Our Board of Directors, management and staff are committed to the delivery of responsive and comprehensive services to young people and our communities in accordance with our organisation's vision, purpose and values. The professionalism, drive and shared values of our teams, some of whom are featured below, provide safe, welcoming, youth-focussed services to young people and young families.
Executive Leadership

Donna Bennett
Chief Executive Officer
Donna Bennett has in excess of 25 years experience managing and delivering transitional, outreach and crisis accommodation services to young people including families and she has made a significant contribution in the Homelessness Sector via capacity building, community development and systems development.
Donna has established leadership and strategic development skills and has been CEO of Hope Street since 2000.
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Ulrike Read
Financial Manager
Ulrike Read commenced at Hope Street in the role of Financial Manager in January 2019. Ulrike comes to Hope Street with more than 20 years' executive management, finance and operations experience working with large corporate and small not-for-profit organisations.
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Frank Scifo
Business Development and Partnerships Manager
Frank Scifo commences at Hope Street in the role of Business Development and Partnerships Manager in January 2021. Frank has accumulated more than 10 years of experience in senior leadership roles that have included sales, marketing, and business development responsibilities. Frank’s experience extends across multiple sectors including business events, learning and development, and hospitality.
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Jen McAughtrie
Operations Manager
Jen McAughtrie commenced at Hope Street in the role of Operations Manager in May 2019. Jen has over eleven years of senior leadership experience in the care sector focusing specifically on Criminal Justice and Family, Children and Adult Services. She most recently worked with Carers Victoria as a Senior Manager of Client Services and prior to this she was the Operations Manager at Partners for Inclusion and Aberlour.
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Carla Reid
People and Culture Manager
Carla Reid joined Hope Street as the People and Culture Manager in March 2020. Carla has over 15 years’ experience in Human Resources, the majority of those spent in the Not for Profit Sector. Carla has an Honours Degree in Human Resources and is a member of the Australian HR Institute (AHRI).
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Program Leadership
Citshela Ndlovu, Programs Manager (North West)
Citshela Ndlovu joined Hope Street in September 2019 and has several years of experience in program management, team management and client-centered case management in the not-for-profit sector in Australia and New Zealand.
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Program Teams
Below are some of our team members who are helping young people and young famiilies find a safe place to call home.
Matthew Johnston, Case Manager
I have been working in the community services field, across quite varied environments, for 7 years which has proven to be both challenging and rewarding. These areas have been composed of working with young people in correctional settings, the Education First Youth Foyer model and now as a case manager at Hope Street's Brunswick West Youth Refuge.
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Co-located Program Teams
Team members from the following partnering organisations work closely with Hope Street. These partnerships enhance our capacity to provide specialist services in response to the complex needs of young people and young families experiencing homelessness.
- NorthWestern Mental Health (NWMH): A Homeless Youth Dual Diagnosis Initiative (HYDDI) Practitioner from NWMH's Substance Use and Mental Illness Treatment Team (SUMITT), co-located at Hope Street, provides specialist clinical dual diagnosis support to youth homelessness services in the north of Melbourne.
- Bolton Clarke: An onsite specialist youth-focussed nurse from their Homeless Persons Program assists with general health assessments of our young people and makes appropriate referrals to specialist health care, including dental, optical, pathology, sexual health, and pregnancy/parenting support.
Hope Street's partnerships with other community organisations provides additional specialist services to assist young people in areas such as legal issues support, housing and tenancy management, budgeting, and life skills education to prepare them for independent living.