Our Team

The Management Committee

Hanna Hegan Ngatai

President

Hanna is of the Ngati Porou tribe in Aotearoa New Zealand. Trained in theatre and the arts, she has worked professionally in the film and television industry before starting her own media agency. Having spent four years building and running her company, Hanna is an experienced strategist and creative thinker, working with international clients to help realise their brand mission. She is passionate about supporting women and started a Female Founders network to help women succeed in business.
Prior to that, she held roles in the not for profit sector at Oxfam and also within large corporate organisations in marketing and communications. She now splits her time between Asia and New Zealand.

In joining LOA, Hanna is focused on protecting young and vulnerable women and helping them not only to thrive but to realise their own innate power and potential.

Sarah Mist

Vice President

Sarah has lived and worked in various cultures since her early twenties. This has been formative in her intent to support women. Her understanding of the social and culture pressures have broadened in the way women are affected the world over. Having a background in the arts and graphic design created an avenue for working in the community development sector through Indigenous art organisations. In particular she worked at Kimberley TAFE engaging Australian Indigenous youth/girls via innovative and creative projects to stimulate further training and employment opportunities.

Currently she is responsible for the management of two post-earthquake education programs in Nepal for Khyentse Foundation.

She lives with her family between Australia and Asia is looking forward to working with LOANZ to empower young marginalised women through education.

Portait Heidi Wu

Heidi Wu

Treasurer

Heidi is an experienced analyst in Finance, with a history of working in a fast-paced investment bank as well as commercial banks, especially in the Treasure Team.
She also has a strong IT background with many years of experience as a software developer. She holds a master’s degree in Law and a bachelor’s degree in Computing Science, which brings LOA a variety of expertise.
Currently, she works in the public sector in New Zealand. She cares about women’s and children’s rights and believes that girls’ education is the first priority for many countries.

Portrait Aniko Papp

Aniko Papp

Governance Officer

Aniko graduated from the University of Technology Sydney with a degree in law and has been practising as a solicitor for over 30 years, being admitted to the NSW Supreme Court and High Court in 1988. She joins LOA after being the deputy Managing Lawyer of NAAFLS, which is an NGO providing legal services to Indigenous clients in NT remote communities, predominately in the field of women’s rights, family violence, victims of crime, family law, child protection. Prior to that, Aniko was in private practise in NSW and has experience in almost every aspect of the law.

Aniko has been on the board of organisations ARD Australia (now called Women’s Empowerment in Indian Villages) and the Northern Rivers Music Conservatorium. WEIV works in remote villages in Bihar India and is focussed primarily in providing literacy and numeracy classes, child health and reproductive support groups to mainly Dalit girls and women. Aniko is passionate about empowering girls and women through support and education. Aniko was a fundraiser, treasurer and social media person for the Lismore Greens for over 5 years.

In her spare time, she writes articles, loves to swim, sail, snorkel, play the piano, paint & hike. She is currently training lawyers in a practice in Townsville.

Madeleine Lawler

Secretary

Madeleine works for the Shire Council in Winton, Queensland. She has had broad ranging career where she has worked for all three sectors, private, non-profit and government. She has a passion for young people, education, mental health and effective public service delivery. She wrote her PhD on social enterprise organisations working with disengaged young people. With her background in management consulting and project management, she has a diverse and flexible skill set to bring to LOA. She has also worked as a lecturer in Victoria in the disciplines of community development, youth work and criminal justice.

Maria Berry

Donor Manager

Maria is a doctor of Chinese medicine and has completed Asian studies in London and China.
While living and working in Asia she and her husband adopted a young girl from a Khmer orphanage. Back home in Australia she and her family are very aware of the privilege that free education, healthcare and other supports offers our children.
Maria wants to offer some of her good fortune to her adopted child’s Khmer peers.
She is inspired by what LOA offers its scholarship girls and is moved by the donors who give so generously and graciously.

Charlie Cristi

Cambodia Liaison & Child Protection Officer

Charlie lived in Phnom Penh for many years, after going to Cambodia in 2010 as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development for AUS Aid. During this time she helped set up the English Language Program for Lotus Outreach Australia. She subsequently worked closely with LO Australia and LO Cambodia as a volunteer, at the same time as working as a teacher of Art and Design at one of the British International Schools.

She then spent 3 years working with the Ministry of Education in Bhutan, developing programs for children with special educational needs, before moving to Wellington, NZ where she currently works with the Department of Education on special needs programs.

Charlie also sits on the board of LOCAM.

Jane Lyttleton

Advisor to the Board

Jane Lyttleton is an author, teacher and practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  She trained in genetics and biochemistry at the University of London, and studied TCM in Australia and China. She lectures at universities in Sydney and internationally, and sits on the Board of NICM at Western Sydney University where she is an Adjunct Fellow. Jane has long been dedicated to the education and health of women and children. She helped establish Lotus Outreach Australia in 2004 after she and a group of Lotus Outreach members traveled to Thailand and Cambodia meeting local groups working to combat sex trafficking. She was President of LOA from 2014 – 2021 and prior to that the Vice President.

Anna Harper

Lotus Outreach International Liaison

Anna Harper leads her consulting firm, Cultural Shapeshifters, working with Australian and International Businesses and Organisations, and with the UN. She specialises in developing global leaders for the future.  She has a B.Fine Arts, M.Arts in Chaos, Complexity and Creativity, and M.Applied Science. Her mission is to contribute to making the world more equal, fairer and sustainable. She is committed to helping at-risk Cambodian girls gain safe, fulfilled and independent lives. Anna was Treasurer for Lotus Outreach Australia from 2004- 2012, and President from 2012 to 2014. She sits on the board of Lotus Outreach International.

In Country Sub-committee

Pisey Chea

LOCAM officer

Pisey is from Banteay Meanchey Province, north Cambodia on the border with Thailand. She was selected into the Girls’ Access To Education (GATE) program when she was in 9th grade and has been supported by Lotus Outreach until the completion of her schooling and degree. In the past, Pisey has volunteered in many capacities including data collection, advocacy and non-formal education. In 2016 Pisey started working part-time with CWCC as a community organizing (CO) staff member. This project allowed her to work with youth, villagers, and local authorities. All these experiences built her passion for teaching and mentoring children, youth and women. Pisey joined the Lotus Outreach Cambodia office in March 2017.

Raksmey Var

In Country Representative, Cambodia

Raksmey first volunteered as a teacher and mentor for a youth group providing social services to poor children, where she taught kids about children’s rights. While also working as an English teacher at a private school, Raksmey decided she wanted to do more to help children. Raksmey completed her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting in 2004 at the National University of Management in Cambodia. In 2007, she received her Master’s in Gender and Development Studies from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand. Raksmey’s particular areas of focus include children’s education, child and youth mobility and employment, livelihood development, child labor, human trafficking and sexual exploitation.