WORTHWHILE VENTURES

Born in South Western Sydney and grew up on Tharawal country and proud connections to Euahlayi nation of his mother’s family. Has worked 10 years in the not-for-profit sector within AES Ltd an Indigenous managed and operated national NFP model. From leading local business operations, in 2011was appointed GM and Executive Director duties of AES. Prior to AES, Gavin worked in the federal DHS for 20 years. Delivering Centrelink social welfare policy to communities, performing SES for Sydney’s DHS urban Indigenous specialist services. 2016 Gavin joined UTS Business School leading and coordinating Indigenous business education programs for Indigenous people and their communities.

Jenny is a descendant of Ngiyampaa Wailwan born and raised on country in a small town called Warren in Central Western NSW, currently working, and living on Dharawal country. Prior to owning the her owned business- The Unexpected Guest, Jenny graduated from the University of Western Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts- Welfare Studies (Community Services) and post graduate Diploma qualifications in VET- Adult Education from UTS and Post Graduate Certificate- Applied Counselling Skills from UWS. From a very young age Jenny has worked in the community services sector across the Non-government and Government sector specifically the Department of Social Security- now known as Centrelink in the role of Aboriginal Liaison Officer then managing Aboriginal Services. A move to TAFENSW for 15 years teaching across the Community Services courses at Nirimba Campus- Western Sydney and Aboriginal Studies at Eora College, Redfern was an amazing experience. As an owner of a business Jenny remains very committed to working with the same passion for social justice and collaborating with other First Nations businesses to grow the business community of First nations peoples and their communities.

Liam is a descendant of the Gumbaynggirr people of the North Coast of NSW and Wakka Wakka people of Southern Queensland and grew up on Gadigal Country in inner Sydney. Following the completion of his Business degree from the University of Technology, Sydney Liam moved into the Information Technology industry working for the likes of Microsoft and Trend Micro in sales and marketing. In recent years Liam has been in the IT start-up based business scene working with digital technologies. In 2014, he co-founded Ngakkan Nyaagu (NGNY) an Indigenous owned digital agency. In the same year he created an Indigenous Robotics Workshop at Indigenous Digital Excellence (IDX - NCIE) Hub for primary school kids to engage them further into STEM learning. In 2015 he co-founded Indigitek, an Indigenous Technology Community that connects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in or aspiring to be engaged in the technology industry. Liam’s passion is to increase Indigenous participation in the digital economy and create a collaborative and sustainable Indigenous tech community that can provide greater positive impact for the wider Indigenous community.

Lindsay is a registered Chartered Accountant and completed his qualifications in South Africa in 1983. Lindsay is an experienced financial professional who has held senior finance roles in international organisations, both in Australia and overseas. His roles have included responsibility for IT, Operations and Supply Chain. Since leaving the corporate sector in 2013, Lindsay has worked as a financial consultant specialising in mergers and acquisitions and business integration projects.

Colin was born in Brewarrina on Ngemba country north west NSW. He spent his teenage years in Maitland. After leaving school he worked with Telstra for ten years before starting out on his own business journey. Over the last twenty years, he has had businesses in a few different industries such as labour hire, hospitality, employment and security. These businesses were built around giving disadvantaged Aboriginal people a chance to gain employment. Having seen first-hand what a successful Aboriginal business can do for Aboriginal people, Colin has long championed the Aboriginal business sector. His security business was one of ten Aboriginal businesses that were part of the AIMSC pilot which is now known as Supply Nation. Colin aims to bring his passion and knowledge of the Aboriginal business sector to assist the businesses that are engaged with Worthwhile Ventures to reach their full potential.