About Us

IMAGINATION. COURAGE. INTEGRITY. RESPECT.

We have humble beginnings and solid foundations. Established in 1981 as the Illawarra Children’s Services Action Group, we sought to bring positive, lasting change to the Illawarra region through active campaigning for the rights of families to affordable early education and care.

Big Fat Smile is a not-for-profit community-owned, industry leading provider of child education, care, recreation, cultural and inclusion services in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Fast forward 37-years, and we have grown into one of the largest and most respected providers of early education and inclusion services in our region. We exist for children and families, working to provide access to the highest quality early education and care in Australia. In fact, quality is central to everything we do.

We’re about fun, creativity, learning and leadership.

Board of directors

Big Fat Smile is governed by an elected Board of Directors. Their role and responsibility is to establish the strategic direction of the organisation, ensure an effective framework for the management of risk, and oversee executive and business performance.

Board Chair & Non Executive Director
David Campbell
David Campbell
M Mgt, FAICD
- Board Chair
- Non Executive Director of Big Fat Smile Group Ltd. since 2014
- Chair, Governance, Nominations & Remuneration Committee
- Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee Member
- Retired Member of Parliament
Deputy Chair & Non Executive Director
Louise Meyrick
Louise Meyrick
M Comm, M. Dispute Resol, BA, Dip Ed
- Board Deputy Chair & Deputy President
- Non Executive Director of Big Fat Smile Group Ltd. since 2014
- Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee Member
- Senior Consultant, Policy & Planning Specialist
Non Executive Director
Ken Whitton
Ken Whitton
MBA, Grad Dip (Fin Plan), B Commerce
- Non Executive Director of Big Fat Smile Group Ltd. since 2015
- Chair, Governance, Nominations & Remuneration Committee
- Senior Policy Advisor, Superannuation Peak Body
Non Executive Director
Tony Deliseo
Tony Deliseo
B.Sc (Physics), Cert IV TAE, GAICD
- Non Executive Director of Big Fat Smile Group Ltd. since 2015
- Chair, Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee
- Asia Pacific CEO, International Software Group
Non Executive Director
Sophie Ray
Sophie Ray
BA (Hons) LLB (Hons) Grad Dip Leg Studs, GAICD
- Non Executive Director of Big Fat Smile Group Ltd. since 2016
- Governance, Nominations & Remuneration Committee Member
- Director & business owner
Non Executive Director
Vanessa Bourne
Vanessa Bourne
BA LLB EMBA FGIA, MAICD
- Non Executive Director of Big Fat Smile Group Ltd. since 2016
- Governance, Nominations & Remuneration Committee Member
- Executive Director, Higher Education Sector

Executive Leadership

Big Fat Smile is led by a senior executive group, based at the organisation’s central HQ in Corrimal.

CEO
Jenni Hutchins
Jenni Hutchins
B Arts (Welf, Psych), PG Dip (Child & Family, Psych, Intern Psychologist), R.Psych
- CEO
- Chair, Senior Executive Group
General Manager, Governance & Risk
Angela Taylor
Angela Taylor
BA/LLB (Hons), LLM (App Law) (Inhouse Practice)
- General Manager, Governance & Risk
- Company Secretary
- General Counsel
- Member, Senior Executive Group
General Manager, Operations
Melissa Woodhouse
Melissa Woodhouse
Dip (Children’s Services), Grad Dip (Public Sector Management), Cert IV Training and Assessment
- General Manager, Operations
- Member, Senior Executive Group
Chief Financial Officer
Ben Marsh
Ben Marsh
BA MCom EMBA FCPA
- Chief Financial Officer
- Member, Senior Executive Group
Pedagogical Thinker in Residence
Michele Peden
Michele Peden
Associate Diploma of Social Science (Child Studies), BEt(EC), Cert IV Workplace Training Category 2, GDipAdultEd, Cert IV Training and Assessment, MEd(EC)
- Pedagogical Thinker in Residence
- Member, Senior Executive Group