About Us - Membership

The State Training Board is comprised of members, appointed by the Minister, for their industry expertise and their ability to make a high level contribution to the strategic direction of the State's vocational education and training system. The following people have been appointed to the State Training Board by the Minister for Training for a period of three years, with the Chair for a period of five years.

	Chair: Mr Keith Spence, FAIM Biography: Mr Keith Spence has been reappointed for a second term, up to a five year period. Keith is currently on several other Boards and Committees, including Skills Australia, many of which are directly related to the training sector. Keith is a non-executive director of Clough Ltd, Geodynamics and GESB ML. Until his recent retirement Keith held the position of Executive Vice President Enterprise Capability at Woodside Energy Limited having been with Woodside for fourteen years. Mr Keith Spence has brought to the Board extensive knowledge of the Resource Industry having had thirty years experience in the oil and gas industry.
	Member: Mike DEEKS, CSC MMgmt, BA, FAICD Biography: Mr Mike Deeks had a long and successful naval career retiring from the Defence Forces in January 2005. Mike then became Chairman of a West Australian based resources and defence technology company. In addition, he has undertaken consultancy work for the WA Government in the area of marine and defence industry development. Mike is currently employed as Western Australia's Site Executive for Raytheon Australia. He is the Deputy Chair of the Challenger TAFE Governing Council. Mr Mike Deeks is in his first term of office as a member of the State Training Board having been appointed from 2008-2010.
	Member: Simone McGurk Biography: Ms Simone McGurk is the current Secretary for UnionsWA with a long association with the union movement in Australia. Simone was one of the first women to be elected as an office bearer for the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union. Simone has also had experience in media, working as a radio producer in the city and in regional WA.
	Member: Audrey Jackson Biography: Ms Jackson has had a long career in secondary education including 14 years in the position of Principal of Saint Mary’s Anglican School in Karrinyup. Most recently she was Executive Director of the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia, a position that she held for 11 years. Audrey has served on a number of Boards and governing bodies including the Council of Curtin University of Technology as both a member and Pro-Chancellor, the Council of West Coast College of TAFE and the Board of SCITECH of which she was Chair for four years.
	Member: Dr Susan Gordon AM (Mrs Sue Gordon) Biography: Dr Susan Gordon was the Magistrate of the Children's Court, Western Australia for over 20 years retiring in 2008. Susan was the Chairperson of the Northern Territory Emergency Response Taskforce, a member of the Western Australia Indigenous Implementation Board, member of various National and State Councils/Boards and a member of the Australian Employment Covenant Steering Committee. In 1993 Susan was awarded an Order of Australia - Australian Medal for her commitment to Aboriginal people and community affairs. Susan was also awarded a Centenary Medal in 2003 and the Defence Service Medal in 2006. Susan has a Bachelor of Laws and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters, from the University of Western Australia. Susan has been a long term advocate of Indigenous and children's issues (Chaired the 'Gordon Inquiry' in 2002) and has worked in the Pilbara region for a period covering 15 years from the early 1970s.
	Member: Steven Peck Biography: Mr Steven Peck was the former Managing Director of a Mandurah building company. Throughout Steven’s building career he has been actively involved in associated Boards and Committees. Steven was President of the Master Builders’ Association of WA from 2006 – 2007. Currently Steven occupies a number of Board member and Chair positions including that of the Builders’ Registration Board and the BCITF Careers Promotion Committee.
	Member: Geoffrey Wrigley Biography: During Mr Geoff Wrigley’s career he has been a member of several industry related Committees and Boards, some of which were Ministerial appointments such as Industry Training Councils, the Aboriginal Employment Promotional Committee, Electrical Licensing Board and Trade Recognition Australia. Mr Wrigley is currently Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Chief Commerical Officer. He has had diverse practical experience in the oil and gas sector in trade, supervisory and management roles.
	Member: Jane McMeikan Biography: Ms Jane McMeikan is the current Director External Relations at Curtin University of Technology providing strategic, innovative leadership and management in the development of relationships between the university and the government, community and industry sectors. Jane brings to the Board a strong focus on regional education as she is involved with regional and remote communities to develop community capacity building projects which target education and employment outcomes to address regional skills shortages. From 2001 – 2005 Jane held the position of Campus Manager of Curtin University’s Goldfields Campus.
	Member: Dr Greg Lewis Biography: Greg Lewis is a clinical and educational psychologist who has worked in the disability employment and training field since 1979. In 1984 Dr Lewis established EDGE Employment Solutions Inc., the first and one of the largest disability employment agencies in Australia. From 1987 to 1995 he served as Director of Country Services and Local Area Co-ordination with the WA Disability Services Commission. In 1996 he established My Place (WA) Pty Ltd, an individualised accommodation service for people with disability. Dr Lewis currently serves as Executive Chairman of My Place (WA) Pty Ltd and Executive Director of EDGE Employment Solutions Inc. He is also adjunct Associate Professor at the Centre for Research into Disability and Society at Curtin University of Technology. Dr Lewis is immediate past president of National Disability Services, the national peak body for disability services.