ETHNIC COMMUNITIES COUNCIL OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
OUR BOARD MEMBERS
MAMTA KOCHHAR
MAMTA KOCHHAR
YASO PONNUTHURAI
President
Yaso Ponnuthurai is an experienced Non-Executive Director, with a proven ability to identify and maximise business opportunities and improve profitability.
Yaso is a member of the Boards of the WA Health Support Services, Thalanyji Trustee Advisory Council and the WA Chapter of the AIBC and has recently been elected as the President of the ECCWA
Yaso has lived in Western Australia for over 26 years. She has extensive experience in both the Public and Private Sector,and has a deep connection to the Arts as a practicing musician.
As a community representative she has championed the interests of women and local multicultural communities. She has been a tireless advocate for investment in services that empower with a focus on tackling inequality and supporting programs which empower marginalised groups.
MAMTA KOCHAR
Senior Vice President
Mamta Kochhar is the founding and current President of United in Diversity WA Inc. which is a proud member of the Ethnic Communities Council of Western Australia. Professionally, Mamta is a lecturer at South Metropolitan TAFE, Thornlie teaching English in the Adult Migrant English Program.
Mamta has been on the ECCWA board for three years and has served as treasurer and Vice President of Women's Interests before taking on the current role of Senior Vice President in ECCWA. Mamta’s core values are contribution, and collaboration, and considers ECCWA's main role to champion advocacy for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities.
BAILY FERNANDEZ
Treasurer
Baily is a Certified Practicing Accountant and a Certified Global Management Accountant with a passion towards Community Services, Aged Care, and the Disability Services Sector. Baily has held Senior Management and Executive level roles at notable Not-For-Profit organisations bringing the right balance of commercialisation into the community services sector.
SELAM FELEKA TEGEGN
Vice President - Women's Interest
Selam is of Ethiopian and Eritrean heritage. After leaving Ethiopia because of political unrest, she spent her childhood in Kenya. Over the past 20 years, she has been residing in Australia.
Selam endeavours to be a community leader and an Intercultural Canning Cultural Ambassador. Within the community platform, she is involved in several organisations as a representative, advisor, communication leader, activist, public relations expert, board member and leader in her community. She is a clinical registered nurse, an educator, and a professional mentor.
Selam is a community leader and an Intercultural Canning Cultural Ambassador. She represents the Organisation of African Communities in WA (OACWA) as a Mentor and Women’s Interest.
SEREN ULUSOY
Vice President - Youth Affairs
Seren is a member of the Turkish Australian Culture House Inc. (TACH). She is a law student at the University of Western Australia and also works in commercial law practice, where she will start as a graduate lawyer. Seren is interested in issues faced by youth in the CaLD communities.
RAHIM GHAURI
Secretary
Rahim was a retired educator who served the community in New Zealand and Australia for forty years. He has been a board member of the ECCWA for the past fourteen years and contributes his extensive knowledge to ECCWA.
ADAM DEMIR
Board Member
Adam was born in Turkey in 1976 and acquired a Bachelor of Law in 1997, a Graduate Diploma in immigration law in 2018, and a Juris Doctorate in 2018.
Adam arrived in Australia in 2002, enrolled with the WA Police in 2004, and worked in that capacity until 2012.
Since he arrived in Australia, he has been actively involved in the CaLD communities and has served as president of the Turkish Australian Culture House, participating in events such as Harmony Days, the visit of the Gallipoli Mayor and Governor, and the organisation of the first parade of the Turkish Community on Anzac Day.
Currently, Adam serves as Vice President of International Humanitarian Aid, secretary and treasurer of multiple organisations, and board member of the Ethnic Communities Council of Western Australia.
Adam is an active member of the Multicultural Labor Organisation's executive committee, where the organisation advocates for political equality and diversity.
GETTY WILLIAMS
Board Member
Getty was originally from Kenya. In 1985 she was awarded a cultural scholarship to Pakistan where she completed her undergraduate education.
She met her Australian husband, they then migrated to Australia in 1990 where she completed a Graduate Diploma in Public Sector Management at Curtin University.
Getty has worked in administration and customer service for over 25 years.
Getty is passionate about her community and has held positions in non-profit community organisations, including Secretary of The African Women Council WA from 2010 to 2012 and Vice President of Kitwek Community WA from 2020 to the present.
Since 2021 Getty has been a board member of ECCWA.
JEEVAN JEGANATHAN
Board Member
Jeevan is the President of the Ilankai (Sri Lankan) Tamil Sangam of Western Australia, Inc. and the Cultural Ambassador of the City of Canning. In his professional capacity, he manages projects in the Mining, and Oil and Gas Industries.
Jeevan is a research associate at Curtin University and an engineer with BEng and MEng qualifications.
MEI TEOH
Board Member
Mei Teoh was born in Malaysia, and she speaks fluent English, Mandarin, Malay, and Hokkien (Chinese dialect). She and her family migrated to Australia more than 30 years ago. She attended a local public high school and university while growing up in Perth.
Mei is a member of the committee for the Association of Malaysians in Western Australia (AMWA), and she has a deep-seated interest in helping others and a sincere desire to be a positive force wherever she can be.
MICHAEL WU
Board Member
Michael obtained his bachelor's degree in business, majoring in Information Systems in 1992. He was recognized as a Microsoft Certified solution developer (MCSD).
He has been involved in the IT industry since 1992 and has worked in various roles, developing systems for government and industry. He is very experienced in the Microsoft Development environment.
Michael has been actively involved in community activities for years. He is a board member of Chung Wah Association, an ethnic organisation with the longest history in Western Australia. He has served on the board of ECCWA since 2020. He works extensively with the board, in promoting multiculturalism, dealing with issues and well-being the community cares about most, and servicing the interests and welfare of the ethnic community.
RANJIT RATNAYAKE
Board Member
Ranjit has been a long-standing board member for the ECCWA, involved since 1980. He has served as a representative for a considerable amount of time for both the Burgher Welfare League (BWL) of Sri Lanka and the WA Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Association Inc. However, in addition to his professional commitments, he has been actively involved in cricket since 2003, serving as an umpire for WACA Cricket and other cricket organisation groups in WA.
Ranjit has completed higher education Diplomas and Certificates in the Industrial, Advocacy, and Accounting sectors, and his professional experience includes working in small to medium firms, sports organisations, and community organisations.
REHAB AHMED
Board Member
Rehab manages the Mental Health and FDV Support Services and liaises with funding bodies and stakeholders. Coordinates partnerships with service providers and other projects as required.
Rehab has a successful career in administration management managing different projects and staff, monitoring budgets, monitoring projects and programs, planning, developing educational material, evaluating the Program, and Networking with funding bodies and stakeholders. Rehab wanted a career in which she could make a difference in women’s lives by providing hope, encouragement and the knowledge that they have choices. Rehab has been working at ISHAR since 2014.
Rehab has a Bachelor's Degree in Archaeology (Egyptology) from Cairo University, a Diploma in Community Services, a Diploma in Interpreting (LOTE), and a Diploma in Leadership and Management.
Before joining ISHAR Multicultural Women’s Health Services, Rehab worked as Refuge Support Worker with Orana House, and Emergency and Respite Foster Carer with Wanslea.
Rehab speaks Arabic, English and French and enjoys cooking, talking to her family overseas, reading, walking, listening to music and spending quality time with her children and close friends.
Dr TERMIT KAUR RANJIT SINGH
Board Member
A committee member of AMWA (Association of Malaysians in Western Australia) and an active member of the Sikh community in Perth, Dr Termit Kaur Ranjit Singh takes pride in initiating the setup of the first-ever Sikh women’s network in WA through the Khalsa Club of which she is a member.
Throughout her academic career over the years, Dr Termit has done community services in some rural parts of the world such as the villages in Punjab India, the rural schools in Pakistan and the rural parts of Malaysia. She is currently on a three year appointment as a Visiting Fellow of College of Science, University of Lincoln, UK., working on the development of new international educational partnerships and bringing together academic staff and students from different countries through strategic institutional partnerships
THERESA NG
Board Member
Theresa is originally from Singapore, and she moved to Perth in 2001 to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Since then, she has decided to make Perth her permanent residence.
Theresa speaks fluent English and Mandarin.
Theresa has spent the last twenty years working in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors, and she has held financial managerial positions in the aged care community sector for the last thirteen years.
Theresa is a passionate advocate for the CaLD aged-care community. In her spare time, she loves to cook and share recipes with friends and family.