Our Board

Michelle Bissett

Chair

Michelle has an extensive history of working in industrial relations with 30 years spent in the trade union movement, including eight years as a Senior Industrial Officer at the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and over 13 years as a Commissioner of the Fair Work Commission.

Since her retirement from the Fair Work Commission in 2023, she has worked as a consultant primarily in the employment related field, providing services to both the Victorian and ACT Governments. She is also a member of the Board of the Victorian Public Tenants Association.

Stephen Somerville

Deputy Chair

Stephen Somerville is counsel (Australia) in the pro bono practice of Ashurst.

Stephen is a pro bono lawyer with over 10 years of experience developing and managing pro bono practices. Stephen develops and co-ordinates pro bono opportunities including strategic projects, referrals, secondments and legal clinics.

Stephen has been on the board of a number of community legal centres (CLCs) and the Australian Pro Bono Centre. Stephen has also completed a number of pro bono secondments with CLCs including the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and Justice Connect Homeless Law.

Umeya Chaudhuri

Secretary

Umeya Chaudhuri (she/her) is a proud unionist and mid-career lawyer at the Australian Education Union (Victorian Branch) servicing the largest public sector teaching workforce in Australia. Being an experienced social policy researcher, legal practitioner in the community legal sector, both regionally (Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia) and in a metropolitan area (Redfern Legal Centre), as well as in private practice and the trade union movement, Umeya has significant experience and understanding of social justice movement lawyering, policy development and law reform. She continues to volunteer as a solicitor with Redfern Legal Centre and on a Human Research Ethics Committee in the tertiary sector. 

Jenny Si

Board Member

Jenny is a lawyer at JT Lawyers, a boutique law firm in the Melbourne CBD where she practises in the areas of property, commercial and retail leasing, business sales and acquisitions, dispute resolution, succession planning and probate and estate administration. Previously she worked in an in-house legal team with a property management focus and a law firm in Ascot Vale. Jenny was a volunteer of over 10 years and Secretary of the Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre before the organisation's merger with Inner Melbourne Community Legal.

Kenneth Cheng

Board Member

Kenneth has worked in the public sector since 2014, with most of his time in Victoria's health and human services sector.  This experience strengthened Kenneth's understanding of evidence translation, novel funding structures, program monitoring, outcomes frameworks, and evaluations. Kenneth has 15 years experience in the commercial sector, with a particular focus in business development and management. Kenneth was also a volunteer at the Flemington Kensington Community Legal Centre before becoming a board member.  

Aileen Ashford

Board Member

Aileen is an experienced Board Director and CEO with four decades of experience in non-profit organizations focussed on social justice. Her expertise includes governance, strategy, mergers, financial stewardship and community engagement.

She has held significant roles as CEO at Kids First Australia and the Tasmanian Children’s Commissioner and has collaborated with various organisations to reform public policy and service delivery for families. She currently chairs the Early Learning Association Australia and has extensive governance experience through her roles in various peak bodies and government councils.

Luke White

Treasurer

Luke is an experienced finance and governance professional having worked over a decade in the public sector, alongside roles in shared services and consulting organisations. His financial expertise spans planning, insights, systems and data, and includes leading and mentoring teams over many years.

Passionate about fairness in justice and the important role community organisations have in building cohesive societies, Luke brings with him prior Board experience from Melbourne Community Television Consortium (2015-2018), as well as volunteer experience with sporting groups and owners corporations.

Luke is a Chartered Accountant, with a Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Arts, and Master of Management.