Our Team

Chief Executive Officer (CEO): David Fisher

David has more than 25 years’ experience in the Australian and UK community housing sectors. This includes working in a senior executive position for one of the largest care providers in the UK. He has led and established a number of successful housing organisations through acquisition and organic growth, diversification into new markets, and refinancing and restructuring to create greater financial capacity.

David has strong commercial skills, expert knowledge in governance, risk and financial planning, and a proven track record in developing effective partnerships to deliver new services and products, including low cost home ownership products.

David is a qualified assessor with EFQM, a European Excellence Model, and is passionate about improving the quality of lives of individuals and communities through the provision of high quality, secure and affordable housing.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Urban Geography (Hons)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Housing
• Master of Business Administration

Projects Director: Justin Cantelo

Justin has more than 17 years’ experience in senior management and executive positions within the not-for-profit and private sector driving business strategy and growth, effective program management and innovating new services to meet community need. Justin now leads on Projects for Housing Plus, and is responsible for their $95m capital and support service investment program, delivering over 230 affordable and specialist disability homes over 5 years, through an integrated and tailored model of support.

Justin began his career as a Nutritionist in which he built a health and fitness business over 8 years, which he sold in 2010. Justin then made a ‘tree change’ to work in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, consulting for federal government to establish and deliver several preventative health programs.

Justin has led significant and sustainable growth for the Housing Plus business, winning several large government contracts and building key strategic relationships, which has led to a 100% increase in gross revenue, three-fold increase in staff, and establishing new income streams.

Qualifications:

• Masters of Business Administration
• Graduate Diploma in Clinical Nutrition
• Bachelor of Health Science

Director of Finance & Corporate Services: Matthew Whiteley

Matthew commenced his finance career with KPMG in 1987 and since then has gained a wealth of experience in senior finance and commercial roles across a broad range of industries, including engineering, construction, health, distribution and manufacturing. During this time, he has worked overseas, leading finance teams in Sweden and Indonesia for Alstom Power. Most recently, Matthew held the position of Regional Business Partner for Rightway Australia and, prior to this, was the Finance Director for Preformed Line Products.

Matthew leads the finance, IT, HR and quality functions of Housing Plus and is responsible for strategic financial management, including treasury and budget management, cost benefit analysis, needs forecasting, securing new funding and financial reporting.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting)
• Master of Business Administration
• CPA

Head of Community Services: Penny Dordoy

Penny commenced her career in a range of customer-focused industries before joining the Australian Human Rights Commission where she supported the Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner.

She joined Housing Plus in 2010, initially as a service coordinator for the women’s domestic and family violence service. In 2014, she led the regional launch of the whole of government domestic and family violence reforms, working closely with police and other key stakeholders to change the way NSW responds to domestic and family violence, including implementing the state’s first Safety Action Meeting.

In 2015, Penny was promoted to the role of Regional Manager Plus Services where she established our homelessness service and continued to grow the domestic and family violence service.

As Head of Community Services, Penny is responsible for the delivery of sustainable client-centric programs by creating strategic networks, maintaining key partner relationships, and supporting a cohesive and multidisciplinary team.

She is currently studying for a Master of Social Change and Development.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Business Studies
• Diploma in Marketing

Head of Customer Service: Liz Stamatelos

Liz is a highly experienced strategic leader with many years experience in the healthcare industry and community services. The majority of her career thusfar was as a member of the senior leadership team of the B. Braun Australia Group, a global medical devices and pharmaceutical organisation. During her 18 year career with Braun, Liz held a variety of positions including Senior Manager, Corporate Services and Customer Service Manager. Since leaving Braun in 2014, Liz has moved into the Community Services Sector, working for OzHarvest as their National Volunteer Manager, and for LiveBetter as Acting Senior Manager, Governance.

Liz joined Housing Plus in July 2019 as Governance Manager before moving in to her current role. She is now responsible for our tenancy, maintenance, community engagement and volunteering programs.

Liz is passionate about overcoming social disadvantage, and currently sits on the committee of FoodCare Orange.

Qualifications:

• Diploma in Marketing

Human Resources Manager: Vanessa Evans

Vanessa has over 10 years’ experience in generalist human resources with significant expertise in change management, organisational design and large-scale transformation. She previously held the role of Senior HR Advisor to Johnson Controls, an outsourced facilities and project management organisation, and managed the organisation’s merger with Brookfield Multiplex Services in 2012.

She joined the Woolworths Group in 2014 as HR Partner to integrate a newly acquired refrigeration business with the existing Woolworths maintenance team before transferring to Woolworths’ Masters Home Improvement business in 2016. Here, she co-created and managed the people strategies for one of Australia’s largest voluntary corporate closures.

Vanessa joined Housing Plus in early 2017 and is responsible for driving better outcomes for employees to maximise engagement, performance and positive impact in our communities.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Social Science
• Bachelor of Psychology (Hons)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Organisational Psychology
• Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resources

Quality and Systems Improvement Manager: James Gutherson

James commenced his career with NSW Maritime, firstly as a Naval Architect and later as a Quality Manager where he developed, implemented and maintained ISO9001 accreditation within his branch. Deciding to pursue a career in quality management and continuous improvement, he gained experience with Cabonne Council, Central West Community College, TAFE Western and Spotless, where he worked on the build and mobilisation of the new Orange hospital, including the integration of management systems (Quality, Risk and Safety), for more than 350 health service employees. In 2013, James joined Marathon Health (formerly Western NSW Medicare Local) as Quality Manager before moving to Housing Plus in 2016.

As Quality and Systems Improvement Manager, James ensures all organisational systems and processes are fully operational and fit-for purpose. He is also responsible for continuous improvement activities, performance reporting and WH&S.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering
• Master of Business and Technology
• Certificate IV Training and Assessment

Community Engagement Manager: Andrew Pansini

Andrew is an enrolled nurse and spent the early part of his career working in the mental health sector. He later joined the Department of Family and Community Services as a Client Service Officer within the access and demand team, and completed a secondment as a Senior Client Service Officer during his tenure here.

Andrew joined Housing Plus in 2013 and in that time, has worked in a number of roles within the Customer Service team. He is currently responsible for community engagement strategies and activities designed to build strong communities and support our clients towards better outcomes. He is also responsible for developing and implementing our Volunteer Strategy.

Qualifications:

• Certificate IV Nursing
• Certificate IV Social Housing
• Diploma in Community Services
• Diploma in Project Management