0466 124 303
editor1@rlcnews.com.au

Committee Members

Dr Rosemary Hermans
President

Rosemary is an experienced Project Specialist who has worked in complex human services and operational environments throughout three decades.   This includes working, volunteering and studying with more than 450 not-for-profit organisations.  With three university degrees in Community Development, learning leadership, social capital and politics combined with extensive experience on several community boards, she brings diversity and knowledge as well as innovative thinking and creativity to both her working and voluntary life.  She spent more than two decades studying part-time which culminated in a Doctorate of Philosophy at the School of Business and Law at Swinburne University.

When not relaxing with her children or working hard, Rosemary can be found training and competing in martial arts in which she has won several National Championships.  She has lived and travelled to approximately 45 countries, enjoying both the adventure and advancement of communities.  It is her belief that we should always aim to understand culture better and contribute positively to this wonderful planet.

Kevin Tse
Vice President & Digital Administrator

Kevin is our current Vice President taking on this role in November 2022.    He actually joined the RLCN committee in 2017.  With a background in engineering and computer science, along with a strong passion in the technical and digital domain, Kevin joined the team to bring the newspaper on the journey of digital transformation, utilising the latest technology and online platforms to bring the newspaper experience to the next level - more interactive, more real-time and more accessible. 

Dr Helen Pongracic
Secretary

Helen has a background in Maths and Science Research, and has held leadership positions in Universities and the Public Service.  She is also a graduate of the AICD.    She has volunteered in various community organisations for many years, including school councils and scouting.    Helen and her husband have been distributors and captains for 12 years with RLCN and she is looking forward to working with the RLCN committee.

Irina Shevchenko
Treasurer

Irina was born in Ukraine.  She did a degree in psychology and started her working career in a non-profit organisation helping people in family violence situations.  Her next role was a HR manager in a retail business.   She moved to Australia in 2005 to reunite with her mum.  Irina had a few jobs in retail and customer service always keeping an open mind and looking for new opportunities. 

In 2016, Irina did a Diploma of Accounting and an additional course - Xero Accounting - in 2019.  A busy family life leaves just enough time for her creative and curious mind.  She loves to make unique pieces of clothing and accessories.  Good books are her other life long passion.  Psychology, child development, popular science and human behaviour are some of her interests. 

Naomi Nelson
Editor

Naomi has lived in Rowville for over 30 years and started with the RLCNews by delivering the newspapers 20 years ago. She enjoys making sure that residents get to read stories that are of interest to them.

Naomi’s passions are researching, writing, and helping people to develop their potential, so it is no surprise that she works as an educator. For many years Naomi has relished the challenges of working with experts in their occupational fields to develop engaging learning materials and assessments for the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. Qualifications in education and community development, along with a keen interest in discovering how things work help her to achieve these outcomes.

When not working, Naomi enjoys a wide range of leisure pursuits, including gardening, keeping fit, travel, reading, and attending theatre, from global hits to the wonderful productions of the local 1812 Theatre. She also loves to travel, within Australia and further afield, to learn from and engage with locals wherever she is and, of course to enjoy diverse sights, activities, and culinary delights. Amongst her friends she is renowned for making friends of strangers wherever she goes!

Peter Rumble
Distribution Co-ordinator

Peter has been involved in the paper for over 30 years after his wife Pauline put up her hand to be a Distributor and roped him in too!   When RLCN was looking for a Distribution Co-ordinator over a decade later, Peter was nominated for the role and the rest is history!

As he loves Excel, he shines in his current position and additionally, loves all the interaction with the nearly 200 of our positive and cheery volunteers.

In this and other voluntary roles, Peter commits to at least 20 hours of voluntary hours per week, making him an incredible community member that we are very proud of.

As a nurseryman by trade, he loves plants as well as relaxing, attending our committee meetings and enjoying social events with family.

Brian Pittard
Advertising Co-ordinator

Brian has grown up in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and raised his family in Rowville. As a Rowville resident for over 25 years, he has been involved with a significant growth and development period for Rowville Lysterfield area.

Most of his work has been in the automotive, manufacturing and mining industries – in Melbourne, throughout Australia, and Indonesia.

A keen advocate of action on climate change, smart energy use, and has a  general interest in job training for young people to retain and grow our  Technical, Engineering  and  Manufacturing skills  -  for local people in  local jobs.

He has a keen interest in outdoor activities such as bike riding and orienteering and has been volunteering in the Advertising role for the RLCN Newspaper since November 2021.

Steeve Kiat
Committee Member

Steeve began with the paper as a Distributor in his local area in 2022 and soon joined the committee within a few months.   A long-time resident of more than 25 years, Steeve has a keen interest in the progress and sustainable development of his local community.

With a background in data analysis and reporting, he has spent almost 40 years in both public service and corporate roles.  He has also dedicated his life to martial arts, teaching thousands of local children and adults across the last four decades.   Steeve was once a successful international competitor representing Australia in Kung Fu, and remains an instructor at the Golden Lion Academy.  He continues to coach and mentor multiple gold-medal winning students in national and international championships.

Through both work and martial arts, Steeve brings an attention to detail, precision and hardworking ethos to the committee.  It is because of this, he, with others in the committee, have formed a Risk Sub-Committee to review our risks, procedures, contracts, security and anything else that needs a more thorough investigation.

Estelle Bowman
Committee Member
Estelle has lived in Australia for 17 years, moving to Rowville in 2016. A huge fan of all things RCLN, she has been a proofreader since 2017, as well as a regular article contributor during the pandemic. English degree studies followed by various UK corporate roles, more recently aged care and community development studies. She currently works as a school librarian as well as supporting a local youth program. Estelle also volunteers for local charities and runs a very happy Book Group, a variety of interests that include fiction, theatre, gardening, wood, wildlife, insects and Christmas!

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