The SSI leadership team includes a group of talented and skilled managers who cover a range of strategic and business development roles across the organisation, from humanitarian to disability services to child and family services.
Chief Executive Officer
Violet Roumeliotis (AM & GAICD)
· Member of the Order of Australia
· 2017 Telstra Business Woman of the Year and national winner of the For Purpose and Social Enterprise category
· 2018 AFR 100 Women of Influence
· 2018 InStyle Women of Style Community Champion
Violet Roumeliotis AM is a social entrepreneur who champions the strengths of our diverse communities and is committed to take a leadership and pioneering role to elevate reconciliation. Through her C-suite and board roles, Violet uses innovation and collective impact to promote social justice and inclusion.
She is the CEO of Settlement Services International (SSI), a community organisation and social business that supports newcomers and other vulnerable individuals to achieve their full potential. During her ten years as CEO, Violet has taken SSI from a Sydney-based organisation with 68 staff to an 900-plus workforce that supports more than 52,000 people nationally each year.
Violet is committed to achieving equity and advancing diversity and inclusion in all forms. In 2020, she was made a member of the Order of Australia for outstanding service to the community. Violet is also a former Telstra Australia Business Woman of the Year, has been named one of AFR’s Top 100 Women of Influence for 2018 in the category of Diversity & Inclusion, In Style Magazine's Community Champion, and was awarded the title of Community Fellow from Western Sydney University for outstanding service to the community.
Violet sits on the board of the Australian Council of Social Service as the Deputy President and sits on the NSW Domestic and Family Violence and Sexual Assault Council and the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission Advisory Board. Her other appointments include Deputy Chair for the SBS Community Advisory Committee, she sits on the Australian Human Rights Commission's Expert Advisory Group for the Racism. It Stops With Me campaign, the NSW Council for Women’s Economic Empowerment, the University of Sydney's Open Society, Common Purpose taskforce, the Leadership Council on Cultural Diversity, the UTS Business MBA Advisory Group, the Council on Economic Participation for Refugees, the International Metropolis Steering Committee, the Australian Defence Force's Chiefs of Service Committee's diversity and inclusion panel, and the NSW Government’s join partnership working group overseeing refugee resettlement.
Violet writes a regular blog here and you can follow her on Twitter @CEO_Roumeliotis.
Chief of Staff
Katia Kullengren
Katia is a senior leader with over a decade’s experience leading and building high-performance teams, delivering business improvements and leading complex change initiatives across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
She is an experienced manager with a strong focus on continuous improvement, stakeholder and project management, and has a successful track record in creating and bringing together strategy, operations and people.
Reporting to the CEO, she helps drive the successful delivery of SSI’s many initiatives from development through to successful execution.
Katia is passionate about ballet and founded a small NFP (Ballet Without Borders) that brings ballet education to children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience this art form. She holds a Diploma in Commerce, Graduate Certificate in Business Management and an MBA.
General Manager,
Newcomers, Settlement and Integration
Yamamah Agha
Yamamah joined SSI in 2011 as the Manager of the Humanitarian Settlement Program gaining extensive experience in team leadership, program management and stakeholder engagement.
Yamamah Agha leads all of SSI’s Settlement Programs (HSP), which supports newcomers and other vulnerable Australians to prosper. With over 15 years’ of experience assisting new arrivals to settle in Australia, Yamamah has a strong passion for delivering social justice to refugees and vulnerable groups in need. She has a particular interest in women's rights and supporting and empowering refugee women and their families to reach their potential.
General Manager,
Service Delivery - Community
Andrew Baechle
Andrew has served as an executive in government, professional services firms and international affairs. He worked in the United States, India and UAE before settling in Australia.
As an Executive Director with the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, Andrew led strategic policy, program design, service delivery reform and Aboriginal Affairs teams across diverse portfolios including child and family services, disability, health services, mental health, AOD, housing and homelessness. As a Director with Deloitte Australia, Andrew worked with federal and state government agencies including the federal Department of Social Services, federal Department of Industry, and NSW Department of Communities and Justice to implement top strategy, policy and service delivery priorities. Andrew also supported the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.
He recently served as an Executive Director with the NSW Government in emergency management, leading regional and local operations in community recovery. Andrew also served with the United States Department of State in national security, and he has further experience in international development.
The Service Delivery Community Division encompasses the program and service areas of Multicultural Child and Family (including Out of Home Care); NDIS - Partners In the Community Local Area Coordination; Employment Services in NSW, Queensland and Victoria; and the Practice Management Unit including clinical psychologists and DFV specialists.
General Manager,
Corporate Services
Ram Neupane
Ram has a proven track record of strong strategic thinking, innovation, change management, commercial astuteness and leadership roles across the core disciplines of finance, IT, governance, procurement and risk management in both commercial and NFP organisations in Australia and globally. Ram has led overall operations of diverse nature of NFP organisations, transformed financial management systems from routine accounting functions to highly valued business partnerships, developed and implemented risk management systems, undertaken value for money and impact assessments, and developed and implemented business processes to scale up organisational capacity to effectively deliver services. He held similar roles in Habitat for Humanity Australia, The Fred Hollows Foundation and Camp Quality Limited, prior to joining SSI.
Ram brings a wealth of experience in international development. Ram has worked in Australia and more than 70 countries in Asia, the Pacific, Africa, South America and Europe in different capacities for UN organisations (such as UNAIDS, UNICEF, WHO), bi-lateral organisations (such as DFID, Sida, CIDA, SDC, DFAT), inter-governmental organisations such as Partners in Population & Development (PPD), INGOs (such as International Planned Parenthood Federation, International Federation of Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity International, Marie Stopes International, and Save the Children) in leading the delivery of services and programs, undertaking independent monitoring and evaluation, value for money assessments and developing and assisting in the implementation of Strategic Plan.
Ram is a qualified Chartered Accountant trained with Deloitte, a member of CPA Australia, holds a PhD degree and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
State Director & GM Clients, Partnerships & Business Growths
Sonia Vignjevic
Sonia holds a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology & Human Movement, Graduate Diploma in International Law, Post Graduate Certificate in Trauma Counselling & Psychotherapy, Registered Migration Agent and former Victorian Multicultural Commissioner.
Sonia is an executive manager with over 20 years’ experience and has significant skills and knowledge of the multicultural sector, migration and settlement. She has strong leadership, strategic and stakeholder engagement skills; and a proven track record in developing and maintaining effective partnerships with key stakeholders including all tiers of International bodies, Government, academia and civil society.
She started her professional career working at:
- an ethno specific small NGO organisation
- moved to a Migrant Resource Centre
- then worked at a large International NGO
- followed by an Advisory role to the CEO of a large Community Service Organisation
- held the position of interim CEO at a community service organisation
- Director at a Community Legal Centre &
- Currently holds a dual role at Settlement Services International of State Director and General Manager Clients, Partnerships & Business Growth.
She is currently a member of the following bodies/institutions:
- Australian Financial Complaints Authority Advisory committee
- Multicultural Business Ministerial Advisory council
- Member of the UNHCR’s NGO Partnership Branch Network
- Diaspora Humanitarian Advisory Board – Australian Council Linkage Project on Diaspora Humanitarians: How Australia-based migrants help in crises abroad. Research Partnership with Monash, Deakin Uni, RCOA
- Board Member at the Centre for Social Purpose
- Board Member of the Banyule Community Health Centre
General Manager People and Culture
Caroline Reid
Caroline is a senior human resources professional with experience in industries such as construction, professional services, infrastructure, telecommunications, banking and the community sector.
She is confident in building strong stakeholder relationships, leading teams, managing critical conversations, engaging employees, developing leaders and organisational capability, creating inclusion, attracting talent, building commercial acumen and embedding flexible workforce planning.