Mallika Macleod – Chair
Governance / Finance & Audit / Accessibility / HR / Leadership & Training / Compliance / Arts Management
Mallika Macleod is a distinguished disability advocate, community leader, and arts administrator. With over 25 years of experience in community and cultural development, she has been instrumental in promoting inclusivity and accessibility within the arts and broader society.
As the Director of Client Services at DADAA, Mallika oversaw programs that empowered artists with disabilities to actively participate in the cultural sector. Her leadership ensured that artists receive the necessary resources and support to thrive.
Mallika’s extensive board experience includes roles at Arts Access Australia (Board Member & Chair), People with Disabilities WA (Treasurer), DADAA (Board Member), and the Health Consumers’ Council of WA (Chair). She also serves as a Board Member of the Australian Inclusion Group, contributing her lived experience and professional expertise to advance disability inclusion.
A passionate advocate for nurturing emerging leaders, Mallika emphasises the importance of investing in diverse talent to ensure equitable opportunities across industries. She believes that fostering new leadership is crucial for sustainable and inclusive growth. Mallika has experience in financial literacy, budget and grant management, compliance, risk management, audit, contract, sustainability and fee for service development and delivery.
Mallika’s personal journey as an intercountry adoptee from Sri Lanka and her lived experience with disability following a childhood accident have profoundly shaped her advocacy. She champions the mantra “nothing about us without us,” underscoring the necessity of centering the voices of those with lived experiences in policy and decision-making processes.
Through her unwavering commitment, Mallika Macleod continues to inspire and drive meaningful change, advocating for a more inclusive and equitable society.
Ali Martin – Deputy Chair
Marketing & Communications
Ali Martin is an accomplished purpose-led professional with a strong history of success delivering effective campaigns, motivating high performing teams and engaging partner support.
She has worked across diverse industries delivering strategic marketing and communications for nearly 20 years, including at WA Museum, Water Corporation, UWA, and the Department of Sport, Local Government and Cultural Industries.
Her current role as Digital Transformation Lead at the Department of the Premier and Cabinet see her collaborate across government to develop and deliver the digital services the WA community wants and needs.
Ali is passionate about the capacity of arts organisations to support cohesion, advocacy and improved health and wellbeing, both at a community and individual level. She has completed the AICD’s Governance Foundations for Non for Profit Directors course and has more than a decade board experience, including her current role as lived experience advocate and Deputy Chair at ADHD WA.
Ali has recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Social Impact from UWA’s Centre for Social Impact and is excited to put this new learning and skillset into place to best support WA’s community.
Outside of work, you will find Ali walking her rambunctious greyhound Little Nattie and treating her niblings to ‘Aunty Ali Arts Outings’.
Satvinder Sekhon – Treasurer
Finance / Accounting
Satvinder is an experienced Financial and Management professional and has undertaken a range of senior Finance and Commercial Director roles in the Private, Public and Not For Profit sectors.
Prior to this he worked in the role of Senior Audit Manager for 2 of the big 4 Audit Companies. He has worked in many different countries and challenging environments and has extensive experience in the Strategic Financial Management.
Satvinder is a Fellow Chartered Management Accountant (UK), Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) and Fellow Certified Public Accountant (Kenya).
Satvinder is an Alumnus of the Leadership WA 2014 Signature Leadership Program.
Satvinder was selected by the Public Sector Commission to attend the Jawun Program in the Kimberley in 2016.
Satvinder has a keen interest in mentoring and developing leaders from diverse backgrounds and has mentored for the WA Public Sector Inter Agency Mentoring Program.
Satvinder was appointed Non-Executive Director of Arts Access Australia in 2020.
Ana Ferreira Manhoso – Secretary
Artist / Behavioural Science / Business Leadership
Ana Ferreira Manhoso is a creative and an organiser based in Wayalup (Fremantle).
She has been managing artists and producing theatre for over ten years, founding Crash Theatre Company and working largely in festival landscapes and artistic touring. After completing her undergraduate studies in behavioural science and a master’s in business leadership, her current working role in tertiary management involves developing strategies aimed to widen participation and diversify the student body by increasing support and educational access for underrepresented cohorts.
Ana is pragmatically passionate about turning ideas and concepts into reality. Through an academic lens of social science and leadership theory, she is focussed on impactful storytelling and promoting transformative benefit and growth for communities and organisations.
As an engaged Blue Room member and practicing artist, Ana champions the pursuit for equitable practice, furthering opportunities, and creating new pathways for independent artists. She believes that The Blue Room Theatre is a sacred gem in the ecology of West Australian arts; the flagship of independent theatre-making, providing fundamental development opportunities to emerging artists that is simply unmatched.
Clara Millet
Philanthropy & Fundraising
Clara is a driven individual who aims to help organisations achieve philanthropic and sponsorship growth for positive social change. She holds a degree in law from Barcelona, her hometown, and has completed postgraduate studies in executive business development, marketing, and fundraising. Since 2001, Clara has had a varied international fundraising career working across multiple sectors, including the arts, disability, child protection, and education, in Barcelona, London, Birmingham, and Perth.
In 2012, Clara moved to Australia, where she built a large philanthropic and industry network. She gained experience at World Vision Australia, Murdoch University, and Parkerville Children and Youth Care. Currently, Clara serves as the Bequest Manager at The University of Notre Dame. In this role, she is responsible for the development, growth, and quality of Notre Dame’s bequest program.
Clara completed the Certified Fund Raising Executive Certification in 2023, the only accredited, globally recognised credential for fundraising professionals. She also serves on the Fundraising Institute Australia WA Committee, the state peak body representing professional fundraising in Australia.
You will find Clara horse riding at South Beach in Fremantle in her free time at 5 a.m. She is passionate about horses!
Raj Doshi
Governance / Finance
Raj is a recently Elected member at the City of Perth council. Originally from the UK where she worked as a financial advisor for the Royal Bank of Scotland for 15 years across Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Perth has been her home since 2014, living in the City was very important for her, being amongst the entertainment and vibrancy is key as is the walkability.
She has always found her communication skill set has been received well as she has always dealt with even the most difficult of people with kindness, this usually wins them over and respect is not lost on both sides. Compliance and sound financial budgeting have been ingrained in most roles she has chosen including the current role she has as an elected member.
She will bring a different dynamic to The Blue Room Theatre, especially in Governance and networking. Thanks to her role as an Elected member, we will be fortunate to connect with many different organizations and donors in the Arts work, creating great leverage when it comes to creating relationships on a larger scale to help support the team and grow The Blue Room Theatre.
Cassandra Nguyen
Artist / Leadership / Media
Cassandra Nguyen is a writer, director and producer based in Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia, her work is predominantly in screen, but more recently, has included the development of live performance pieces. Her short films have screened globally at various festivals such as TIFF Kids, Tokyo Kinder Film Festival, Asians on Film (LA), Multicultural Film Festival (Victoria) and won numerous awards.
Last year she participated in a playwrighting workshop facilitated by The Last Great Hunt, resulting in the early development of various theatre works, and in 2022 was part of the Creative Producing Circle at The Blue Room Theatre lead by Shona Erskine.
Currently, she is the Chair for the Diversity Leadership Group (WA screen), a committee member for WA chapter of the Australian Writers Guild and a grant assessor for the Community Broadcast Fund. She graduated the Office of Multicultural Interests (WA) Leadership and Governance program in 2023.
She has written and story-lined on season two of The Heights (ABC TV & Matchbox Pictures) which aired in Australia and in the UK on BBC One. In 2023, she completed a month-long artist residency at Forrest Hall to develop a feature film treatment supported by the Minderoo Foundation and is part of 2023-2024 Artist Cohort. In 2021, she was selected as the WA candidate for the SBS Emerging Writers’ Incubator, a highly competitive national writers’ program in Australia.
Lisa Watson
Artist / Community Engagement
Lisa Watson is a South African creative passionate about community and performing arts. Her journey from Cape Town to Auckland, New Zealand, and finally Boorloo (Perth), Australia, has enriched her appreciation for diverse cultures and arts.
Lisa’s love for acting expanded to spoken word and literature. Despite challenges, she completed acting school and a mass media and communications course, launching her creative career. Her involvement in various projects celebrates African culture in inclusive spaces.
In 2021, Lisa participated in the Performing Lines Kolyang Diversity Lab, leading to the naming of ‘The Seed’ room for its impact on CaLD participants. She further honed her skills in the ‘To The Front’ residency with Roots TV and contributed to the Humans of Armadale project, earning a role on the Multicultural Advisory Group for the City of Armadale.
As co-founder of ‘Our Collective Dream’ (OCD) and The Outsiders, Lisa curates events for the BIPOC community. Transitioning from hospitality to corporate admin roles, she now serves as a Community Development Officer at Hillview Intercultural Community Centre, blending her arts and community development passions.
Lisa champions diversity and equity, aiming to inspire young artists and foster community connections. Her resilience and dedication make her a significant community figure.
