Board of Directors

Founder of Southlake's Incorporated, Christine Mastello

In 2012, Christine recognized the urgent needs of sole-parent families and seniors in her community, particularly with impending changes to the Parenting Pension and age restrictions. With the nearest food pantry located 20 minutes away and no public transport options, many were at risk of going hungry.

Having experienced a challenging upbringing herself, Christine understood what it feels like to have no one care about you. This motivated her to establish a small food pantry in Morisset, which served eight individuals on its opening day.

As demand grew, Christine built partnerships with other organizations, leading to the launch of a community pantry in collaboration with Uniting in 2017. In 2023, she expanded her efforts further by opening another pantry in a remote western community.

Over the past 11 years, Christine's commitment has resulted in the distribution of thousands of free hampers and toys. Her next major initiative, the Community Hair Project, began by assisting a mother of three and has since expanded to provide free haircuts at 150 locations across Australia, supporting women's refuges, homeless shelters, and more.

Christine remains dedicated to adapting her efforts to meet the evolving needs of her community, embodying the principle: if we can fill a need without detracting from existing programs, we should.

Keith Whelan

Chair Person

Specialising in Funding Consultancy, Keith Whelan provides high level assistance to a number of different service sectors in planning for and accessing extra income streams as well as developing their own respective narrative.

Keith has worked in the Public & Private sectors in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

He presently works with a number of entities across Australia in the several sectors developing their respective Business Storytelling capabilities, Corporate Social Responsibility Strategies, Social Enterprise and Social Procurement strategies.

He has previously facilitated workshops and webinars for Local, State and Federal Government in Australia and New Zealand since 2012.

Sian Menzies

Vice Chair Person

Sian Menzies has over 20 years of experience working in insurance and financial markets, across actuarial, financial risk and operational roles. She founded a successful maths tutoring business for 10 years in Sydney (whilst working full time).

Sian has extensive charity experience primarily in homeless and youth services, meal prep and distribution, community services and youth counselling (as a qualified counsellor).

She is passionate about bridging gaps in local communities to ensure the most vulnerable are aware of and have access to available support services. She is committed to promoting the use of resources such as recycling furniture and clothes, donating meals, and volunteering time to support those in need within communities.

Shari Bonnette

Secretary

Shari is an accomplished general and operational manager with expertise in Not-for-Profit governance and leadership. She has a proven track record of collaborating with Committees and Boards of Directors, contributing to the strategic vision and ensuring compliance with Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) regulations, as well as broader regulatory and legislative frameworks.

With a rich career in the community service sector, Shari has dedicated herself to delivering community centred programs aimed at supporting individuals and families. Her experience includes managing services within community centres and working with women, youth, children and families. Shari’s background spans across community services, education, research, and mining sectors, reflecting her adaptability and experience across multiple industries.

Shari is deeply passionate about creating impactful services and initiatives that transform lives by fostering connection, purpose, and a strong sense of community.

Shari has an Honours degree in Social Science (Sociology) from the University of Newcastle and is a member of the NSW Council of Social Services.

Lurlin Colins

Treasurer

Lurline has an Economics degree from Sydney University. After attaining her degree, she completed training as a Chartered Accountant. She worked in audit and business advisory services for a number of firms for over 40 years and ended her career as an Account Director with Deloitte Private, Parramatta in 2016. During her career she worked for clients in a variety of industries including:

• Primary production
• Manufacturing
• Entertainment
• Retail
• Investment & superannuation
• High net worth individuals
• Not for profit organisations

Her main focus was in financial management, audit and taxation. She was also involved in some business valuation work in the latter years of her career. Lurline is now retired and living in Lake Macquarie. She enjoys many activities with Probus and U3A, as well as reading, gardening, and spending time with family. As a member of the Board of Southlakes Inc she hopes to use her skills to assist the organisation to grow and provide services to those in need in the Lake Macquarie & Central Coast areas..