Our staff
Sarah Toohey, Chief Executive Officer
Sarah has more than 15 years’ experience in the housing and homelessness sector, including strategy, policy and advocacy roles with Housing Association Unison, The Council to Homeless Persons and the Victorian Council of Social Service. Sarah was also the Campaign Manager for Australians for Affordable Housing, a national campaign to increase investment in affordable housing.
Before joining CHIA Vic, Sarah was Senior Advisor to the Minister for Housing Richard Wynne, working to secure the $5.3 billion Big Housing Build, the Victorian Government’s single biggest investment in social housing in the state’s history. Sarah is excited to be working with the community housing sector to deliver 4200 new homes under the Big Housing Build program and a pipeline of housing into the future.
Jason Perdriau, Deputy CEO
Jason has fifteen years’ experience in the social housing sector which has included managing community and public housing programs and leading projects to support the growth and improvement of the social housing sector. Before working in social housing, Jason practised as a solicitor in the private and community sectors, and he has an MBA, Bachelor of Laws and Diploma of Social Housing. When he’s not working, he enjoys cooking, mountain biking, walking his dog and being in nature.
Jess Pomeroy, Director, Policy & Advocacy
Jess has worked in housing policy and research for over 10 years, with stints at RMIT, AHURI and now CHIA Vic. Her work at CHIA Vic involves translating and contributing to policy development across the wide range of issues facing the community housing sector; imagining and then managing projects; and actively engaging with members and other key stakeholders. An avid reader Jess enjoys reading housing policy by day and young adult novels by night.
At CHIA Vic, Emma provides strategic communications support for our team across the policy, advocacy, media and engagement spaces, works directly with our members, and tackles less exciting projects like the annual report.
Stephanie Ng, Policy Officer
Stephanie works with our members, local councils and developers to uncover partnership opportunities to deliver more affordable housing, and build an understanding of the community housing sector. Stephanie has worked in the not-for-profit sector on projects in Tonga, Solomon Islands and Australia. Prior to this, she worked as an engineer in the private sector for six years.
Holly Mullaney, Business & Development
Holly coordinates CHIA Vic’s Business Development Program and facilitates all our conferences and other events, as well as staging a wide range of training programs for members. Holly’s background is in training and enterprise development and her role is pivotal in sourcing and developing links with the private sector, the broader community sector, and government. Holly is fluent in Vietnamese and Korean.
Kathleen Close, Project Coordinator, Leading Practice
Kathleen has over a decade’s experience in the social housing sector which has included managing teams, quality assurance, project management and working across the sector on the implementation of the Victorian Housing Register. Kathleen’s work focuses on helping our members continually improve the quality, efficiency and impact of services for renters.
Alex Trudzik, Policy Officer
Alex works on policy development that promotes the growth and strengthening of the community housing sector. His role involves working closely with members, government, and other stakeholders to develop and then advocate for the positions that are important to the sector. Alex comes to CHIA Vic having worked as a policy adviser to the Minister for Housing. Outside of work Alex is a keen home cook and invariably has sport of some form going on the tv.
Jordan Heaney, Project Coordinator, Workforce
Jordan has experience across the private and community housing sectors, including long-term and transitional housing management, leading teams, and project delivery. She’s passionate about enabling a strong and sustainable community housing sector and her role involves delivery of CHIA Vic’s Workforce Strategy. Outside of work, Jordan is an avid baker and aspiring gardener.
Eggie Jadamba, Project Worker
Eggie brings strong administrative skills and a willingness to tackle just about anything to provide support to the team at CHIA Vic. Previously, Eggie worked as a Business Support Officer at Red Cross Australia, providing financial and housing services to people seeking asylum. When she is not working, Eggie’s weekends are filled with kids’ birthday parties and travelling.
Bernie Fernando, Bookkeeper
Bernie has over 20 years’ experience in the finance industry. Having worked in several large corporations in senior accounting roles, she has recently decided to venture out on her own, and is a sub-contractor at CHIA Vic. In her spare time Bernie likes to travel, cook, tend to her roses and knit.
