Louise Glanville

Louise Glanville is the First Assistant Secretary for the Access to Justice and Strategy and Delivery Divisions in the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department.

With qualifications in law and public policy, Louise has worked at all levels of government – federal, state and local – as well as in the community and private sectors.

Louise has significant experience in law reform, policy analysis and program development.  Earlier in her career, Louise worked in various social planning, teaching and community development positions in Melbourne’s western suburbs, including the Western Region Council for Social Development, Victoria University and Keilor and Moonee Valley Councils.  She is also a long standing resident of the western suburbs

Ruth Spielman

Ruth is Executive Officer of the National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) which incorporates 25 of the nation’s fastest growing municipalities on the outskirts of the major cities around the nation, including Wyndham and Melton in Melbourne’s west. 

Ruth has lived in the west since the mid 1980s, when she also worked for the former Western Region Commission, a regional organisation of local government, on housing policy.

 At that time she was also a member of the Western Regional Housing Council which was based at the Western Region Council for Social Development in Cowper St. Footscray.  She subsequently worked for Westurb, a community planning and environment advice service and did sessional tutoring at the former Footscray Institute of Technology.

Colleen Vale

Colleen Vale is the former Chair of the Management Committee for the West Education Centre. The Centre which delivered a range of education services to all education sectors in the western suburbs donated its assets to the Stan Willis Trust when it closed in 2002.

Colleen is an academic, teacher educator and former secondary school teacher. She now works in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University following a 20 year career with the School of Education at Victoria University. Colleen has worked with many teachers and schools throughout the western suburbs on a range of projects to improve teaching and learning for students, especially for students in disadvantaged school communities and for girls.

Colleen is continuing this work in her current academic position and is delighted to be able to serve the community of the western suburbs through the work of the Stan Willis Trust.

Kim Webster

Kim Webster has lived in Footscray since 1986 and has been involved in a number of western suburbs initiatives including the establishment of Women’s Health West and the redevelopment of Tweddle Child and Family Health Services.  She has raised two children in the west. 

Kim is a freelance researcher, writer and project manager. She has experience in policy development, project management and research in the areas of public health, health inequalities, women’s health and wellbeing and migrant and refugee resettlement. 

Kim has worked in both the government and non-government sectors, including the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet, the then Department of Health, the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, BreastScreen Victoria and the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House).

Ralph Willis

Ralph Willis is the eldest son of Stan Willis and is a life-long resident of Melbourne's west.  He represented the seat of Gellibrand (covering Melbourne’s inner-west), in the Federal Parliament for 26 years.   For 13 of those years, he was a Cabinet Minister in the Hawke and Keating Governments, holding the portfolios of Employment and Industrial Relations, Transport and Communications, Finance and Treasurer.

Ralph is also a Director of Victoria University Foundation and Chair of the Board of Western Health.  He is a member of its  Finance Committee, Governance and Remuneration Committee, Quality and Safety Committee and the Primary Care and Population Health Advisory Committee.

He was previously Chair of the Construction and Building Industry Superannuation Fund (CBUS) and LeadWest, a regional representational body for the western suburbs of Melbourne.

Ralph was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for long service to the Commonwealth Parliament and in 2011 was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the Parliament of Australia, particularly in the areas of economic development and industrial relations, to the superannuation industry, and to the community.  He has also been conferred with the degree of Doctor of the University Honoris Causa from Victoria University for services to Australia and in particular the western suburbs of Melbourne.