The Lab Network

Melissa has over 20 years experience in the community sector working alongside children, young people and adults with a disability and in particular individuals with behaviours of concern and those with a diagnosis of autism. Over the years Melissa has worked as a support worker, in senior management positions within disability services across the UK and Australia, within behaviour support, case management roles and in Quality roles as a lead auditor against the ISO 9001 standards, the DHHS standards and autism specific standards.

Melissa is the Chair of The Lab Network Board

Adam is a teacher and musician who has worked extensively in the VET sector for over 20 years. With expertise in design, technology, audio and events, Adam has used these skills to inform his practice as a STEM educator and manager and brings a wide range of expertise to the board.

Adam is the Vice-Chair of The Lab Network Board

Damien has worked in wealth management for the past twenty years, holding client-facing and management roles in Melbourne and London.

This experience has allowed him to combine both the technical and personal aspects of running his practice, providing a financial advice service that meets the needs of a broad range of people. He enjoys seeing the positive effect of financial empowerment on client well-being.

He was a founding trustee of Akwaaba, a London-based charity that supports asylum seekers, refugees and migrants navigating challenging circumstances.

Damien is a Chartered Accountant and Treasurer of The Lab Network.

Bessie is an Occupational Therapist who over the last 20+ years, has held various clinical and leadership roles in hospitals, the public and private sector. Her career path has moved her in particular from adult neurorehabilitation work to disability – with her passion being in paediatrics and working with children on the spectrum. Bessie brings with her the experience of working in the health care and disability sector across Asia, the US and Australia. Her passion is in supporting individuals to develop an understanding of their own strengths and uniqueness to help create a world of deeper acceptance and collaboration for the entire community.

Laura is a user experience designer and digital creative with a passion for games and interactivity.

She is a Lab mentor who centres her local sessions around co-operative games that encourage collaboration and communication; helping to build confidence in a way that is positive, engaging, and inclusive.

As a neurodiverse woman, Laura is acutely aware of the some of the challenges neurodiverse kids and young adults can face growing up. While at the Lab, she wants to encourage kids to discover their strengths, advocate for themselves, and have a say in how they want to approach learning.

Michal is a highly-skilled and committed professional with a career spanning almost fifteen years in management and coordinator roles within community and corporate organisations in the USA, UK, and Australia. Michal has been involved in the innovative development of an eHealth autism service delivery model for early childhood intervention services.

Mickal is Company Secretary of The Lab Network Board

With a decade of experience in marketing communications, Iris has advised leading companies across Asia Pacific on brand strategy development, talent recruitment and engagement, and digital marketing. She has built great rapport with clients regionally including global financial institutions, technology companies, and professional services firms.

As a firm believer of inclusive learning, Iris is passionate about youth development and has held various advisory positions to empower education NGOs and mentoring programmes in the areas of fundraising, stakeholder engagement, and storytelling.

Dr Michelle Douglas is an Associate Professor of Creative Technology at Torrens University, Australia. Her 20+ year international career has included academic leadership positions in Brunel University (UK), Ravensbourne London (UK), University of Salford at Mediacity, Manchester (UK) and Griffith University (Aus).

She has expert knowledge in developing and leading programs/agendas for creative technology, innovation and design within both an educational and external capacity. Michelle is an expert on Human Centred Design methods and processes and her research interests are in Design/Innovation Culture, Design Economies, Design Policy and Makerspaces.

Jeremy Perrott is the former Chief Creative Officer of a multinational communications group based in New York. His global career spans 30 years running offices in London, New York, Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney, overseeing award-winning work for international clients. He co-founded the Annual Cannes Health Awards and the United Nations Award for Good and sits as advisor and chairman of awards for many international creative shows.

Jeremy presents as speaker, mentors creative leaders locally and globally, consults and advises for agencies and is creative director for an Indigenous film group in Sydney. Jeremy is also co-founder of the first not for profit creative partnership that only works with not for profit organisations.