Our Board

The Community Management Solutions Board of Management is made up of nine (9) members of the Association.

Board members are elected via a secret postal ballot of the financial members of the Association. Elections are held in the month of September in an election year — elections are held every three years.

Community Management Solutions is incorporated under the Fair Work Act 2009. The Community Management Solutions rules state that membership is to be made up of Ordinary, Associate and Life Members. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is held in June each year.

Community Management Solutions Board of Management

President – Deborah Ponting – MIM, BA, BEdSt, DipEd, AAlIA

Vice President – Jennifer O’Brien – BCom, CA

Secretary – Kim Teague – LLB, DipLegPrac

Treasurer – Lyanna George -BPurMath, BBus, MAppSci

Board Member – Peter Hoens – BAE, MEd

Board Member – Chris Hutton – BPsych MBus (AppFin)

Board Member – Christine Yates – PhD, MInfoTech, BBus

Board Member – Georgina Peereboom – LLB (Hons), BBusMan

Board Member – James Ponting BInfoTech

Deborah Ponting-President

Deborah Ponting joined the CMSolutions Board in 1991 and has served as President since 2015. Deborah had previously served as President between 2003 and 2008 and Vice President between 2008 and 2015. In 2019 Deborah was appointed to the marketing committee of NGS Super, and in 2022 a board member of NGS super. Deborah’s associations with kindergartens and childcare, including Linfield, Vice-president of Beenleigh Family Day Care and life membership of Bethlehem Lutheran Kindergarten. Deborah holds Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Educational Studies and Post Graduate Diploma of Education degrees from the University of Queensland and a Master of Information Management degree from Queensland University of Technology. Deborah is also an Associate Member of ALIA and an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has extensive experience as a Secondary School teacher and librarian, and sessional lecturer and researcher at Queensland University of Technology.

Jennifer O'Brien - Vice President

Jenny O’Brien has been a Board member since 2007 and was appointed Treasurer in 2008. In 2018 Jenny was appointed Vice President. Jenny has previously been a Board Member of Lifeline Brisbane. Jenny was employed as a Senior Manager in the accounting and advisory firm KPMG. She was with KPMG for more than 24 years. Jenny brings a wealth of accounting experience to the Board but also has experience serving on a C&K Kindy Committee for three years and a School-Age Child Care Service Committee. Jenny graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from James Cook University in Townsville and is a Chartered Accountant.

Kim Teague -Secretary

Kim Teague has been on the board for many years. He became a Board Member when involved in his daughter’s kindergarten (more than 20 years ago) and has remained involved with Community Management Solutions at the Board level for many years since then and is a Life Member of Community Management Solutions. Kim has a Bachelor of Law from QUT and has been practising law for more than 30 years.

Lyanna George - Treasurer

Lyanna George has been an Associate Board member since 2016 and was appointed Treasurer in 2018. Lyanna has been employed as a portfolio administrator in the DNR Capital firm since February 2016. Lyanna graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Pure Mathematics) from the University of Sydney and also holds Master’s degrees in Applied Science (Macquarie University) and Business (Queensland University of Technology).

Peter Hoens - Board Member

Peter Hoens joined the Community Management Solutions Board as an ex-officio member in 2017 and was elected to the Board in 2018. Peter was a Secondary School English teacher for 16 years and taught in Government, Catholic and Independent sectors. He sat on the management committee of ETAQ (English Teachers Association Queensland) in 2003 and 2011, and between 2004 and 2010, he was Secretary of ETAQ’s Townsville Branch. Peter graduated from the University of Queensland in 2002 with a dual Bachelor’s degree in Arts and Education and with a Master’s of Education Studies, specialising in Leadership, in 2015. In 2020 he Graduated from Griffith University with a Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management.

Chris Hutton - Board Member

Chris Hutton joined the board as an ex-officio member in 2019 and elected to the board in 2022. He is a senior Investment Adviser and Partner at Wilsons Advisory and Stockbroking. Chris has been with Wilsons for 14 years, and brings a wealth of experience in financial markets, superannuation and more broadly, client engagement and service. Chris completed a Bachelor of Psychology in 2002 and a Masters of Applied Finance in 2006 from Queensland University of Technology.

Christine Yates - Board Member

Christine Yates is self-employed and has over 5 Years of experience operating a small business that provides academic editing, proofreading and research services to students and academics throughout Australia and internationally. Before 2016, Christine worked in the university sector for 6 Years as a Research Assistant and Project Manager and has over 8 Years of experience working in government and the community sector in grant administration and social housing management. Christine’s degree qualifications were awarded by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and include a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Master of Information Technology {Information Management), and a Bachelor of Business (International Business).

Georgina Peereboom - Board Member

Georgina is a Solicitor working primarily in Family Law. Georgina has a keen interest in complex parenting matters and the impacts of childcare on the development and wellbeing of young children. Georgina holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Business Management from the University of Queensland and has also completed a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice.

James Ponting - Board Member

James graduated with a Bachelor of Information Technology from Queensland University of Technology. James is employed as a Senior Engineering Manager at software company Atlassian and brings 15 years of computing, technology, and management experience.