OUR TEAM

Jay Emmanuel -
Artistic Director/CEO

Born in India and based in Australia, Jay is an internationally acclaimed performer, writer, and director; and is currently the Artistic Director of Encounter. Jay migrated to Australia in 2009 and is a graduate of the Jacques Lecoq School in Paris.
He recently featured in: *Mahabharata* Why Not Theatre & Barbican Centre, *Sunset development*, Footscray Community Arts; *Beneath the Music*, Belvoir St Theatre/Co-Curious; *Counting and Cracking*, Belvoir St., Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival; *Heroes Prélude*, Cent Quatre Paris, Inua Ellam’s The Midnight Run (walking arts/cultural journey), Perth Festival. He wrote and directed: *The Tides of Longing*, Western Australian Symphony Orchestra; *Children of the Sea*, Encounter / Perth Festival; *The Midnight March*, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts; MAA, St George’s Dance & Theatre, *Biryani*, Perth Winter Arts Festival.
Jay’s artistic practice is committed to community empowerment using participatory theatre-making processes through the community arts and cultural development (CACD) space to facilitate expression for communities to tell their stories. Through engagement with moral dilemmas around race, identity, gender, sexuality, and social exclusion, Jay’s work focuses on creating safe spaces for communities, especially young people from migrant, refugee and queer communities to speak their truth and amplify their voices..

OUR BOARD

Karl Matacz
- Chair

Karl is a Fellow Certified Practising Accountant (FCPA), the Principal CFO at the CFO Centre. With over 30 years of local and international chief executive and chief financial officer experience across a broad range of business functions in the electricity, water and telecommunications sectors, Karl worked in government trading entities and publicly listed companies with board roles in Australia and overseas. As CFO of Synergy, the state energy generator, wholesaler and retailer in Western Australia, Karl had direct responsibility for managing the company’s strategic financial planning, business reporting, financial accounting, treasury, tax, energy trading risk, and strategic procurement activities.

Frances Robinson - Deputy Chair

Frances is an experienced Producer who has worked across leading cultural institutions, including the Tate Galleries, Biennale of Sydney and most recently Australia Council for the Arts. She is currently Lead Program Producer at Next Wave.
Frances’ practice is driven by an unwavering commitment to fairness and societal equity, particularly for/with d/Deaf and disabled artists and leaders. She sees her role as a connector and space-creator and is dedicated to supporting the development of others.
Cultivating care as a form of advocacy is embedded across her work and relationships. Frances is interested in creating pathways within our sector that imagine new collective futures that prioritise reciprocity, generosity and equity.

Emiko Watanabe - Secretary

Emiko is a planning and environmental lawyer who is passionate about the arts in Boorloo (Perth). She has a Bachelor of Laws with Distinction from Murdoch University and a Graduate Diploma in Arts Management from WAAPA. Prior to law, Emiko has over 10 years of arts and community sector experience including as a director of Paper Mountain, an events manager at the Northbridge Piazza working collaboratively with community organisations, and a broadcaster at RTRFM. She has also worked with AGWA, Perth Centre for Photography, Revelation Perth International Film Festival, and Fringe World. Emiko is currently completing the 2021 Office of Multicultural Interests (WA) Leadership and Governance Program.

Yen Lee - Treasurer

Yen is a Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) and a recipient of the CPA WA award. Yen brings financial management expertise gained from senior roles within the mining, agriculture and chemical industries over the last 15 years. Yen’s experience includes managing customer service, project management and business improvement teams. Yen is currently a Commercial Advisor at Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers focusing on developing commercial opportunities. Yen has a deep appreciation for the arts, especially theatre, and also enjoys bushwalking in her spare time.

Caroline Wood

Caroline is co-founder and CEO of the Centre for Stories. Caroline has decades of diverse professional experience spanning academia, publishing, and advocacy. She has held senior management positions at the University of Western Australia and has served on the boards of Amnesty International Australia, Small Publishers Network and Margaret River Augusta Tourism Association. She was Chair of Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival and is also the co-founder and director of Margaret River Press.

Josianne Fortin

Josianne is a transformation and technology professional with a Masters in International Relations from San Francisco State University, and a Bachelors in Communication from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Having lived and worked in multiple countries, Josianne brings a global perspective to her work and community engagement. Hailing from a Native American (Wendat) background she is passionate about leveraging storytelling as a powerful tool to connect humans. Josianne has held various senior positions at Synergy before joining Woodside Energy, where she is currently Head of Digital Delivery, Platforms, and Software Engineering.