Executive Team
Ben Mercer - Interim Chief Executive Officer
Ben is an experienced leader of impact-driven organisations who focuses on achieving growth, transformation or performance improvements for key stakeholders. He has significant experience delivering services across Australia’s largest corporates to smaller for-purpose organisations, working for Deloitte Australia in Strategy and Operations Consulting as well as his own consulting business. Specialising in strategy, operating models, management system improvement, program management and change management, Ben is known for his strategic and systems thinking, stakeholder engagement, and pragmatic approach to addressing complex challenges.
Ben brings to Meerilinga an extensive breadth of experience in high performance environments, with over 30 years as an athlete, coach, high performance manager and consultant. He is passionate about safe and inclusive environments that positively impact the development of children and youth.
Ben holds a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science, a Diploma of Project Management and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Jennie Laccohee-Duffield - Executive Manager, Finance
Jennie is a Chartered Accountant with experience working in not-for-profit organisations as well as external auditing. She began her career in Practice in the UK and moved over to Perth in 2013 to work for Grant Thornton, specialising in the not-for-profit sector.
Jennie has worked as a leader in Finance for over a decade, focusing on internal controls and processes as well as internal and external reporting and compliance. Jennie is passionate about developing teams the positive impacts it can have on a community focused organisation and brings this experience to Meerilinga.
Jennie holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and is also a qualified Project Manager with the Australian Institute of Management.
Nicole Hunt - Executive Manager, Services
Nicole brings over 30 years of experience in the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC sector), including as an Educator and a manager, where she has been involved in community development, business management and strategic planning. She is passionate about creating and leading programs that foster positive change in early childhood education, with a particular focus on change management initiatives that address the needs of children facing adversity.
Nicole is reinforcing Meerilinga’s missional focus on creating an environment where children, families, staff and community members feel valued, respected and have a strong sense of belonging. Building relationships with these stakeholders is a key part of her work in enriching the learning and developmental experiences of young children.
Nicole holds a Bachelor of Community Development and an Associate Diploma, Social Science.
Tammy Kent - Executive Manager, Meerilinga Training College
Tammy has extensive experience in the Vocational Education and Training sector with a proven ability to support high quality outcomes for students and staff while navigating complex compliance environments.
She is most passionate about building learning environments that empower individuals and organisations to grow with confidence. Tammy believes that strong compliance paired with supportive practice can create real opportunity for learners and teams alike: when quality come first, people benefit.
Her track record in leadership of Registered Training Organisations, quality assurance and stakeholder engagement is a great asset to those learning at Meerilinga Training College.