Chair: Ms Coral Richards
Ms Coral Richards has experience in community development activities. She was instrumental in establishing charitable organisations such as FinUcare, a financial counselling service and Uniting Outreach Mandurah, a community services agency.
Ms Richards has been a member of the Peel Region Planning Committee and is also a teacher with broad ranging experience across the Primary and Secondary schools, including working with indigenous students and their families.
Ms Richards is currently a resident of Mandurah.
Deputy Chair: Mr Rhys Williams
Rhys has been a resident of Mandurah since he was 8 years old, and is a passionate member of the Peel Community.
Along with his Regional Development Australia role, Rhys is a City of Mandurah Elected Member, elected in 2009 as the youngest person ever to be elected to the council. Rhys is also the chairman of the City of Mandurah Planning, Community Development and Sustainability committee, board member of the Peel Development Commission and the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Vice Chairman of the Peel Community Development Group and Executive Officer of Community Solutions Inc, a not for profit charity driving social change in communities across Western Australia
Rhys is currently studying a double major in Business Law and Accounting (Bachelor of Commerce) at Curtin University.
Secretary: Ian Hill
With over twenty years’ experience in senior executive positions in local government, Ian has fulfilled leadership roles in a wide range of professional and
technical activities and services and has established an extensive network across government and the private sector.
Until recently he was Director, Community & Economic Development at the City of Mandurah where he led 13 portfolios in one of Australia’s fastest growing regional cities with responsibilities across almost every facet of community and local economic development through the establishment of programs, infrastructure and services to foster regional development, marketing and promotion, tourism, education, training, employment and business development, the arts and major sporting and cultural events.
Ian also has experience in property development, housing construction and marketing at executive level spanning eleven years in managing major projects – such as the Ellenbrook new town, and in Adelaide, with an emphasis on creating affordable land and housing opportunities, building new and revitalising communities.
Currently involved in consulting tasks, primarily in the Pilbara, for clients including government and business organisations, he is also a member of the UWA School of Population Health Consumer & Community Advisory Council, and serves on the Peel CCI’s Peel Tourism Sub-committee.
Ian enjoys the lifestyle at Florida Beach, Dawesville.
Treasurer: Mr John Read 
Mr John Read was a Western Australian primary school teacher and deputy principal, before being elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly as Member for Mandurah for 2 terms.
Mr Read served as a Project Officer with the South West Development Authority, was seconded to the Federal Government as Administrator (Cocos-Keeling Islands). He worked within the Federal Department of Regional Development and at Midway Community Care, a service for young adults with intellectual disabilities. Mr Read has also been a small business owner but is now retired.
Mr Read is currently a resident of Barragup
Committee Members:
Ms Elizabeth Hoek
Mrs Hoek is a long time resident of Boddington and is the Coordinator of the Boddington Old School Community Centre. She has a strong 
interest in community development and has worked with volunteers at the Boddington Old School Community Centre to help develop their skills.
Mrs Hoek has been a Councillor with the Shire of Boddington since 1998 and is also an active Board Member of the Peel Development Commission.
Mrs Hoek is a resident of Boddington.
Cr Walter (Wally) Barrett
Cr Walter Barret was elected to the Council of the Shire of Murray in May 1994, and currently represent Council as the Shire President on many Committees, including WA Local Government Association (Peel Zone) as the Shire representative on State Council, Healthway Board, WA Local Government Association Finance & Planning Committee and Rivers Regional Council.
Cr Barrett retired after serving 34 years as a police officer and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Cr Barnett is currently a resident of Pinjarra.
Mayor Patricia Creevey
Mayor, City of Mandurah
Mayor Paddi Creevey was elected by the community as Mayor of Mandurah for her second term in October 2009, and has been in Local Government 16 years. She has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Social Work and worked at the Royal Perth Hospital, and then at Community Health based in Mandurah for 20 years.
Passionate about her local community, Mayor Creevey has been instrumental in the development of a wide range of community organisations and services. She is Chair of the Governing Council of Challenger Institute of Training, a member of the Peel Region Planning Committee and member of the Peel Inlet Management Council. She is also the on the Peel Development Commission Board and Chairs the Ministerial Advisory Committee, Women in Local Government.
Mayor Creevey has recently been re-appointed by the Federal Government to the Coasts & Climate Change Council and also serves on an advisory group on Higher Education in Regional Australia. Mayor Creevey was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2010 for her services to the community and Local Government and was one of the first 100 members inducted into WA’s Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011
Mayor Creevey is currently a resident of Dawesville.
Mr Noel Nancarrow
Mr Noel Nancarrow was elected a Councillor of the Shire of Murray in 1988 and served as the Shire President from 1993 to 2011. A former Chair of the Peel Development Commission, Noel was also the founding Chairman of the Bendigo Bank in Pinjarra.
Mr Nancarrow is a member of many community and State Government bodies, including the Peel Region Planning Committee, Rail Heritage Foundation of WA and WA Local Government Association (Peel Zone)
Mr Nancarrow is currently a resident of Coolup.
Ms Denyse Needham
Ms Denyse Needham was formerly the President of the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale, where she was a councilor for 13 years.
Ms Denyse Needham has held senior managerial roles for 11 years in national and international companies, throughout Asia and Australia. For 10 years she owned and managed a very successful restaurant and tourist centre in Mundijong. In the mid 1990`s she sold the Tourist centre and concentrated on community work and her passion as a champion for the environment. She received a Centenary Medal for services to the community and as an advocate for Foster Carers.
Ms Needham studied at university, and joined the Land Conservation District Committee eventually becoming President.
Ms Needham is currently a resident of Keysbrook.
Jan Star AM
Jan Star AM. BA, M.Sc. Dip.Ed. has a history in local government with Serpentine Jarrahdale Shire/WALGA, working in areas of sustainability, climate change, environment, land use planning, agriculture, and regional development at local, State and national level.
Together with involvement in the local LCDC and SJLandcare Centre this led to working in Natural Resource Management and Regional NRM groups. Besides NRM and biodiversity in particular Jan’s interest is in best governance models for adaptive management. Jan is the Chair of the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council.
Jan has 55 hectares in Jarrahdale with olives, superfine merinos, cows and a few old polocrosse horses.
Executive Officer: John Lambrecht
Mr John Lambrecht has been Executive Officer of RDA Peel since January 2009, having previously worked in the ACC Network since 2002.
Following a distinguished career in law enforcement, Mr Lambrecht worked in State and Federal Governments, employment services, group training and has been a small business owner.
Becoming a Committee Member:
All appointments to the RDA Peel Committee are made by the Minister for Regional Australia.
Appointments are usually made for a fixed term, with Committee Members drawn from the community, business, and Local and State Government agencies.
Committee Membership is voluntary and no sitting fees are paid, although reasonable travel expenses are reimbursed. Vacancies are advertised in the press from time to time and an expression of interest must be completed. To be advised when advertising of potential vacancies will occur please contact john.lambrecht@rdapeel.org.au.
