Leadership team The Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre is led by a passionate group of people who bring in their unique skillsets to ensure that the interests of the local community remain at the core of everything we do. Tanya Stevenson CEO Currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre, Tanya has over 10 years of management experience in working in the NFP sector. Tanya has an undergraduate in Psychology and a Masters in Education. Tanya was named Young Business Person of the year in 2012 on the Fraser Coast and Young Alumni of the year for USQ in 2013. Tanya has led the strategic expansion of the HBNC to include the implementation of the Fraser Coast Community Social Plan and the development of the Neighbourhood Hive and Urangan Wellness Centre as well as their first social enterprise The Wandering Teapot. Tanya is a long-term community member of the Fraser Coast and has worked in the community sector for over 20 years. Tanya is committed to partnerships across our region and improving the social outcomes for everyone through social innovation and development. Maureen Hall Aged & Disability Manager A seasoned community professional, Maureen heads the Aged and Disability Service of HBNC. Throughout her career spanning over 28 years, she has invested a substantial amount of time working on local community projects. Before joining HBNC in 2014, Maureen worked as the Community Relations Specialist with Rio Tinto Coal Australia on its Kestrel Coal Mine in Emerald in Central Queensland. There, she delivered sustainable outcomes through investing in their communities of interest. A Rio Tinto trained auditor for Health, Safety & Environment and Community, Maureen was also responsible for spearheading the first Social Risk Analysis on behalf of the mining giant for the Bowen Basin Coal Mine - Australia’s biggest coal mine by recoverable reserves. An active social worker, Maureen holds a Bachelor of Arts with Majors in Welfare and Sociology with Electives in Human Resource Management from Central Queensland University and an Advanced Diploma in Community Management. Cate Akaveka Community Development Manager Cate holds a Bachelor of Social Science (UTS 2001) and a Master of Professional Studies (USQ 2013) and has broad experience across government, community and business sectors. For seven years, she owned and operated a local bookshop and café. Prior to this, she spent 25 years working in a range of human services including disability services, contract management, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander services and social planning. Cate loves living on the Fraser Coast and is passionate about building a vibrant and socially cohesive community. She also loves writers’ festivals, music festivals and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Sheenah Heinonen Family, Children & Youth Manager Sheenah has over 25 years of broad experience working in the human services industry, particularly in the areas of child protection, disability services, community care and aged care. Prior to joining HBNC, she worked as the Child Safety Officer with the Department of Child, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs for close to four years. She has worked extensively in the human services industry in multiple capacities throughout Queensland and New South Wales. She holds a Bachelor of Human Services (Child & Family) from the University of Southern Queensland. She has also completed her Diploma of Community Coordination and of Management, both, from Aged Care Queensland Education Institute. She lives in Hervey Bay with her family. Christian Berechree Operations Manager As the Operations Manager for the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre, Christian oversees the organisation’s administration and marketing efforts. An award-winning journalist and newspaper editor by trade (Queensland Country Press Association’s journalist of the year, 2017), Christian holds a Bachelor degree in media and a Masters of Journalism. After 12 years in the media, marketing and communications world, Christian transitioned into the NFP sector, joining HBNC in September 2020. In that time, he has played a leading role in launching the Neighbourhood Hive, restructuring The Wandering Teapot social enterprise and establishing the Fraser Coast Heroes Volunteer Database. Christian moved to Hervey Bay with his wife and two children in 2019. He loves the Fraser Coast community and can regularly be found at Hervey Bay Baptist Church, or working up a sweat at Parkrun on Saturday mornings. Raymond Hill Legal and Professional Services Manager Ray manages our Legal and Professional Services, bringing over two decades of knowledge from a broad variety of private and community legal practice. Ray holds a Bachelor of Laws as well as a Graduate Diploma in Family Dispute Resolution Practice. He has substantial experience delivering easily digested legal advice as well as providing culturally safe legal services to Aboriginal clients and sensitive, trauma-informed assistance to survivors of family violence and sexual assault, having been for eight years principal solicitor for a specialist Community Legal Centre serving the needs of those demographics in the northwest and far western regions of New South Wales. He takes great satisfaction from assisting people marginalised from access to the justice and support our legal system should be providing to everyone. In his spare time, he indulges an interest in computers, technology, gaming and the “internet of things”. Occasionally he turns all the things off and goes camping. Mitzi Kok Finance Manager Mitzi recently immigrated to Australia from South Africa and has quickly settled into Hervey Bay. She brings a wealth of experience in accounting and financial management to HBNC, including a four-year Bachelor’s degree in Accounting Science from the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Mitzi completed a three-year training contract at Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) to become a registered Charted Accountant. Following her time at PwC as an auditor she was appointed as a Financial Manager at one on South Africa’s leading agricultural services companies, where she worked within the Financial Services division, the Commodity Procurement division, as well as the Corporate Head Office. In 2018, Mitzi was promoted to Financial Controller of Group Consolidation, looking after the consolidation of more than 140 companies, reporting to management and preparing the consolidated annual financial statements. She is thrilled to be part of the team at HBNC, where she helps support the multitude of ways HBNC helps the community's most disadvantaged.