Thursday 18 August 2022

After a thorough recruitment process, we are pleased to announce that Keir Paterson will be the new CEO of Neighbourhood Houses Victoria.

Keir is an experienced leader with a passion for community connection and advocacy. He is the former General Manager of mental health not-for-profit SuperFriend, where he led a team of mental health and allied professionals. He was responsible for service delivery, partnerships, policy and advocacy. As President of the peak body Bicycle Network, he established and expanded relationships to advocate for system-wide change that led to $100M in funding for new cycleways and critical safety legislation. He led the organisation through a financially challenging period during the pandemic while pushing for greater active transport infrastructure as a solution to post-COVID transport challenges.

More recently, he has consulted to Thorne Harbour Health (formerly Victorian Aids Council), providing advice around governance and corporate projects. He assisted the organisation in transitioning its legal and governance structure to enable it to establish a Community Health Centre. In a voluntary capacity, he is currently working with the Somali community in the Flemington/North Melbourne housing estate to establish and fund a homework club, and attract State Government support for a social enterprise to provide training and employment opportunities for Somali women.

Keir's work in community and health is complemented by extensive earlier experience working as an executive leader in the private sector.

Keir begins his position at NHVic on Monday 5 September. We look forward to welcoming Keir to the role and working collaboratively for the betterment of the Neighbourhood House sector. The next few months will be busy, meeting members and visiting Houses, focusing on the State Election advocacy, finalising our 2023-26 Strategic Plan, and beginning plans for the 2023 NHVic Conference. It’s an exciting time for the sector with plenty of opportunities ahead.

The Board would like to thank Cameron MacRae for filling in as Interim CEO since Nicole’s departure. He has held the organisation in strong stead over the last three months, and we are incredibly grateful for his continued expertise, guidance and leadership as NHVic’s Chief Operating Officer.