
Our Board
Cirkidz is an Incorporated Association governed by a Board of Directors.
Dominic Stefanson (Chairperson)
Dominic joined the South Australian Circus Centre board in 2019 and was selected as chair in 2022. He runs his own consultancy company, Strategic Solutions Co, which provides consultancy services to clients across all levels of government as well as industry associations, NGOs and the private sector. Dominic formerly worked at Director level at EY and was also Head of Public and Corporate Affairs at the Adelaide Festival Centre where he oversaw the Centre’s strategic projects including the development of successful budget bids for the $90 million redevelopment of the Adelaide Festival Centre and the $66 million renewal of Her Majesty’s Theatre. He has also worked as a senior advisor to the South Australian Government including as Chief of Staff to John Hill, the former Minister for Health and for the Arts. Dominic has PhD in political philosophy. Dominic believes in the power of circus to provide children a place to belong where they can grow physically, socially, emotionally and artistically. His daughter is enrolled in a Tackerz class and loves it because it is “fun”.
Marissa Galatis (Deputy Chairperson)
Marissa is currently the Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Health Partners and has 25+ years business experience, predominantly in the health and retail sectors. She has a proven track record of accelerating organisational performance through cohesive strategic planning, and has key experience in business development, marketing and retail strategy. She has been instrumental in driving transformational change across all facets of the business, uncovering strategic opportunities and is quick to action in a measured and meticulously planned approach. But while she may be serious about work, being Greek, she is also seriously committed to sailing around the Ionian islands in Greece - as often as she can.
Tereza Sysouphat (Treasurer)
Tereza Sysouphat is a Chartered Accountant with over 14 years of experience as a commercial advisor working for some of South Australia’s largest companies and Government Agencies including EY, SA Water and Aurecon. Tereza understands the long-term financial impacts of decisions having worked both at the project and portfolio level for regulatory submissions, capital business cases and long-term investment decisions as well as State Budget submissions. Tereza has a mix of financial modelling skills, financial strategy as well as C-suite level storytelling and a knack for making the complex simple. She is a forward thinker and a passionate advocate for effective financial decision making to achieve sustainable outcomes for organisations. She is also an aerial artist and a strong believer of movement as a means to grow, nourish and learn as a child and adult.
Natalie Atkinson (Board Member)
Natalie is an experienced public sector senior executive and holds a first-class honours degree in Politics (BA). Natalie has held roles in strategic policy, government relations, project delivery and operations across a range of South Australian Government portfolios, including energy, workers compensation, central agency, and education – across early years, wellbeing and inclusion. Natalie’s current role is Executive Director, Participation, Integration and Inclusion within the Office for Early Childhood Development, tasked with implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Development and Care, including the introduction of three year old preschool. Natalie has two young children and her daughter is an enthusiastic member of the Cirkidz acro and speciality tumbling class.
Sally Chance (Board Member)
Sally Chance is a dance-theatre artist. She trained at Trinity Laban, London, and is motivated by the power of collaborating with specific communities whose artistic perspectives open the door to new performance forms. For the past fifteen years, and beginning with an Australia Council Fellowship, Sally’s work has been dedicated to the cultural lives of children aged three years and younger. In collaboration with the members of her South Australia-based independent company – Sally Chance Dance - she has created, presented and toured five new performance works and co- created other works including Flower 꽃, a collaboration with Seoul-based Theatre Masil. Sally practices in the field of perinatal infant mental health using dance to support the critical first relationship between mother and baby.
Hamish De Silva (Board Member)
Hamish is currently Senior Legal Counsel at Australian-owned defence and engineering company Nova Systems. Hamish is recognised during his industry career as a pragmatic commercial lawyer who has implemented unique commercial solutions in aviation acquisitions, international dispute resolution and significant Commonwealth procurement activities. Hamish is passionate about using his skills to analyse complex legal issues to enable boards and management to make informed strategic decisions Hamish is strongly committed to youth development and mentoring through various volunteer roles. Being of Sri Lankan and New Zealand heritage, he is enthusiastic about championing diverse voices and fostering greater access to educational opportunities for youth to maximise their potential Hamish is well-known for his penchant for competitive trivia, including being a 2x State trivia finalist. He is also a passionate devotee to the local arts, music and film industry, and can regularly be spotted amongst the crowd at local concerts and events.
David Panter (Board Member)
Originally a psychologist David has worked in health and social care for almost 45 years, over half of which has been as a Chief Executive. In the UK he initially worked in the National Health Service across hospital, community and primary care services and more latterly in local government, where he was Chief Executive of Brighton & Hove City Council. In 2004 David was recruited to the South Australian public health system where for over 10 years he led reforms including the development of the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. From 2015-2022 David was the Chief Executive of not-for-profit aged care provider ECH (Enabling Confidence at Home). During this time he successfully led the transformation of the organisation away from being a provider of residential care services to being SA’s biggest provider of affordable housing and home care services for older people. At the end of January 2022 David became the Chief Executive at Minda, SA’s largest provider of services to people living with an intellectual disability. David is also an Adjunct Professor at Flinders University in the College of Nursing & Health Sciences. Throughout his career David has worked closely with the Arts Sector seeing the arts, in all their forms, as a critical feature of both an individual’s and a community’s well-being.
Emma Siami (Board Member)
Emma is anexperienced senior leader and non-executive director with a background in diversity, equality and inclusion. Emma has held senior roles in the public sector in South Australia, in the United Kingdom Civil Service and at an Australian trade union. She has worked towards positive outcomes in the areas of employment, education, the criminal justice system and economic development. Emma brings expertise in strategy, people management, equality and program development to empower people through systemic change.