As a lawyer and mediator, Marilyn has always had a sense of fairness which has been demonstrated by her passion to see everyone given the opportunity to access education whenever they are ready in their life.

As a result, Marilyn has spent many years participating in organisations which give second chances for education. These have included 15 years’ service on the Board of Canning College and 6 years’ service on the Governing Council of South Regional TAFE.

There is no doubt in Marilyn’s mind that those left behind in education at a young age, for whatever reason, are more likely to struggle with confidence and self-esteem in later life.

As an inaugural member of Canning Youth Community Connection from 1993 until relocating to Margaret River in 2006, which connected young, disengaged people with the community through the collaboration of various services and organisation, Marilyn strongly supports collaboration between organisations.

Marilyn has many other interests and carries out many other roles, amongst which are secretary of the Rotary Club of Margaret River, treasurer of the Margaret River Rowing Club, secretary of Above the Line, member of the Margaret River Senior High School Board, volunteer coach, adjudicator and committee member for SCRAM, the Schools Conflict Resolution and Mediation program and trainer for Resolution Institute’s mediator training program.

Marilyn enjoys being a part of the Margaret River community with her husband Chris who is a member of the Margaret River Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service.

Peter is a retired family doctor who trained in England. Peter came out to Australia in 1976 and practised in General Practice retiring at the age of 70.

Peter has mostly worked in a rural setting with various procedural skills, and special interests over his years focusing on paediatrics, men’s health, psychological issues, sports medicine, palliative care and geriatric medicine.

Peter has always used a more collaborative, problem solving approach with his patients and with his work in community. In 2004, Peter moved with his family to Margaret River and continued as a GP until he retired in 2019.

Peter offers Mindful Margaret River his experience in the practical and medical approach to the early presentation of mental illness and is excited and passionate about working with Mindful Margaret River towards local positive outcomes in our community.

Dr Mike Wood has been a journalist, academic, senior public servant as Public Service Commissioner, head of the Department of Local Government, chair of the WA Salaries and Allowances Tribunal, director of his strategy company and Dean of the Curtin Business School.

He recently completed a period as chair of Member (trustees) for Ruah Community Services, having been the founding chair of its board in the 1990s.

His responsibilities in relevant roles have involved the development and implementation of strategy, the recruitment of leaders and the subsequent assessment of their performance. As a board member of incorporated organisations, Mike has contributed to governance structures and the clarification of responsibilities between boards and management.

Prior to buying here in 2004, Mike was a regular visitor to Margaret River.

Brian operates an accounting practice in Margaret River and is active in many local community organisations.

He has previously served as a Shire Councillor with the Shire of Augusta Margaret River and as a Commissioner with the WA Conservation Commission.

Brian is currently treasurer of Rotary Margaret River and deputy chairman of Margaret River Men’s Shed steering committee.

Judith migrated from France to Australia in 2010. After spending eight years in Perth practicing as a dispensing optician and after the birth of her second child, she moved down to Margaret River.

Her own experience of perinatal (pre-and post-) stress and anxiety made her uncover the difficulties women experience due to parenthood (most of the time long before even becoming a parent) and prompted her to volunteer as a peer supporter in various programs and organisations. She also realised that the personal issues women experience result from much broader narratives that foster mental health issues and impede their well-being. As a result, she has a keen interest in gender and women issues, perinatal mental health, discrimination and prejudice, and representation of diversity in society. She believes that addressing and managing such matters would directly positively impact the mental well-being of community members.

She has put aside her career as a dispensing optician and occasional singer and is currently undergoing psychology and social science studies. She is committed to taking an active part in her community to improve the well-being of its members. As a migrant, a woman, a woman of colour, a mother, a worker, a student and a community member, she feels like she is in a good position to understand the issues most of us may face at one point or another.

For as long as I can remember I have been curious about what makes human beings ‘tick’. Soon after graduating as an engineer, I moved careers to work in the field of human services and education.

My active involvement in mental health began in 1986 when I was appointed as Director Te Raroroa O Taitokerau – an ‘adventure therapy’ national research pilot program in the north of New Zealand. This was a bi-cultural experiential community-based intervention with major input from local Maori elders. Despite its success, the program was closed in 1989 and I moved to live in Perth.

Since being in Western Australia I have taught group work in the Schools of Social Work at UWA and at Curtin University, taught in the Edith Cowan Masters in Psychoanalytic Counselling and Psychotherapy, consulted to the Royal College of GP’s, ran dozens of adventure therapy and group facilitation workshops in many countries around the World, and provided ‘reflective space’ sessions for two CAMHS multi-disciplinary teams as well as for the CAMHS metro group of psychiatrists.

I have published extensively in the fields of adventure therapy, experiential learning, organizational culture, group dynamics and community dynamics. See www.groupinstitute.com for an archive of publications and previous clients.

With my involvement in Mindful Margaret River, I hope to be a catalyst for those whose passion is empowering community members to engage with each other in ways that increase community resilience, connectedness and psychological and emotional well-being.

Yen is a multi-passionate entrepreneur, a foodie, has travelled extensively for work, was based in the US, Spain, Jakarta & Malaysia which helped broaden her horizons. Yen has spent more than 30 years, managing multicultural teams in the corporate sector; a banker with the Development Bank of Singapore & Citibank for 15 years, managing 5- star hotel benchmarking in the Asia Pacific region for STR Global, market research consultant for AQ Services International – project managed large scale customer service initiatives for key international clients in Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.

An Australian, Yen was born in Singapore and speaks English, Malay and Bahasa Indonesia fluently. Yen migrated to the Southwest region in 2012 with her Australian husband, Peter & her mom and have lived in Margaret River since 2014. Yen was the first Asian migrant from the Southwest WA who was selected and sponsored by the National Rural Women’s Coalition (NRWC) for their program RRR Women’s Canberra Muster in 2019; a premium Leadership & Capacity Building program designed for Rural, Remote & Regional women.

Yen is passionate about assisting migrants in Margaret River and the region in the areas of isolation and language barriers. Co- founding Intercultural Action Group Inc. in 2018 has provided Yen with lots of opportunities to be involved with other organizations. Yen is a member of the District Health Advisory Council, Harmony Alliance, FECCA, WACOSS Welcoming Cities & Connect Groups; to enable her to spread the word and highlight the challenges faced by migrants in the region. Yen is absolutely enjoying her journey while slowly building trust together with the migrant community in the region. Yen believes that every migrant has a story to tell; a story that either makes or breaks them.

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Marilyn Hopkins

Dr Peter Durey

Dr Mike Wood

Brian Middleton

Judith Maechler

Martin Ringer

Yen Hawkes

Rebecca Hannan

Past board members

Miriam Avery

Stuart Hicks

Maxine Williams

Di Ritson