Mark was appointed as Chair of the Board in 2008, after four years as Honorary Treasurer.

Mark is Victorian State General Manager for Westpac Banking Corp. He has over 30 years experience in financial services, leading businesses in Australia and internationally. Mark holds a Master's in Banking Management from Macquarie Graduate School of Management.

Aleem was appointed to the Board in March 2008. Aleem is the co-founder and CEO of Speak Out Limited (SpeakOut), an independent social enterprise that nurtures the creativity and participation of young people, creating opportunities for them to change their world. SpeakOut was one of the first enterprises funded by the Foundation through the Breakthrough Program, in 2001.

With over 15 years experience in the business, community, cultural and government sectors, he has consulted for and been contracted to, Brisbane City Council, Youth Arts Queensland, Federal and State Government Departments, small to medium enterprises and Community organisations.

In 2007, Aleem was awarded the Lord Mayor's Australia Day Achievement Award for Outstanding Work in the Community.

Adam is one of Australia’s youngest CEOs, leading the Foundation for Young Australians. An outstanding advocate for youth development, education and strategic philanthropy, his views have been widely represented across the Australian and international media landscape. He is former CEO of Education Foundation Australia, a founding board member of Changemakers Australia and Director of the US-based International Youth Foundation. In recent years Adam’s work has been acknowledged through three nominations for Young Australian of the Year and he was a recipient of a 2004 Celebrating Melbourne Award. In 2008, Adam was selected by the Australian Financial Reviews BOSS Magazine as one of Australia’s six Young Executives of the Year.

Jason was appointed to the Board in May 2005, and is also a member of The Foundation's Youth Change Makers Committee. Jason was previously a member of the challenge ya! and NSW Committees.

Jason works at Singleton Ogilvy & Mather, an advertising agency in Sydney, and has previously worked at News Digital Media, NetX & Tribal DDB Amsterdam. He is currently completing an arts/law degree.

He was previously a Director of the Youth Action & Policy Association (YAPA), the peak representative body in NSW for young people and youth workers, and Marketing Officer for the Australian Law Students Association (ALSA), the peak representative body for law students across Australia.

Min was appointed to the Board in May 2005 and is a member of The Foundation’s South Australian Ambassador Committee. He was previously a member of The Foundation’s Partnership Grants, On Track and South Australian State committees.

In 2002 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to youth and the community. In 2006 he co-founded the Public Interest Legal Trust, which provides educational and professional development programs for law students and young lawyers.

Min is a qualified engineer and is also completing an honours degree in law.
Min has been a past Vice-President and Treasurer of the Youth Affairs Council of South Australia

Felix was appointed to the Board in May 2006. Felix recently completed a Paramedic / Training & Development degree. He has previously worked with young people in a training, self-development, consultative and health setting.

Felix was privileged to have been selected as the Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year for 2006.

Jenny was appointed to the Board of Directors late in 2007. Jenny is a paediatrician and adolescent health physician at the Centre for Adolescent Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. She is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne.

Jenny holds a medical degree from the University of Melbourne and a Master Degree of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health, majoring in health policy and management.

Jenny is currently President of the Paediatric and Child Health Division and serves on the Board executive at the Royal Australian College of Physicians.

Aaron Ross was appointed to the Board of The Foundation in 2007. Aaron is a Biri Gubba man with family throughout far north Queensland. Starting out as a volunteer on Brisbane public radio, he has continued to work in the media and communications industry for almost 20 years.

Aaron helped establish the national radio program Speaking Out at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He has worked to promote and defend Aboriginal Affairs in the media for organisations including the NSW Land Council and ATSIC, and worked on campaigns including the Stolen Generations, Sorry Day and Native Title.

Over the past eight years he has been employed by the NSW Government as a media advisor, and as Director of Communications for the Northern Territory Government.

Ellen Koshland founded the Education Foundation in 1989 as an independent trust to enable community support for public education. Since then the foundation has grown to a national organization with programs operating in every state, raising its funds from corporate Australia, philanthropic trusts, governments and individuals seeking to make a difference to the life chances of young people.

In 2008 the Education Foundation and The Foundation for Young Australians formed an alliance bringing together an impressive range of capabilities in the youth and education sectors, in which Ellen now serves on the Board of Directors.

Ellen has also served as Victorian Co Chair of Anti Poverty Week 2007, Deputy Chair of the Victorian Schools Innovation Commission 2001-2006, and gave the Ronald Henderson Oration in 2006.

Ellen Koshland is a much loved and respected Melbournian who embodies what it means to be an active community citizen.

Tony Mackay joined FYA's Board of Directors in September 2008. Tony brings his specialised skills in the areas of school and system leadership, improvement and innovation from his vast experience working at state, national and international education levels.

Tony is currently Executive Director of the Melbourne based Centre for Strategic Education, Australia, which focuses on leading educational thinking and practice. He is an Honorary Fellow in the Faculty of Education at The University of Melbourne, and Deputy Chair of the Australian Government's new National Curriculum Board.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER); a Board Member of The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Education; a member of the Advisory Board of the Asia Education Foundation (AEF); a Committee Member of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), and a Governing Body member of a Prep to Year 12 Melbourne school.

Danita Lowes has extensive experience at the senior executive and non-executive director levels of organizations focused on the areas of telecommunications and media. She has worked in senior roles in the United States, Australia and Japan. Previous positions include Managing Director for Telstra Mobiles, Managing Director for Telstra Broadband/Media, Senior Advisor to NTT DoCoMo and Strategic Advisor to the Executive Director of Seven Network. She began her career as a consultant with McKinsey & Company in New York, Sydney and Melbourne.

Danita has a Juris Doctorate (Honours) from Stanford University, a Diploma in Legal Studies from Oxford University and a Bachelor of Science (Highest Honours) in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.

Danita is also a member of the Board of Governors for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.