Board
Our dedicated Board oversees PAYA’s strategic direction, governance and policies. The Board consists of five Non-Executive Directors including our Chair, Deputy Chair, and Treasurer. The Co-Chief Executive Officers of the Association also serve as Executive Directors, bringing the number of voting members to seven.
The PAYA Constitution mandates that at least three of the five Non-Executive Directors, and one of the Co-Chief Executive Officers must have current Pasifika citizenship. The Company Secretary is also present at every Board of Directors meeting in an administrative role only, not as a voting member, and is always based in Queensland, Australia.
You can read more about these distinguished young leaders from across the region below, and click on their photo to connect on LinkedIn!
Paul is the Chair of PAYA's Board of Directors. Born in Sydney, he first joined the PAYA family in 2022 as Manager of Events, working with the Management Committee to deliver the 2022 and 2023 Youth Leadership Summits.
Paul is passionate about youth empowerment, sustainable development and cross-cultural understanding across our Pacific-Australia region. He spent 12 months living in Vanuatu and New Caledonia through the New Colombo Plan Scholarship Program where he contributed to a range of Pacific leadership, sustainable development and disaster response programs. He graduated with First Class Honours in Law and Development from Macquarie University in 2022. He also served as an Australian delegate at the Young Pacific Leaders Conference in Guåhan (Guam) in 2023.
Paul currently lives in Canberra where he works as a public servant. He is committed to promoting mutual understanding and grassroots opportunities for young people across the Pacific-Australia region. He believes that youth are our region's greatest asset, and in their role at the centre of addressing the challenges facing the Blue Pacific.
Non-Executive Directors
Paul Kaletsis - Chair
Janice Ashwin - Deputy Chair
Janice is currently the Deputy Chair, and was elected to the position in September 2023. She previously served as the Co-Director for PAYA from July 2022.
Janice is a Senior Trade Officer for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade. Janice is an alumna of the Australia Awards and the Australia Awards Women Leading and Influencing (WLI).
Currently, she is the Secretary for the Solomon Islands Australia Alumni Association (SIAAA).
Janice has a strong connection to everyone united by the Blue Pacific and believes young people play an important role in shaping the future of the region. With a passion for international development and through her work with PAYA, she hopes to strengthen cultural diplomacy and leadership through various PAYA engagements.
Fiolino Mavaetau - Treasurer
Fiolino is currently the Treasurer, elected to the position in September 2023.
He was the Local Coordinator and Project Assistant for the Mini TechCamp - Digital Skills, Technology and Sustainability that took place in Wallis and Futuna in July 2023, funded by the US Department of State through the Young Pacific Leaders program.
Fiolino speaks English, French and Wallisian, and is a young entrepreneur managing his own photography company, Sinemoni.
He has previously worked in France across a range of sectors including education, energy and retail.
Yanamlyn Yana - Board Member
Yanamlyn previously served as the Manager of Partnerships for PAYA. She is currently a Board Member, elected to the position in September 2023.
Yana is employed with TotalEnergies as a Community Development Officer. Prior to that she has worked as the Campaign Coordinator for Senisim Pasin, promoting a culture of understanding, communication and coexistence between men, women, youth and children of PNG. She is the founder of her own community initiative Ätitäi.
Yanamlyn has extensive experience across various international, regional and local organisations and causes. Yana also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of PNG.
Rakatani S Gabi - Board Member
Rakatani previously served as the Manager of Communications for PAYA. She is currently a Board Member, elected to the position in September 2023.
Rakatani Sibona Gabi is from Gabagaba and Tubuseria village in the Central Province of Papua New Guinea. She is passionate about community building/development through education and advocating for disability rights, especially in the Pacific-Australia region.
She is a Bachelor of Business graduate majoring in Human Resource Management and minoring in Communications Design (Digital Marketing) from James Cook University Townsville, Australia.
After receiving her degree in 2019, she worked closely with North Queensland Women's Legal Service (NQWLS). This legal service provides assistance and advice for rural, remote and regional Queensland women.
Rakatani has also gained experience from the disability, mental health/wellbeing, and hospitality/tourism sectors which all have today shaped her vision to pave the way for building a braver, educated, world-changing generation for our future.
Executive Directors
Phillie Julai Marai - Co-Chief Executive Officer (Co-CEO)
Phillie is the Co-CEO of PAYA, stepping into the role in January 2024.
She is from East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea and graduated in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in PNG Studies and International Relations at Divine Word University (DWU). Phillie is an alumni of the Young Pacific Leaders program.
In 2021 Phillie was elected as the DWU Student Representative Council (SRC) president. She made history for DWU by signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on behalf of DWU to create new partnerships for students.
Phillie is currently employed with Papua New Guinea Tribal Foundation as the National Coordinator for the Senisim PNG program, a Leadership Nation Transformational movement in partnership with John Maxwell Leadership Foundation.
Dominic de Moura McCarthy - Co-Chief Executive Officer (Co-CEO)
Dominic is the Co-CEO of PAYA and co-founded the organisation in 2020.
He previously interned in policy and public diplomacy at the Australian Consulate-General in Nouméa. Dominic has studied on exchange three times in the Pacific to New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
He has interned with the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) based in Fiji and the PNG Rural Development Inc (PNGRDI). Dominic was also a delegate at the Young Pacific Leaders TechCamp in New Zealand and Project Lead and Director for the Mini TechCamp in Wallis and Futuna.
He is passionate about the Blue Pacific region including international relations, cross-cultural collaboration, business development, trade and diplomacy.
Company Secretary
Dr Joseph Crowley - Company Secretary
Joseph Crowley has been practicing as a barrister in Australia for 20 years. He is a specialist in criminal and public law. He has also taught law. Joseph has extensive volunteer experience in Catholic organisations and on registered charity boards. He has a deep interest in the Pacific. For more than a decade has has made an annual trip to Papua New Guinea to teach commercial law. Joseph has also run workshops for lawyers in Nauru and Solomon Islands. He is a Doctor of Legal Science and is married with six children. His wife is also a barrister.