Committee

Ann Marie Chemello

President

Ann Marie Chemello has over 36 years’ experience in the Early Education and Care Sector. Ann Marie is a Service Provider with Long Day Care and Outside School Hours Care. Ann Marie is currently the Secretary of the National ACA Body.

Ann Marie firmly believes that the first 5 years of a child’s life are fundamental to all areas of their development. With this in mind, she involves herself in the areas where children and Educators can benefit. Her passion is in training Educators to deliver a caring and nurturing environment that involve opportunities to enrich the child’s development.

Ann Marie holds a Diploma in Teaching, Diploma in Social Science and a Cert IV in Training and Assessment.

As President on the ACA WA board Ann Marie would like to use her experience and knowledge of the sector to empower members of the association, with the view to assist other board members in areas where needed.

Lisa Godwin

Vice President

Service Provider to three Long Day Care services and one Outside School Hours Care service.

With over 24 year’s personal experience in caring for children and having a family of her own, Lisa understands the challenge of balancing a career with family life. Lisa takes great pride in her centres and has never lost sight of the great privilege it is that families trust in us to take care of and educate their children.

Lisa has become a leader and advocate in the childcare industry for staff, children and families. Lisa’s vision is to provide quality learning for all children and to lift the training standards and offer children an environment to become confident learners. Her personal strength lies in training and motivating and she recognises the importance of her role in inspiring Educators to strive for excellence.

Lisa holds a Diploma in Childrens Services.

As former President of ACA WA, Lisa raised the profile of the Early Education and Care Industry. Lisa aims to instill her passion and knowledge for educating children in their early years, and to change the way that Educators and society, view our industry.

Frits Grader

Treasurer

Frits Grader has over 20 years’ experience in the Early Education and Care Sector. Frits is the owner of Ready Set Grow Group.

Frits has successfully owned, managed and operated in excess of 30 Long Day Care and Outside School Hour Care services in WA. Frits has owned and operated childcare/OSHC services in the metro and rural and remote areas of WA. Frits is also the Managing Director of a Registered Training Organisation, who specialise in providing high quality customised workplace training and professional development to the early education and care industry.

Frits holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment and is also completing a Master’s in Business Leadership.
As a committee member of ACA WA board Frits would like to see the standard of training provided to early childhood educators raised through better understanding the needs within the early education and care industry. More relevant training as opposed to simply more training is the key to achieving high quality care.

Kristen McPhail 

Secretary

Kristen McPhail is co-founder of the award-winning Pachamama Early Education and Childcare.

Created in 2012, Pachamama is a home-away-from-home for children steeped in nature, creativity and diversity. It is a special place where nature and nurture intersect with early education and childcare. Underpinned with cultural diversity and respect for Mother Earth, Pachamama features creativity in ways only dreamt about in our industry. Kristen believes every child’s unique positive characteristics should be promoted in an environment encouraging their connection with nature, each other and themselves.

With a foundation of business and marketing in public and private companies, Kristen has a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Teaching constructing a unique skill set resulting in Pachamama - an ‘out of the box’ early education creation for the local Perth Hills community. Having lived in Perth for more than 30 years, Kristen’s fond childhood memories of the woods and lakes of Minnesota motivated the creation of Pachamama.

Rachelle Tucker

CEO

Rachelle Tucker is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ACA WA (Australian Childcare Alliance Western Australia), Rachelle has been with the association since February 2009. She is a dedicated advocate for the Early Learning Sector, emphasizing the importance of affordable, sustainable, and high-quality Early Childhood Education and Care for all children and families.

In addition to her professional role, Rachelle is a mother of four and a grandparent of five, which further fuels her commitment to improving the early education and care landscape.

Rachelle was very active in the transitioning from State-specific regulations and laws to the current National Regulations and Law.

As the CEO of ACA WA, Rachelle serves as a vital link between the organisation's members, passionate service providers, and other key stakeholders, including government bodies and politicians at both the state and federal levels. She also represents ACA WA within the National Body Australian Childcare Alliance.

Rachelle's mission is to elevate the profile of ACA WA, advocate on behalf of its members, children, and families, provide valuable support and information to members, and serve as a prominent voice for the Early Education and Care sector in Western Australia. Her dedication to this cause underscores her role as a strong leader and advocate for early childhood education and care in her region.

In addition to her leadership role as the CEO of ACA WA, Rachelle Tucker is also actively engaged in the broader community's efforts to enhance the training and development of professionals within the Early Learning Sector. She serves as a member of the Community Skills WA Board, where she contributes her expertise and insights to improve the quality and effectiveness of training programs within the sector.

Rachelle's participation on the Community Skills WA Board reflects her commitment to not only advocate for the interests of ACA WA members and the Early Education and Care sector but also to actively work towards advancing the skills and knowledge of individuals working within the industry. Her multifaceted involvement highlights her dedication to the holistic growth and improvement of the early childhood education and care field in Western Australia

Nesha Hutchinson

Committee

Nesha has over 40 years of experience in long day care centres. Nesha is also Vice President of the ACA National Executive Committee, Nesha is also former President of the ACA NSW Executive Committee.

Nesha continues to consult and train in the Early Education & Care field.

Nesha currently owns and operates 1 service in North Western Sydney. She is passionate about working collaboratively across the sector to bring about positive outcomes for children, families and operators in the areas of funding, planning, inclusive support and policy.

Nesha takes a hands-on approach to centre operation, and is acutely aware of the issues facing operators, families and our children. She has won a host of awards for her business management from the Australian Family Awards, Child Care Week Awards, National Work Life Balance Awards, Small Business Awards and Telstra Business Women's Awards.

Nesha holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and English, a Masters in Psychology, a Post Graduate Certificate in Counselling, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Special Education - Inclusive Support and a Diploma in Children's Services. Nesha is a registered senior supervising psychologist, a long-standing Member of the Australian Psychological Society, and a Justice of the Peace. She also has a Cert IV in Training and Assessment.

Lisa Bevan 

Associate Committee

As a member of the ACAWA board I would like to support the committee in their work advocating for children, families and the workforce in our sector.

Lisa has worked with children for over 25 years in a variety of roles including, managing early learning centres, outside school hours care and integrated services. She also has experience supporting the development of programmes that are out of scope.

Lisa currently works with schools in the establishment and operations of children’s services within their school community. She is deeply committed to supporting the needs of the whole child through early intervention and forming strong partnerships with families. She believes in the need of taking a holistic approach to the school aged child and that schools and OSHC need to work together in partnership to ensure that the child’s whole day is considered, and it is not segregated.

She is a strong advocate and voice for OSHC and values the increasingly vital role it plays for children and families in Western Australia and the role it plays in supporting workforce participation. She is passionate about the need to network and work in collaboration across the sector to ensure a strong future for the sector.

Lisa holds a Bachelor of social sciences (family and children’s studies) and a cert IV in training and assessment.

Sarah Chemello

Committee

Sarah Anne Chemello has over 15 years experience in the Early Education and Care Sector. Sarah has been a service provider for 12 years dealing mainly with OSHC.

Sarah has a strong passion in working with children especially in the first stages of their lives.

Sarah advocates in providing avenues for all children, their families and educators to be knowledgeable and active in the importance of a strong education and how we can positively impact their development for their future.

Sarah holds a Diploma in Children's Services and is currently enrolled in an Undergraduate of Psychology.

Rosina Smith

Associate Committee

Rosina has had over 15+ years of experience in education and care sector, starting off as Qualified room leader role and progressing to higher management roles such as Operations Manager, Area Manager, Compliance and governance and business support.

Currently working for MercyCare early learning as their general manager and has been with the organization for 4 years. MercyCare has 13 LDC’s and 1 OSHC service. Working for a not-for-profit, charity organization has provided me opportunities to support the wider community through our vision and mission “for people and communities to thrive, to bring compassion and justice to life and break cycles of significant disadvantage.

I believe with the right highly skilled educators who share our values we can make a positive difference to not only our children’s lives, but their family and the community.
Providing person centred care, and playbased education that looks at the child holistically we are giving our children the best start to life.

Qualifications: Advanced diploma in children services, cert IV in training and assessment. Mother of 2 children

Jay Lee Barr

Committee

Jay Lee Barr has 27 years experience in the industry. Jay holds a Diploma in Childrens services, Cert 4 in leadership Management, Cert 4 in front line management and is currently studying her Diploma in leadership and management.

As a member of the ACA WA board Jay hopes to advocate for our educators and industry to support the families and children that we provide exceptional education and care for.

Hello! My name is Jay — I’m the COO (Chief Operating Officer for Sagewood) and mummy to Addison. The reason I do what I do is to ensure every parent is supported, and every child is given the opportunities that I want for Addison. I believe in treating the children in our care as if they are your own. Going back to full-time work when Addison was 11 weeks old was one of the hardest things I have ever done. The emotional balance between being a new mum and pursuing my career pushed me to my limits. I completely understand the thought process of returning to work and needing to use childcare. I remember the huge amount of trust it took to hand my most precious Addison to the centre staff each morning. I also fondly remember the quality time I had with Addison when I got home from work and on weekends. Today Addison is a happy, well-balanced child and I am so proud to be her mum.

I love going on coastal walks, hanging out at the beach, going to the gym, being with friends and family, and relaxing with a coffee (and maybe the odd wine or two!). I’ve been in the early years industry for over 27years, working in various roles in childcare centres across Perth. Through this experience, I have gained crucial understanding of what it takes to lead a team, inspire little ones, and listen to parents.