December 09, 2021

Following 14 successful years as CEO of Holyoake, Angie Paskevicius has announced her decision to retire from CEO work.

Angie’s leadership has taken Holyoake from strength to strength since the Board of Holyoake appointed her as CEO back in 2007. Her mandate was to ensure the organisation’s long-term sustainability, to improve service quality, and to widen the scope of services to assist more people.

Angie accomplished all this and more with her inspiring, professional and visionary leadership. She set about transforming the internal culture of the organisation by introducing strategic planning, quality management systems, and a clear plan to ensure long-term sustainability. She recruited a management team of experienced individuals with a passion for social impact and gave them the freedom to effect change.

One of Angie’s hallmarks has been her commitment to harnessing social enterprise to empower people and to supplement revenue. She transformed Holyoake’s DRUMBEAT from a small social program funded by the government, into a social enterprise that would sustain itself. As a result, DRUMBEAT is now the world’s leading evidence-based therapeutic drumming program. The fee-based train the trainer model has resulted in over 8,000 accredited facilitators across Australia and around the world.

More recently, Angie navigated Holyoake successfully through the pandemic by ensuring continuity of services even during lockdowns with the necessary technology for phone and video counselling. When travel restrictions led to cancellations of all DRUMBEAT training workshops, Angie encouraged the Social Enterprise team to develop DRUMBEAT Online which has opened a world of opportunities.

By all accounts Angie leaves a lasting legacy. Thanks to her leadership, Holyoake has grown significantly and operates from offices in Victoria Park, Midland, Northam, Narrogin and Merredin. The organisation’s turnover has increased five-fold, with over 4,000 people experiencing the benefits of its counselling services each year. The social impact of DRUMBEAT is evident across Australia, the USA, New Zealand, and around the world.

Over the years, Angie and Holyoake have been acknowledged by numerous awards such as the Telstra WA Businesswoman of the Year Award, NFP National Technology Innovator of the Year Award, Florida Music Education Exemplary Model Program Award, WA Constable Care Child Safety Awards, WACOSS Excellence in Community Services Award, Business of the Year Award, and more.

Angie will continue to operate as CEO of Holyoake until December 23, 2021. The Holyoake Board has commenced an executive search for her replacement. Lorraine Keane – Holyoake’s General Manager Corporate Services – will act in the CEO role until the new CEO is appointed.