Tristan van Riel

Tristan is the Dealer Principal and Chief Operating Officer of the Keema Automotive Group in Queensland which operates over 5 sites across Brisbane and employs around 250 staff.

Tristan has an accounting background and was previously the Chief Financial Officer of the Keema Automotive Group.

Tristan has significant experience in financial matters and developing the strategic direction of the Keema Group.

Tristan is committed to making a difference in the lives of children living in care through the work of the Keema Childrens’ Foundation. He has been a Pyjama Angel with the Pyjama Foundation for several years, working with children in care to increase literacy and numeracy.

Kerrie Taylor

Kerrie has a background in marketing and communications and runs Pollen Communications.

Kerrie combines her bright and creative personality with her formal qualifications in integrated marketing communications producing results with an innovative edge. With more than 15 years’ experience across public relations, events and marketing, Kerrie has built a solid yet diverse clientele across the property, construction, retail, mining, tourism, health and fitness, not-for-profit and luxury product sectors.

A passionate and experienced communicator with a love for writing, Kerrie is passionate about using her skills to assist Little Stars Kids to build its presence to enable it to continue to support children in foster care.

Randall Bryson

Randall is a Director at BDO Australia, an international accountancy firm, and has extensive experience in retail, particularly in the automotive sector but also more broadly with experience in food and beverage retail. His employment with a multi franchise dealership and a national automotive retail chain, as well as 15 years in chartered accounting, provides an excellent platform for specialist professional services. He is able to understand and support his clients with their operational and statutory requirements.

Randall is committed to making a difference in the lives of children living in care through the work of the Little Stars Kids and our Little Stars Kids Camps which provide so much Fun and laughter.

David Brown

David is the General Manager for the Keema Automotive Group in Queensland which operates over 5 sites across Brisbane and employs around 250 staff.

David has a Mechanical Background which lead to him starting with the Keema Automotive Group 18 years ago, and along with many other roles, is directly in charge of Operational matters for the Keema Automotive Group.

David is committed to making a difference in the lives of children living in care through the work of the Little Stars Kids and our Little Stars Kids Camps which provide so much Fun and laughter.

Jan van Riel

Jan is a director of Keema Automotive Group.

Jan has a background in early childhood education, having been a school teacher for many years.

Jan lived overseas in Indonesia for many years and has a passion for helping children who have been abused or neglected.

Nou Nou Kinnavong

I have been a volunteer with Little Stars Kids since 2018 and absolutely love seeing the positive difference we are making to these children. It’s been great to see them grow and develop through having fun, sharing laughter and building strong and lasting relationships. I love what Little Stars Kids stand for and I’m excited to further contribute to this wonderful charity.

My background has been working as a professional Business Development Manager at leading retail financial services organisations over the past 18 years. Whilst I’ve enjoyed building long term relationships with financial advisers and helping them to grow their businesses, I felt it was time to make a change.

The role of Project Support and Cases Program Manager will enable me to use some of my professional skills in building relationships with the Foster Care agencies and Department of child safety, a role where I can make a positive difference to the lives of children who have experienced abuse and neglect.

Heather Rapkins

Heather volunteered with Little Stars in 2016 inaugural camp providing knowledge and experience from her 20+ years experience as a volunteer with Camp Quality in various positions Companion, Camp Leader, Program Committee Member and Volunteer Interviews and Training.

Heather has over 10 years experience in senior management delivering Family Centred Services to families to improve their hospital experience and is currently developing an entertainment and distraction program for Hummingbird House, Qld’s only Children’s Hospice.

Katie Vaughan

I began working with Little Stars Kids in March 2019 as Program Administrator after having spent 10 years at home, being a Mother to my children. The majority of my working career prior to this had me supporting a successful team of Financial Advisers in the high-pressure world of Mergers and Acquisitions.

Having had such a long break from working, I felt a need to balance my life with caring for my children, running my household, personal health and fitness and something for me. Enter Little Stars Kids! There was no better way to fulfil this need than by using my skills for a charity working at bettering the lives of children in care.

My role is to handle the day-to-day administration related to our Camp Program – there is a huge amount of work that goes in to ensuring our camps are a success. It is wonderful to be able to communicate with the carers whose children attend the camps, deal with the volunteers who give up their time to attend camps to support these children and liaise with the many suppliers, supporters and donors that make up the balance of what Little Stars Kids stands for. I am grateful every day that I have such a role in this wonderful charity!

Zoe Bauer

Hello, my name is Zoe and I’ve been a volunteer camp buddy with Little Stars Kids since the start of 2018 and I’m loving every second of it. From the moment my buddy runs up to me in the morning to give me a giant hug, to our final goodbye, we are laughing, playing, and making the most of all of the activities (and I really do mean making the most of the activities - we hardly stop to eat). This is how exciting it is for her, and to have a day with that much fun is certainly worthwhile, especially given the trauma she has been through. To consistently show her that she’s worthy and special is what’s so important to me and why I hold LSK so close to my heart. No child should grow up feeling ‘less than’ in this world, and our camps are one way to make some difference.

I’ve recently become a Community Connections manager with my cousin and fellow volunteer, Chloe Gowdie, where we'll be working together to seek more sponsorship from our community. We also have held a few fundraisers - Care Night - for LSK to support the charity and build awareness. They say it takes a village to raise a child and it really does - it takes a community of support, especially when circumstances aren’t easy. So, here’s to creating a village for these little ones and making this world a brighter place where they can honour themselves and have the support to live out their dreams.

Chloe Gowdie

Being a kid is such an important stage of life; it’s a time to explore, push boundaries, imagine and create, so being able to make kids feel comfortable enough to do this is definitely what I find to be the most fulfilling part of working with children. This is something that I have been lucky enough to experience since I began volunteering at Little Stars Kids in May 2019 and I’m enthusiastic about continuing this journey now as a part of the Little Stars team. Zoe Bauer and I, as Community Connections managers, will be reaching out to potential sponsors and building-up LSK awareness and support within the community.

I’m currently studying a bachelor of Journalism/Arts with an extended major in psychology at the University of Queensland and I also teach weekly kids dance classes with Zoe at Holy Spirit Catholic School in New Farm. Having recently undertaken a couple of media internships, one at Nine and one at Ten, my passion for news has been ignited and I have a new appreciation for the platform that the media can provide to meaningful causes like LSK. Intertwining these two passions of mine to make a positive change in a kid’s life, even if it's just a small one, is my ultimate aim.

Ana Jeanmonod

I joined Little Stars Kids in 2019 as a volunteer in the camp program and love getting to know and support the children. I studied law in Brazil and hold a Diploma of Community Services in Australia and have a passion for human rights and helping people, particularly the most disadvantaged in society. Being able to help children in foster care through the LSK Cuddle Cases Program is immensely fulfilling and to see the difference it makes to a child entering care – its huge. These children are so helpless and we owe it to these children to do all we can to help them feel safe and protected.

Katie Taylor

Katie Taylor and her husband have been fostering for over ten years. In that time they have fostered respite, emergency and long term children. Katie has a passion for caring for kids with special needs.

Katie is kept very busy with ten full time children and one part time, ranging from 7-16 years of age. Between travelling between multiple schools, arranging family time, attending a multitude of therapies, transporting kids to and from jobs, and homeschooling one of her kids she also volunteers with QFKC as a fast rep supporting other carers to navigate what can be a very challenging system.

Di Watson

Di Watson grew up in Brisbane in the suburb of Yeronga. She and her partner Greg live at Toowong. Between them they have five children and 10 grandchildren.

A keen writer, Di has been involved in magazine publication since the early 90s. She worked on the university based social political magazine, Social Alternatives, then, in 1992, bought Brisbane Circle magazine – a community focused publication keeping Brisbanites informed of the latest happenings.

In February 2019 she produced her final printed magazine and now focuses on the social media component of the business.

Di has long been a supporter of young people and in the past worked with young women who attended a school for underprivileged girls. She mentored girls and raised funds for the improvement of life for these students. She was also commissioned by the school to gather stories and poetry from the students and publish their work.

Through the connections she made with this school she went on to design and edit books for Aunties of the Indigenous community.

Helping Little Stars reach for the stars is close to her heart and she has supported this charity through her magazine in the past. Di is looking forward to strengthening her connection with Little Stars in the future and says being an ambassador to this wonderful organisation is an absolute privilege.