Founding Members
The Shelter Collective founding members are made up of people from all walks of life, coming together to help solve a problem in our community.
Starting from casual conversations, The Shelter Collective founding members formed a community collective with the intent of taking action together.
Executive Committee is represented by several of our founding members who are charged with facilitating our work and taking the lead in making our projects come to life.
Executive Committee
Dave Grenfell
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David has over 40 years of experience in the building and construction industry with a particular focus in the power, chemical and process plant sectors, and delivery of major infrastructure projects across Australia. Experience in Senior Management, Business Operations, and delivery of multiple major projects simultaneously.
Dave has a passion for community, organisational and regional development, providing skill shortage solutions, training and upskilling, leadership development, and collaborative leadership, bringing people, business, and industry together to help solve community issues working together.
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I became involved with the Shelter Collective because I believe that as part of a regional community, we must help solve our current community issues, rough sleeping, and a lack of safe shelter as a result, of inadequate social; and affordable homes is a crisis being experienced right now, by our people in our community.
When I was a baby, my mother experienced extreme domestic violence and she had to escape from the residence where we lived, with basically nothing but me and the clothes on her back, to prevent being killed by her husband.
She had to send my older brothers to live with other families to enable us to be able to flee. In those days there was no shelters or emergency housing so she relied on friends to hide us until she could find somewhere safe to live. Here we are 64 years later, and we still have men, women and children being killed in the homes where they should be safe, due to domestic violence.
If we look into our hearts and minds and decide this is just not acceptable in our community, then I believe together we can touch and improve many lives. “We must change”.
Michael Walz
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CEO – Apprentices and Trainees Queensland
Michael Walz is CEO of Apprentices and Trainees Queensland. He is a tradie turned CEO with over 20 years of business experience, including buying, operating, growing and selling private SME businesses.
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Michael is actively involved in several community organisations and initiatives, including the Queensland Governments’ Mentoring for Growth Program.
Michael knows the challenges faced by apprentices and trainees first-hand. He is passionate about helping others achieve their goals, and his involvement with community organisations helps him do just that.
Michelle Coats
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Strategic Advisor – The Shelter Collective
Michelle has worked in the housing, homelessness, and community development space for 20 years.
Michelle believes that this escalating social challenge can only be tackled through the community working collectively together. A shared belief in the power of a community working together to make a difference to the people that need it most.
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Adam Klaproth
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Manager (Housing and Homelessness) – Anglicare
Adam has over 15 years’ experience across the social housing and community sectors. He has worked in complex policy development and implementation, housing and community support service delivery and management and has worked closely with peek bodies at state and national levels around reforms of social housing.
Currently Adam sits as the Central Queensland representative for QShelter.
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He is responsible for Anglicare Central Queensland’s Housing & Homelessness portfolio, including management and performance monitoring of community housing, homelessness support, financial resilience, regional Centrelink access point and emergency relief programs throughout the Central Queensland region.
Adam strongly believes that everybody has a right to safe and secure housing and that adequate housing is essential for human survival with dignity. Housing is a fundamental element of one’s identity and wellbeing and particularly important in the upbringing of our children.
Founding Members
Donna Kirkland
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Donna Kirkland, member of the community, mother of six, grandmother of 16 (so far). With over 30 years as owner of multiple businesses, Donna has forged a reputation for her high level of professionalism, honesty and business integrity. Donna plays an active role in her community bringing her close to the people and keeping her informed – a vital key for success.
Although currently a Local Government Elected Councillor, The Shelter initiative is supported by Donna in her private capacity because of a call God placed on her life through scripture, to – “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Heal the oppressed. Correct the oppressor. Defend the orphan. Fight for the rights of the widows” ( abridged from Isaiah 1:17 NLT & NKJV ).
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My heart hurts and my stomach churns when I hear the stories of people missing out on basic human rights, because of apathy, red tape, “not my problem” attitudes, or a “this is all too hard” mentality.
I am blessed to have zeal, connections and hopefully influence, that can be a part of finding solutions to rebuild a safe, functional and sustainable community of people that, together, grow the economy. I believe in a “can do”, “let’s make this happen”, “where there’s a will there’s a way”, problem-solving, collaborative approach. I am invigorated by the vision and potential of The Shelter Collective.
