforce of over 30,000. Her final project at Westpac was the establishment of its first ever on-site childcare centre.
Lisa has a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from UTS in Sydney and a Graduate Certificate of Commerce (Human Resource Management) from Charles Sturt University.
Mark Ney, DCA Consultant
Former Assistant Commissioner Mark Ney APM retired from the Australian Federal Police in January 2009 after 25 years of service which included a broad range of operational experience. This included significant experience as a senior leader and manager. He also worked in the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.
Mark ran the Human Resources Department for the AFP for four years, and was responsible for Learning & Development, Professional Standards, Wellbeing Services and management of diversity programs in addition to normal HR delivery services. Mark managed around 300 staff devoted to providing those range of services to the 6,500 staff in the AFP. He was responsible for negotiating certified agreements, making employment/termination decisions, and has appeared before Industrial Relations proceedings, to give evidence and represent the organisation in disputes. During Mark's time with AFP he represented the organisation at a number of forums including at the United Nations Drug Control Organisation, International Counter Terrorism events, and Senate Estimates Hearings and Enquiries.
Mark was recognised for his service to policing in the 2006 Australia Day Honours List. He was awarded the Australian Police Medal for distinguished service, particularly in the field of furthering law enforcement relationships both nationally, internationally and the indigenous community. Mark was very active in the various diversity programs undertaken by the AFP which included his voluntary work as Patron of the Indigenous Officers, and Gay and Lesbian Officers Networks.
Mark was a member of the DCA board for a number of years and resigned as Chairperson in December, coinciding with his retirement from AFP. He has a Graduate Certificate of Business (Banking) from Monash University and a Graduate Certificate in Management from Charles Sturt University.
Mark is qualified to administer psychometric tools such as MBTI and Firo B, and works with management teams to improve team effectiveness, and improve business productivity.
Jane O'Leary - Research Director
Jane O'Leary has been with DCA since 2001, working closely with members to assist them foster organisational cultures which are inclusive of all personal differences. In 2005, Jane was awarded a federal government scholarship to conduct PhD research examining the diversity capability of Australian managers - specifically, what constitutes competence in managing diversity and how Australian managers can most effectively manage workplace diversity.
Jane is in the final stage of her PhD examining competence in managing workplace diversity at The University of Queensland Business School. Her research has been well received, with papers based on her research having been presented at international and national conferences.
Prior to joining DCA, Jane worked in the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) and the Queensland University of Technology, consulting to employers and staff on issues relating to diversity and inclusion and adult learning and development.
In 1996, Jane was awarded a Masters of Education, studying in the area of women in leadership. She has published papers on women and careers, women and leadership, qualitative research techniques, and learning and development. Her particular areas of specialisation include managerial diversity capability, diversity strategy development, implementation and evaluation, women in the workplace, and learning and development.
Jane O'Leary took parental leave in April 2009.
Catherine Petterson – Communications Director
Catherine Petterson joined the Council in 2004 to revamp its communications and organise its 20th Anniversary celebrations. This evolved into orchestrating DCA’s name change (from the Council for Equal Opportunity in Employment Ltd) and implementing a new corporate image in 2005. She now looks after DCA’s regular communications including Diversity Matters and Diversity Matters update, the web site and all client communications. Catherine is responsible for planning and management of all DCA events including DCA’s Annual Conference on Diversity in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Catherine has taken on the role of overseeing several aspects of running the business.
Catherine has a background in corporate communications including a long stint at ANZ in a variety of senior communications roles. She also worked at public relations firm Hinton & Associates where she provided strategic financial and corporate communications advice to listed companies.
Catherine has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Arts in Communications from Monash University.