Board of Management
Chairman – Dr James Fitzpatrick
Dr James Fitzpatrick is a children’s doctor and rural/ remote health advocate. He currently leads a Federally funded project aimed at improving the lives of children living in remote Indigenous communities in the WA Kimberley by estimating for the first time in Australia the prevalence of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in the 40 remote communities of the Fitzroy Valley. The approach James and his team are taking received praise from Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission as “an example to the rest of Australia of how to best approach Indigenous Affairs”.
In 2001 James was named Young Australian of the Year for his longstanding dedication to addressing rural and Indigenous health issues. He has advised the Australian Government through high-level representation on the Stronger Families and Communities Partnership from 2004-2006; and is currently a member of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Equality Council. He was one of 1000 Australian leaders chosen to attend the Australia 2020 Summit in 2008.
Vice Chairman – Ross Eatt
Ross was born in Albany, and has lived in Esperance, Kununurra, Pinjarra, Waroona and other regional areas. Whilst initially seeing himself as a future farmer in the Esperance district, he eventually decided to study psychology part-time. He did this over a period of 12 years whilst being dad to two young boys.
Over the last 25 years Ross has worked as a psychologist, and with wife of 12 years Jacquie has overseen the growth of the joint family from five grown sons to an additional six beautiful grandchildren. Much of what Ross does involves helping people learn how to take charge of their own life through having the courage to decide how they would like their life to be, and the personal skills to manage their reactions to other people and situations, the assertiveness to speak their minds constructively, and the self pride to enjoy achieving their own goals. Helping people achieve better outcomes from their home and family relationships is also something that gives Ross enormous satisfaction.
Community Representative – Jan Trenorden
Jan Trenorden has been a lifelong community member of the Wyalkatchem district. In addition to her business responsibilities for her family farm, she is employed by the WA Government Department for Child Protection. This is the formal aspect of her longstanding devotion to the welfare of young people and their families. She has also been philanthropically engaged with youth matters for some time.
As True Blue Community Representative and Project Coordinator Jan has been the Wheatbelt local driving force behind the TBD program since it was piloted in Wyalkatchem in 2005. She is committed to encouraging local children to reach their dreams and plans projects with the mentors to deliver new experiences for rural students.
Youth Representative – Matt Sims
Matt grew up in the small Wheatbelt town of Wickepin and first became involved with True Blue Dreaming as a mentor in 2008. He has participated in both the Kimberley and Wheatbelt programs and officially joined the Management Committee in 2011 after being involved in the coordination of the Wheatbelt program in 2009 and 2010. Matt attended the 2010 Australian Youth Mentoring Network Conference to gain an insight into how other mentoring programs operate and this opportunity has allowed him to continue to develop TBD as a best practice mentoring model. His role is to ensure that TBD is a positive experience in learning and personal growth for both mentees and mentors and to help facilitate the start-up of new programs in the Wheatbelt.
Board Member – Mitchell Wells
Mitchell Wells was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Amadeus Energy in April 2008. He holds both a Bachelor of Law (L.LB) and a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Comm). Working with the President of the Amadeus US division, he is responsible for overseeing operations and co-ordinating the planning, development and implementation of the Company’s strategic business plans.
Mitchell has extensive international management experience in a number of industries, including most recently as Project Leader and Lawyer for the Anschutz Entertainment Group and The O2 in London, UK. Previous positions have included In-house counsel for The London Organising Committee of the Olympic & Paralympic Games (LOCOG); In-house counsel for London’s successful 2012 Olympic bid; Visiting Attorney for Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP in the USA and an Associate to the Supreme Court Judge of Western Australia.
