Our Board of Governance

Quan Nguyen – President

Quan is a dedicated parent of two children attending Hawthorn Early Years full-time and is committed to supporting the centre’s high standards of care. With more than 16 years of experience in financial services, he serves as Head of Equities at Zenith Investment Partners, where he leads a high-performing team and focuses on strong client outcomes. He holds a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University, a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, and is also a CFA® Charterholder.

Stacey Nicolaou – Vice President

Stacey is a legal and governance professional and Director of Workplace Relations, Governance & Policy at Swinburne University, where she provides strategic advice on operations, compliance, policy, and stakeholder management. With a strong background in employment and workplace relations law across public and private sectors, she has worked with clients in education, healthcare, construction, finance, and retail. As a parent committed to early childhood education, Stacey is eager to support Hawthorn Early Years by applying her expertise in governance, policy, and strategic leadership to help the centre continue serving families effectively.

Ben Clarebrough – Treasurer

Ben is a lawyer with over 17 years’ experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate law, governance, finance, and taxation. He is currently Head of Legal – Investments at a major Australian superannuation fund, following previous roles at Deloitte and as a partner in private practice. A GAICD graduate, he also holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne. With his daughter joining HEY in 2024, Ben is keen to contribute his expertise to the HEY community.

Katerina Poulakis – Secretary

Katerina is a commercially astute lawyer with 18 years’ experience across commercial law, litigation, and in-house advisory roles, currently serving as Senior Legal Counsel at Village Roadshow. Her background spans strategy, risk, procurement, contract negotiation, governance support, dispute resolution, and mentoring, with previous senior roles at VicForests and several law firms. A trusted advisor to executives and an advocate for innovation and effective leadership, she hopes to apply her legal expertise to the not-for-profit sector by contributing meaningfully to HEY’s governance and gaining deeper insight into the sector’s unique strategic challenges.

Hazel Tang

Hazel is an experienced Operational Risk Manager with a strong track record in strengthening risk frameworks, delivering insightful reporting, and driving cross-regional alignment across global investment management operations. At Vanguard, she progressed from Analyst to Manager, leading risk assessments, issue management frameworks, control enhancements, and methodology development while partnering closely with business units. She is recognised for her leadership in mentoring, cultural initiatives, and diversity and inclusion efforts, including her role on Vanguard’s DEI Council. Hazel began her career in accounting and client services, is a CPA and CFA charterholder, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce.

Laura Lockwood

Laura is a dedicated primary school teacher with extensive experience across multiple Victorian schools, currently teaching Years 5/6 and contributing to wellbeing initiatives at Box Hill North Primary School. She holds a Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) and maintains ongoing professional training in literacy, inclusion, first aid, and diverse learning needs. Her teaching background includes leadership in camps, wellbeing programs, literacy development, differentiated learning, STEM, and curriculum design, alongside experience on a School Council. Motivated by a desire to support early years education, deepen her connection to her daughter’s learning environment, and contribute to the community, Laura is eager to bring her educational expertise to the HEY Board.

Maggie Neelands

Maggie moved from London to Melbourne in 2018 and has since lived in or near Hawthorn while working at Scotch College. An English teacher with over ten years’ experience in both state and independent schools, she is eager to give back to the Hawthorn Early Years community as a parent of a child attending the centre. She holds a First-Class Honours Degree in English Literature and a Master’s in Education (Distinction), and has a strong interest in how children develop thought and expression from early childhood through to secondary school—an interest further deepened by her own child’s learning journey at HEY.

Teresa Chen

Teresa is a seasoned Finance Manager with over a decade of experience in financial analysis, reporting, and project management. She is passionate about improving workplace efficiency and empowering informed decision-making, and is known for her strong people skills and ability to foster a positive, collaborative team culture. Teresa has a proven track record of influencing and partnering with stakeholders across diverse teams to achieve shared goals. Most recently, in her role within BI, Data & Analytics, she excelled at navigating ambiguity, identifying improvement opportunities, and delivering effective solutions.