Wide-Eyed Wonder Ltd has a remarkable board of seven chaired by Alexandra McCallum. Elissa Jenkins is founder and executive director.
Board of Directors
Alexandra McCallum – Board Director & Chair
I’m a writer, performance storyteller, program manager and educator. I love transporting a room full of people with a story and believe that the world of ideas is for everyone.
When I’m not working I love watching the changing sky, listening to music, reading and talking too much.
I joined the board to help bring wide-eyed wonder to more children. Wonder opens our minds to possibilities beyond the everyday and helps us to feel at home in the world.
If you’d like to live in a more vibrant wonder-filled world for everyone I hope you’ll get involved.
Tammy Law – Board Director & Secretary
I photograph stories that are reflective of my experiences of being a child of Chinese migrants and the bubble of Asian/Australianess within which I live.
My travels through Asia and the differences between, propel me to explore experiences of migration and displacement.
I love spending time in nature. I am constantly in awe of people’s stories and have been especially touched by witnessing how children in challenging situations navigate their environments.
In acknowledgement of my own privilege I am hopeful to be able to contribute to Wide-Eyed Wonder’s mission of bringing joy to marginalised and vulnerable children in Australia.
Brett Hansen – Board Director & Company Secretary
I’ve been playing with puppets since I was three years old and always wanted to be a puppeteer. It’s a dream I have followed my whole life.
The wide-eyed wonder I experienced as a child was whenever I saw the fascinating puppetry work of Jim Henson and his team on film and TV productions like The Muppets, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and more.
I never lost my childlike wonder as I entered adulthood. Stubbornly and passionately, I started my business Larrikin Puppets in 2012 (over 10 years ago), and through this journey I have been able to joyfully provide my audiences of children and families with the same kind of wide-eyed wonder that I had when I saw puppetry when I was young.
I like to think that the live shows and workshops that Larrikin Puppets presents to audiences are everything I wish existed when I was young. Little Brett still exists within me, and he is very much driving the creativity and delivery of this art form through his more capable adult self.
I’m proud to be part of Wide-Eyed Wonder so that we can help bring performing arts to all sorts of vulnerable communities and audiences. It’s all about bringing smiles, laughter and wide-eyed wonder to those doing it tough, those who are in remote places or dark places.
Luna Ho – Board Director
My name is Luna and I am a Physiotherapist. My work consists of helping children with disabilities at schools to participate and learn in an all-inclusive environment at school.
To me, play is being so focused on doing something fun that I forget about everything else. Nature is my biggest playground and I feel grounded and connected when I’m in the wilderness. All my worries instantly disappear.
Joining Wide-Eyed Wonder reconnects me with my inner child to ‘think outside the box’. There are no limits to bringing happiness to children. I am here to create and provide that opportunity!
When you come on this journey with us, you will rediscover the true meaning of joy. When you are submerged in pure joy and laughter, it’s contagious!
Rachael Jacobs – Board Director
The arts and creativity changed my life when I was 3 years old and started learning piano. Since then I’ve pursued drama and dance, and I’m now a lecturer in arts and creativity at Western Sydney University.
When I was a high school dance, drama and music teacher I saw young people’s lives completely changed by the arts. I know what a difference it makes, which is why I’m a community artist working with migrant and refugee communities, an arts activist and I run a South Asian dance company.
I’m now a Bollywood dancer, which is a wonderful way to keep my Indian culture alive while living on Gadigal land. I also hang upside down a lot as an aerials arts instructor.
One of my greatest passions is delivering anti-racism programs in schools that that centre around positive experiences through the arts. Wide-Eyed Wonder is going to give children who would otherwise have no access to the arts a chance at dreaming, experiencing magic, colour and the experience of being fully alive. Join us on this journey towards greater access and creative justice.
Anna Masci – Board Director & Co-Treasurer
I love stories, and the generation of new stories in moments of wonder.
I work in Communications for non-profits, most recently in child protection, and I see how moments of wonder can create positive memories and establish new passions.
I’ve joined Wide-Eyed Wonder to help bring this opportunity to those who need it most – to those who aren’t surrounded by creativity and the chance to engage in new experiences.
Moments of wonder are often our strongest childhood memories, they bring joy, build attachments and help us to understand new perspectives.
These days, I get my moments of wonder from nature hikes, by seeing live music and theatre, comedy, art and dance.
Kate Robertson – Board Director & Co-Treasurer
I’m a paediatric speech pathologist who supports children to learn to communicate – in whichever way works best for them!
Communication and play are so intertwined throughout childhood that I am truly lucky that I get to play every day at work.
Outside of work I love to get out in nature, and particularly find joy experiencing the wonderful beaches of the Sunshine Coast with my dog Ludo.
My background in child development has given me a deep respect for the importance of all things play, joy and creative, and understanding of the connection this can bring with others – and I am passionate about bringing opportunities for this to all children. I’m excited to be a part of an organisation that supports this.
I love the joy and wonder of everyday experiences – for me that is time in nature, playing with my goofy puppy, and enjoying the enthusiastic and curious nature of kids!
Staff
Elissa Jenkins – Founder & Executive Director
It’s my mission to bring wide-eyed wonder to as many people as possible, particularly vulnerable children in communities across Australia and the world. That’s why I decided to set up Wide-Eyed Wonder and invite a wonderful board of directors, artists and supporters along for the ride.
I love the idea of approaching everything I do with wide-eyed wonder and I like to inspire the same in others. Whether it’s puppeteering, performing, writing, publishing, campaigning or just living, I like the idea of greeting all of it with wonder. You know, that feeling you get when you experience something that is beautiful, remarkable or unfamiliar and go ‘Wow!’.
Whether it’s a person I meet, an audience I perform for, something super small or wildly spectacular in nature, an innovative or creative concept, a newly learned philosophy, a scientific discovery or an idealistic political policy – I love the idea of greeting it with wide-eyed wonder; with my eyes, my mind and my heart wide open.
In a world of wide-eyed wonder, there’s no place for cynicism, pragmatism, fear and hate. Rather it’s a place for the lovers, the dreamers, the peacemakers, the believers, the hopers, the romantics and the radicals.
I manage a rare autoimmune eye disease and have been trying to save the eyesight in my left eye for quite a few years now. Finding joy and wide-eyed wonder in everyday life certainly helps me cope better with the struggles of juggling multiple passions while managing a rare disease.
PREVIOUS BOARD DIRECTORS, WITH APPRECIATION
Ozge Sevindik-Alkan – Founding Board Director
I was born in Turkey and grew up in America. I work as a librarian, and I am the co-author of children’s book series The Hijabi Girl.
I love reading and writing stories with diverse characters. My favourite thing is knitting and crocheting with hand dyed yarn in all colours of the rainbow.
In my earliest memories I am sitting in a theatre in Istanbul next to my mum and uninhibitedly howling with laughter.
How amazing that artists supported by Wide-Eyed Wonder can bring that joyful experience to all children regardless of their circumstances!
Let’s help children make the memories to spark a lifelong love of performance art and joy.
Susanna Chamberlain – Founding Board Director
My name is Susanna Chamberlain which reflects both my Italian heritage and my four decades long partnership.
I have worked in the University sector, across several states and in many schools for thirty years, usually in the social sciences.
My passions have always been social justice and creative imaginative practice. This is why the opportunity to join the board of Wide Eyed Wonder appealed to me because it combines both the playful energies of children’s education and entertainment with opening opportunities for the least privileged in society.