Our Board & Staff

Ross Passalaqua - Chair

Ross Passalaqua is a Company Director and business consultant with broad leadership, commercial, operational, and technical experience ranging across multiple sectors, including the tourism, safety, services, transport and logistics, oil, gas, and chemical industries in both Australia and internationally. Following an early career with consulting engineers, Ross worked in corporate business roles in Australia and overseas, primarily with the Shell Group of Companies. He later developed tourism management and development skills as CEO at Falls Creek Alpine Resort prior to taking up several Board positions. These included Parks Victoria (2014-2017), South East Water (2010-2017), Tourism North East (2011-2016 and 2019-2025), Disabled Wintersport Australia (2011-2024), and East Gippsland Water (2017-2019).

In addition to his current role as Chair of People and Parks Foundation, Ross separately provides independent safety management consulting and coaching services.

Alison Hill - Managing Director

Alison Hill is a passionate advocate for connecting people to nature for both health and wellbeing, and environmental outcomes, recognising that access to nature is a health equity issue, and something we all need to protect and promote wholistic health – “Healthy Humans Need Healthy Habitats to Survive and Thrive.”

An experienced executive in the For Purpose sector, Alison works for positive change by ensuring organisations have clear and inspiring visions with the structure, resources and culture needed to deliver highly effective programs, campaigns and partnerships that make a real difference in the community. Alison’s key strength is aligning organisational purpose, design and markets for high impact outcomes. Her passion is engaging stakeholder groups internally, across programs and externally towards a shared vision of ‘doing things better to make things better’.

Alison has worked nationally engaging federal and state governments, media, philanthropy, corporates, education sectors and social welfare organisations. Alison also has senior experience in business development and marketing communications in the commercial consultancy sector working with a wide range of businesses. She has over 10 years’ experience as a non executive director on For Purpose boards.

Professor John Stanley - Director

John joined the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) at University of Sydney in July 2008 as Adjunct Professor and Bus Industry Confederation Senior Research Fellow in Sustainable Land Transport. Prior to taking on this role, he had nine years as Executive Director of Bus Association Victoria, after eight years as Deputy Chairman of the National Road Transport Commission.

John is former Chair of the ADC Forum, has been a member of the Committee for Melbourne’s Transport and Climate Change Task Forces, the Vicurban Board, the Urban Renewal Authority Victoria Board, the Victorian Alpine Resorts Coordinating Council and is now a board member of Road Safety Inspections, an Australian leadership development group. In 2012-13 he was a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee advising Victoria’s Minister for Planning on Melbourne’s new Metropolitan Planning Strategy. John is also a member of the ITLS and Monash ITS Advisory Committees. He was awarded a Centenary Medal for services to public transport and conservation.

Marnie Wylde - Operations Coordinator

Marnie joined People and Parks Foundation in 2024, bringing over 20 years’ experience in program and project administration across the not-for-profit, public and private sectors. She oversees finance, governance, administration, project delivery, board support, fundraising and communications.

Her background includes government policy development, program management and private sector consulting, with a strong focus on grants, stakeholder engagement, and strategic communications. Marnie has a proven track record in securing funding and delivering initiatives that support community wellbeing and social equity.

She is passionate about contributing to projects that enhance community well-being and about building effective systems and collaborative approaches that enable teams to deliver lasting, positive impact.