Our Board of Governance

Caroline Jarrett – President

Caroline is a property professional with over 17 years’ experience managing a diverse range of programmes and projects within the commercial, industrial, and government sectors. Caroline is currently a director and co-founder of project management firm, JXC Group. She has previously worked within consultancy environments and client-side roles, most recently holding a senior position within Australia Post responsible for the Victorian and Tasmanian capital programme and portfolio spanning commercial, industrial, and retail.

Caroline brings a wealth of knowledge around feasibility, procurement, project and risk management to the Hawthorn Early Years Board.

Caroline holds a bachelor’s degree in Property & Construction management from Melbourne University.

Chris Daly – Vice President

Chris is a local real estate agent and auctioneer and has been working in real estate both in Hawthorn and London for 14 years, prior to which he was an accountant for 8 years and general manager of a not for profit society for 5 years.

Chris holds a Real Estate Licence and has a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in Accounting and Finance.

Working in London for nine years and moving back to Melbourne with his wife in 2015, Chris has been ensconced in the Hawthorn community ever since and can often be seen walking with streets with his wife, two children and their Cavoodle, Audrey.

Being part of the HEY community since 2020, Chris is passionate about impacting the level of care and education not only for his children but that of all families whilst championing diversification and reconciliation across the board.

Johnny Xu – Secretary

Johnny Xu is head of Legal at Sunkin Property Group and brings with him advocacy and legal skills to the board.

Johnny’s motivation for joining our board was to contribute to the HEY community and offer his legal expertise.

Barry Wong – Treasurer

Barry is strategy and finance professional who helps develop and deliver corporate strategies for global multinational companies. He currently helps his organisation drive the organizational response to the rapid developments in the respiratory infectious disease landscape with particular focus in both influenza and Covid. Barry brings his experience of executing strategic agendas, managing investment decisions and establishing structures and functions to deliver strategic transformations, to support HEY to deliver its Strategic Plan.

Barry has been a member of the HEY Board since 2020 with both his children having attended the service. One child continues to thrive in the HEY environment and the other has moved on to school.

Scott Buchanan

Scott is a secondary school teacher who has taught across government and independent schools in Melbourne for over 10 years. He believes in the transformative power of education and the important role organisations and educators play in the lives of children. He holds a B.Arts/Economics from the University of Queensland and M.Teach Diploma from the University of Melbourne. As a classroom teacher, residential boarding master and now a parent he deeply values the relationship between children’s families and their educators.

Scott has been involved with HEY since 2018 and has two children currently attending the service. One is commencing their 4th year at HEY in the kindergarten program and the other just beginning their journey in the juniors.

Mark Crawshaw

Mark is an IT professional with 20 years of experience in software development, architecture and various leadership roles. In 2015 he founded aplas.com and is now the general manager of this cloud software product.

Mark has had three children in HAY, with just Atticus remaining, after his sisters have started at school.

Catherine Woo

Catherine is the Director of partnerships and engagement at Monash University. She brings a wide and varied skill set to the HEY board including but not limited to, marketing and communication, public relations, event management, advocacy, governance, policy development.

Our family was delighted to join the HEY community, following our relocation to Melbourne in 2022. We have found it to be an inclusive and happy environment for our two children.

I would like to join the Board to help contribute to HEY’s growth and success, supporting it to continue to be a nurturing space for all children and their families. I believe that my skillset and experience, including seven years in leadership roles at non-profits, would help me to make a meaningful contribution to the Board.

Additionally, I would like to become more deeply connected to our local community and develop positive connections with other HEY families.

Shaista Mason

Shaista is the Senior Development Manager – Property Development and Infrastructure at Nash Management and brings with her a wealth of skills and knowledge such as event management, property, project management and financial just to name a few.

Enhancing the education, development and wellbeing of children is something I find incredibly important. I would love to have the opportunity to use my skills and expertise to contribute to Hawthorn Early Years, working with the wider team to continue making HEY a leader in the childcare field.

On a personal level I’d like to take this opportunity to be more involved with the HEY community, not just with the board but with other projects and community events.

Jessica Twelftree

Jessica has had 15 years in the education space and is currently a teacher at Lauriston Girls school. Her skill of expertise is obviously based in education with an extensive understanding of building positive relationships within the community. 

I have been so impressed with the care and commitment the team at HEY have demonstrated towards my children. By joining the board, I can become more involved in the HEY community and offer support where needed. 

Bianca Ray

Property Portfolio Manager for the Australian superannuation fund, Spirit Super. I am responsible for a direct and indirect property portfolio of $2 billion. My key responsibilities include delivering on the annual strategic objectives, researching new commercial property investment opportunities and adjusting strategic requirements considering the macroeconomic outlook.