President
DARREN BELTMAN
Darren played indoor volleyball for many years, starting at high school. This love of volleyball progressed to coaching both club teams and state junior teams, in addition to club administration.
Darren has an extensive background in community recreation, managing recreation and other community facilities in various parts of Australia for around 15 years. In recent years, he has moved into local government with a focus on corporate strategy and planning.
Initially joining the VWA Marketing and Sponsorship Committee about 10 years ago, Darren has been involved in committees such as the Risk Management Committee ever since. After joining the board in 2022, he has also been involved in several other committees such as Places to Play and the Reconciliation Working Group.
As president, Darren hopes to work with the rest of the board, clubs and affiliates to grow the sport of volleyball in Western Australia and deliver outcomes in line with the Strategic Roadmap. In particular, Darren hopes to support strengthened advocacy and partnerships with Government and Industry, and work in support growth of the sport at a grass roots level.
ELECTED DIRECTORS
Yuhan Richards
Yuhan Richards became a member of the VWA Board in May 2024, bringing with her more than a decade of experience as a strategic finance professional. Holding a Masters of Accounting from Curtin University, she currently serves as the Group Finance Manager and Senior Executive Member at Australian Inclusion Group.
MITCHELL COLLINS
With over two decades of involvement in the Volleyball WA community, Mitchell brings a deep passion, knowledge and lived experience to the Board. First becoming involved in Volleyball as a grassroots player in High School transitioning into coaching across all levels of volleyball pathway. Mitchell has built a strong foundation in sport through his involvement as a former Club President, member of various VWA Committees (10 years) and former director of VWA.
Professionally, Mitchell has spent the last 15 years working within the Australian sporting industry, holding a range of leadership roles that have helped shape the delivery and development of sport at both state and national levels. Currently serving as the General Manager – Operations at one of Australia’s largest Olympic sport programs, they oversee key areas including governance, strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, sport development, and risk management.
A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Foundations of Governance for Sport course, Mitchell brings a strong understanding of best practice governance principles to the board.
MicHelle Hort
Michelle Hort joined the board in May 2022. She is a marketing professional with extensive experience, who has been responsible for maintaining the “public face” of various organisations including Gymnastics WA. With a unique set of skills in services and digital marketing, business development, event management and stakeholder engagement she is looking forward to contributing to the sports growth.
Dr. Anousha Hashemi
Dr. Anousha Hashemi is a Non-Executive Director, governance professional, and senior mining executive with more than 30 years of international experience across exploration, operations, strategy, and business development in the global resources sector.
During her executive career, Anousha held leadership roles with organisations including BHP and IGO Limited, building a strong reputation for collaborative leadership, strategic thinking, and developing high-performing and inclusive teams. She also served as an Adjunct Professor at Curtin University and Industry Research Chair for the Deep Exploration Technologies CRC.
Anousha is currently a Director at R2M Optimisation and actively supports STEM and leadership initiatives, including IMNIS. She also serves as Deputy Chair and Non-Executive Director of a Perth children’s hospital childcare association.
A Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), Anousha brings strong governance, risk, and strategic oversight experience together with a people-first leadership approach aligned with Volleyball WA’s commitment to teamwork, inclusion, resilience, and community impact.
Appointed DIRECTORS
Lisa Larsen-Henry
Lisa Larsen-Henry is a communications and strategy leader with extensive experience across local government, higher education and the not-for-profit sector. She is a member of the Executive Leadership Team at the City of Armadale, where she oversees communications, stakeholder engagement, media relations and marketing.
Prior to joining the City of Armadale, Lisa was a General Manager and member of the Executive Leadership Team at Scitech. She has also held senior leadership positions at Curtin University within strategy and planning.
Passionate about creating meaningful connections between organisations and the communities they serve, Lisa has led major organisational change programs, brand strategy and crisis communications responses throughout her career. At Scitech, she helped unite teams around a shared vision for diversity, equity and inclusion, contributing to the organisation receiving the 2024 CCIWA Best Diversity Initiative award. She brings a strong governance and strategic leadership perspective to her work as a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), complemented by board experience in the aquaculture industry.
Away from work, Lisa remains a keen supporter of volleyball. A competitive player during high school, she now enjoys following the game from the sidelines and cheering on the next generation of athletes. She is passionate about the positive role sport plays in building confidence, leadership, teamwork and community
Taylor Lawton
Taylor has been responsible for driving strategy, marketing, technology, governance and business and development within large not-for-profits & government over the past 35 years. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) from Curtin, post graduate management qualifications from Monash and has completed the AICD Company Directors course.
Through an eclectic career Taylor has held responsibility across many functions including significant infrastructure projects, brand development, enterprise ICT planning, risk management, philanthropy, legal oversight and Company Secretary roles, across both metropolitan and regional Western Australia, government & commercial. All of which have enabled her big picture approach to development and successful realisation of complex strategy.
Coming late to volleyball Taylor now actively participates in beach and supports indoor, and is hoping to contribute in driving the sport forward to its next horizon in WA at all levels, through inclusion, advocacy and strong strategic visioning.
VOLLEYBALL WA CEO
Sophie Row