OUR BOARD
Vu Nguyen: Secretary/Director
Vu was appointed a Director of Lupus Victoria in January 2016.
Vu was only 9 when diagnosed with Lupus in 1995. She has experienced many symptoms of Lupus since that time, including suffering a stroke in 2007, when her family was told that she would not recover. However, Vu's amazing fighting spirit prevailed and she made a strong recovery. Vu's recovery took a number of years and made her determined to help to fight Lupus. Vu has established an organisation which raises funds for Lupus and is increasing community awareness of Lupus. Vu subsequently founded Lupus Victoria and has recruited people along her journey to join Lupus Victoria.
She has also established motivational speaking seminars where she aims to help others who are going through difficult journeys in their lives.
Vu holds a Bachelor of Business and a Master of Marketing from Swinburne University of Technology.
Rob Jolly: Chair/Director
Rob was appointed a Director of Lupus Victoria in January 2016.
Rob is an Independent Advisor on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) and Modern Slavery. He is also a member of the Social Responsibility Alliance Development Committee. In July 2020, Rob was appointed Director of Capricorn Power.
Rob was Director of Utilities Trust of Victoria (UTA) from 2011-2019 and Chair from 2014-2019. Rob was a Commissioner on the Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in 2018-2019. The Commission presented its report to the United Nations in September 2019.
Rob is a former Treasurer of Victoria. Prior to becoming Treasurer of Victoria, Rob held a senior role with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU).
Rob is an Honours Graduate in Economics with a Master of Economics and a Diploma of Education from Monash University. He is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
The Lupus Victoria Board works together to improve outcomes for people in Victoria living with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE).
Our Board includes our Founder and Vocal Advocates for people suffering from Lupus, Vu Nguyen, Rob Jolly; Kaye Thomas, Michael Kim, Sammi Palinkas and Dovi Domingo.
Dovi Domingo: Treasurer/Director
Dovi Domingo was appointed a Director of Lupus Victoria in December 2018.
Dovi is a CPA qualified accountant with over 10 years’ experience working in both industry and public practice.
Her first role was with the Gillon Group of Companies where she commenced working in the Admin/Accounts section, after completing her Bachelor Degree in Business (Accounting/Finance) at Swinburne University of Technology. During her time with Gillon she was promoted to the role of Senior Financial Accountant, and has also worked for a number of public practices.
With her passion for numbers, she is the founder of a bookkeeping business, BWise 4 Business, which assists small to medium sized businesses become more profitable by providing accurate, complete and meaningful data.
Kaye Thomas: Administration/Director
Kaye was appointed a Director of Lupus Victoria in January 2016.
Prior to her retirement in 2011, Kaye held a number of senior administration/secretarial roles in the superannuation industry and within the Victorian Government.
Kaye also served on the Committee of the Mother’s Day Classic, an annual fun run and walk raising funds and awareness for breast cancer research, for over 10 years from its inception in 1998. She also served on the Volunteers’ Sub-Committee during that period.
Kaye was a host volunteer with Interchange Inner East for 26 years, resigning in early 2019. Until early 2021, Kaye was also a volunteer for Clothes4U, an organisation on the Mornington Peninsula which provides clothing, footwear, and personal items for both women and men in need.
Michael Kim: Marketing/Events Director
Michael was appointed a Director of Lupus Victoria in January 2016.
Michael is a Marketing Consultant and Managing Director of Uncommon-cents Marketing & Design.
Through an extensive career in marketing and events management, Michael developed a passion for customer service while developing a multitude of skills through business management, marketing, e-commerce and graphic design.
Michael has worked with international apparel brand G-Star RAW, Mercedes-Benz, Dufry, Forty Winks, Constructive, and Stonnington Council. He has also produced music concert tours, sports tournaments and many large events.
Sammi Palinkas: Director
Samantha (Sammi) Palinkas was appointed a Director of Lupus Victoria in December 2018.
Sammi is currently Portfolio Delivery Manager for Network, Operations and Technology at Australia Post, where she has been employed for six years, and has over 10 years’ experience working in technology and project management roles at Australia Post and with other companies.
In Sammi’s spare time, she is an avid singer and songwriter.