Our people

Bachelor of Technology in Visual Communications & Design
Diploma Marketing, Advanced Diploma Leadership & Management

Gareth is the Manager of the Summer Foundation Communications team. He leads a diverse team of communications experts to produce internal and external communications and resources that support the Summer Foundation’s mission of ending the stream of young people into aged care. Along with his day-to-day duties, Gareth is the campaign manager for the “Down to Ten Days” <insert link> pre-election campaign.

Gareth began his career as a graphic designer in Durban, South Africa. After migrating to England, he further developed his leadership skills and expertise in design, branding and communications at various agencies. Since moving to Australia, Gareth has worked in-house leading several award-winning teams. He is passionate about using his broad skill set to achieve positive change and help resolve the issue of young people in aged care.

PhD (Psych), Grad Dip (Educational Psych), Bachelor of Social Science (Hons Sociology)

In his role as Senior Analyst and NDIS Communications Producer Dr George Taleporos is an integral member of Summer Foundation team and works to inform people with disability about NDIS news, developments and policy application. He is responsible for the Reasonable and Necessary podcast series.

George has more than 20 years’ experience in the disability field, focused on advocacy, human rights policy and practice, service development and management.

George is a member of various high-level advisory bodies including the Victorian Disability Advisory Council. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals and in a range of media outlets. He has appeared on ABC TV’s You Can’t Ask That and The Drum.

Bachelor of Design (Visual Communications)

As part of the Communications Team, Antony Brown is responsible for the visual branding and design of all communications materials for both print and online. He also coordinates the flow of work through the team ensuring the final product is delivered in a timely manner.

Antony joined the Summer Foundation in 2015, after arriving from New Zealand bringing with him years of experience, working in graphic design agencies and in-house design teams. Antony is no stranger to social justice issues, having previously worked on the branding for not-for-profits and the design of national awareness campaigns for domestic violence, health, environmental and disability issues.

Jodie Gallacher is a Digital Video Editor, creating engaging video content as our digital storyteller. She is responsible for our post-production needs, Including the creation of storytelling videos for people with disability, their families and support workers, as well as promotional videos for large projects, social media videos, webinars, online training and workshops.

Jodie started her career working for Mattel, as Barbie’s personal hairdresser for onset film shoots. She started her post-production career at the age of 20, working a variety of roles, including editing TV commercials, short films and feature films, as well as working at Fox Studios in Sydney for 15 years. Jodie has brought her wealth of knowledge and experience to the Summer Foundation, utilising vision and sound to create impactful storytelling.

As the Content Editor with the Communications Team Tricia Quirk provides writing and editing support to ensure material produced by the Summer Foundation is appropriate and accessible for its intended audiences. She is also involved in internal and external communications projects for the organisation.

Tricia joined the Summer Foundation in 2017 after more than 40 years working in media and corporate communications. Her newspaper experience spans daily, community and regional newspapers in Victoria and New Zealand.

Bachelor of Communication Design

As the Finished Artist in the Communications Team, Marcus Oliver provides design support across the organisation, working on both internal and external projects undertaken by the Summer Foundation. He ensures all resources and materials maintain a consistent look and feel and are appropriately designed for the intended audiences. He also creates engaging visual content for the Summer Foundation’s website and social media channels.

Marcus joined the Summer Foundation in 2018. He has previous experience as both a finished artist and graphic designer across federal and local government as well as small advertising agencies.

Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
Master of Arts (Editing & Communications)

Collette works in the Communications team, as a Content Editor. Collette provides writing and editing support on internal and external projects. Some of the things she works on include resources and guides, internal documents such as policies and procedures, annual reports, government submissions and newsletters.  

 Collette has worked in communications for nearly 15 years, with a background in marketing, research and in the not-for-profit sector.

Bachelor of Creative Arts; Diploma of Professional Writing & Editing

In her role as a Communications Officer, Stacey manages the Summer Foundation’s social media accounts, contributes to digital advertising efforts and internal communications.

Stacey was responsible for managing the social media for the ‘Down to 10 days’ campaign, as well as paid digital advertising. She also assists in promoting the ‘Reasonable and Necessary’ podcast, along with collating the content and distributing the ‘Summer Foundation Matters’ internal newsletter each month.

Stacey has a background in graphic design and has worked in corporate marketing teams producing both print and digital design projects. Her most recent role was with Deakin University’s Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment and was a broad marketing role which included digital advertising, video and photo asset production, social media management and copywriting.