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.
Louise McCarthy - Executive Manager, Services
Louise is dedicated to helping children and their families thrive. She brings great experience and knowledge to Meerilinga with over 20 years of work across child safety, early years and family services in the UK, Victoria and Western Australia.
She is committed to engaging the community and creating safe, inclusive and high-quality services, and is known for her collaborative, values-driven leadership style. Louise works closely with staff and partners to turn ideas into practical outcomes that make a meaningful difference for the community.
Louise’s experience and passion pairs perfectly with Meerilinga’s long-standing history and pioneering of the Rights of the Child, and she is proud to contribute to children’s wellbeing, development and sense of belonging from the earliest years.
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.