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Wheatbelt & Beyond Youth Mentoring
OUR TEAM
Our board is an invested and diverse group of passionate individuals working together to create a strong governance team for the WBYM association.
HON. TERRENCE (TUCK) WALDRON
PATRON
Tuck works tirelessly to support Wheatbelt and Beyond Youth Mentoring as Patron.
Tuck was a member of Parliament for 16 years and a Minister for Sport and Recreation,
Racing, Gaming and Liquor. He has a passion for regional WA having grown up in Jingalup, near Kojonup, in the Great Southern Region. Tuck is the Chair of Regional Development Australia Wheatbelt (RDAW), Rural Health West and Central Eastern Accommodation and Care Alliance (CEACA) and also a panel member for the Sport Star of the Year Award.
Past positions include General Manager of the WA Country Football League, Chair of the WA
Cricket Association (WACA) and Secretary of the Australian Country Football Council.
HELEN JEFFREYS
CHAIRPERSON
Growing up in Mundaring, Helen completed her Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education at Murdoch University in 1991 and headed for the regions. Helen’s first teaching post was Merredin SHS, where she taught until she got married and had her three sons. She has lived and taught in the country ever since. She has been the Deputy Principal at Carnamah DHS
since 2018, coordinator of the WBYM program in her school since 2020 and Secretary of the Carnamah DHS School Board. Helen is passionate about supporting young people in the regions and the sustainability of rural communities. Helen brought her family up in Coorow, where she owns a business with her partner and enjoys being involved in the local netball and tennis clubs and spending time with family and friends.
SARAH EDMONDS
DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON
Sarah started mentoring with WBYM in 2018 and continues to be amazed by the
opportunities that volunteering presents and the people she gets to meet!
Sarah grew up on her family farm in Calingiri and completed her secondary education in
the Wheatbelt, at Wongan Hills DHS and Central Midlands SHS. Like many country kids who
don't go back to the farm, Sarah chose a career in agriculture after completing a BSc at Edith
Cowan University. This has included a range of technical and quality assurance related roles
in stockfeed manufacturing and grain quality, before her current deviation into the world of
corporate affairs with the CBH Group. Knowing what she does now, Sarah reflects on the different choices she might have explored if a mentoring program was available to her - but is happy where she has landed anyway and is grateful for the opportunity to pay it forward as both a mentor and Board member with WBYM.
JANINE DAYMAN
CO-FOUNDER & PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Growing up on a family farm in Wickepin Janine attended boarding school from the age of
12. Country life was always where she wanted to be and saw the commencement of her
teaching career at Bruce Rock DHS in 1988. School life, having a family business in town and bringing up 2 daughters gave good insight into country life from many perspectives.
Teaching Career Development and seeing the students limited perspectives of life outside of our community resonated so closely with her own upbringing and lead to a passion to
further support young people as a teacher, Deputy Prinicpal and through Wheatbelt and
Beyond Youth Mentoring (WBYM). Janine is a current member of Bruce Rock Wheatbelt Youth Council Committee and Bruce Rock Community Resource Centre Committee.
KAREN STRANGE
CO-FOUNDER & PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Based in the Wheatbelt in Bruce Rock Karen has been a hands-on partner in the 5th generation family farm for 47 years. As a community member, Mum and Grandmother Karen is passionate about people, the Wheatbelt and Regional WA. By stealth she has made wonderful connections and built understanding by being alongside her husband as a Shire President and WALGA State Councillor. As Wheatbelt and Beyond Youth Mentoring (WBYM) CoFounder/Co Program Director it is a privilege to work with students, mentors and schools to provide school based, all inclusive, ongoing support to young high school students in District High Schools. Being Regional Development Australia Deputy Chair brings great engagement across the Wheatbelt. Working with a terrific team has been inspiring, with a connection to projects that benefit our communities. LUMEN Regional University Study Hubs is one of those impactful projects and Karen is a Reference Group member. She is also a past member of the Women’s Advisory Council for the Minister for Women’s Business.
SAM LEE
SECRETARY
Although she went to school in Perth, Sam spent much of her childhood with her family in Wickepin and Denmark. A mentor since 2020, Sam is a current student doctor at UWA having completed her bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences. Sam has a strong passion for youth education and mental health and has spent much of her time as a Resident Assistant at St George’s College (focused on mental health first aid and resident support through university), as the UWA Women in Surgery Chair (encouraging women from diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in surgery), Surf Life Saving and many more endeavours.
CLAIRE BAILEY
MENTOR SUPPORT PERSONNEL
A founding mentor at Bruce Rock DHS, Claire has mentored since 2013. She is a Medical Registrar at Midland St John of God Hospital, Basic Physician Trainee with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and a Clinical Lecturer at Curtin. She has a University Graduate Certificate in Health Professions Education and is currently completing her Masters in Medicine.
JARRAD PAUL
MENTOR SUPPORT PERSONNEL
Jarrad grew up in Esperance and was a member of the local football, tennis and life saving
clubs. He was often found down by the water, either surfing or catching dinner. Jarrad completed his medical degree in 2016 and is currently an Advanced Trainee in Psychiatry with a passion for youth mental health, early intervention, leadership and management. He represents psychiatry trainees on both a local and bi-national level with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), including on the RANZCP Section of Youth Mental Health. Jarrad became a mentor in 2013 and is an inaugural Wheatbelt and Beyond Youth Mentoring (WBYM) Board member.
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JO DRAYTON
MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE
Having worked in primary mental health and suicide prevention for two decades, Jo is currently the Wheatbelt Suicide Prevention Coordinator and auspiced with Holyoake. She is a facilitator of Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention, Rural Minds and SafeTALK (Living Works), assisting communities develop Community Wellbeing Plans and Suicide Prevention Community Action Plans. Jo was invited by the Minister of Mental Health and the Mental Health Commissioner to join a steering committee to develop the next WA Suicide Prevention Framework (2021-2025), and has been appointed as one of the WA Representatives on Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA) State Committees.
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LYNTON BENNETT
GOVERNANCE
Growing up on his family farm in Woogenellup, Lynton attended school in the nearby town
of Mt Barker before moving to Perth in 2005. He has held advisory and management roles across a number of Western Australian Government agencies, including the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Disability Services Commission and the Office of the Commissioner for Children and Young People. At the end of 2022 Lynton established Praxis Advisory Services, a consultancy that specialises in resolving complex strategic and operational issues for government and non-government organisations. Lynton became a Wheatbelt and Beyond Youth Mentoring (WBYM) Board member in 2023 to continue his passion for supporting regional communities and the wellbeing of the young people living in them.
NICOLA DAYMAN
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Growing up in Bruce Rock, Nicola attended Bruce Rock DHS for 11 years, enjoying country life and especially the sporting opportunities. Nicola valued having a mentee during her years at Bruce Rock, loved growing up in the country and will always consider it home. Whilst she loved the advantages of growing up in a small town, she has really understood first-hand the importance of broadening your horizons and the full value of the mentoring program. This passion to pass forward lead Nicola to volunteer with the administrative side of the program, before taking up a part time Administrative Assistant position in 2023. Nicola attended boarding school for her last three years of secondary education. She
commenced University study at Murdoch in 2018 and is now in her final year of her Chiropractic degree. Alongside her studies she is working part time as a Chiropractic Assistant which she has embraced as a mentoring opportunity to further enhance her career.
LIV MILLER
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
Growing up on a farm in Tambellup, Liv has enjoyed staying connected to country WA while exploring the world and her passions. She attended school in Albany, and Denmark Agricultural College for Year 12. Liv followed her passions by studying Enterprise and Innovation at UWA. Hearing about the WBYM mentoring program through St Georges UWA, this opportunity resonated with her background and fitted well with her values and time. Liv has been mentoring a student from Carnamah DHS since 2022. With experience in social media, an opportunity to commence some part time work as the WBYM Social Media Manager arose in 2023. This fitted well with her career passions which include digital media,
health, wellness and creative design.
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