National leadership team
Linh Diep
Chief Executive Officer, VIC Lead, Assistercast Co-host
Linh hones her ‘get sh!t done’ skills in her day job as Account Director at Ogilvy, where she works across a range of clients delivering brief-to-broadcast comms solutions that matter.
A two-time winner in B&T’s 30 Under 30 Agency account management category in 2021 & 2022, Linh is a self-diagnosed Yes-Woman, having founded and co-runs the Assisterhood program.
Her perfect morning starts with a morning walk with a croissant (or bagel!) & coffee. She spends her spare ‘me’ time practicing yoga, journaling, or figuring out how to action her next world domination plan
Polina Shilenina
COO, Online Lead, Assistercast Co-host
Polina jumped on the Assisterhood train in February 2020 – and she’s not going anywhere! On the daily she supports the team in strategic decisions and all things techy. She also has a tendency to come up with Big Ideas (that are sometimes even good!).
During her 9 to 5 (does anyone actually work those hours?!), Polina is managing digital projects at Publicis Worldwide. With a super-team of fellow nerds, she gets through piles of strategic brainstorms, sprits, bugs, and standups – and manages to keep a smile on, the energy up and the local coffee joints well supported!
Polina can be found lurking in fabric stores in search of inspiration for her next sewing project. Her idea of a party is getting lost in a book in her local park. She also sometimes tortures a guitar and makes sounds with her mouth – she might even do it in front of you (but bring bribes).
Charlotte Goodsir
NSW Lead, Sponsorship Lead
Charlotte has worked on strategy and creative for major Australian brands including NRMA, Telstra, Qantas, and UN Women Australia. Charlotte has experience across social, experiential and brand agencies. Her intimate knowledge of the evolving digital and social landscape combined with her passion for creative strategy has delivered strong results for the clients she works with. Her experience in creative and accounts has given her a unique skill set and understanding of the industry, allowing her to work not only strategically but as a hybrid for creative and suits alike.
Now, she is working as an Agency Strategist at Tiktok Australia helping businesses scale and grow. At only 27, Charlotte’s work has been recognised at all major international advertising awards including Cannes Lion, Jay Chiat, Australian Effectiveness, AWARD and was honoured to win B&T’s 30 under 30.
Elle Whittaker
QLD Lead, Creative Lead (Art)
Elle Whittaker is a Queensland born and bred Art Director working with Publicis Worldwide. She has a diverse skillset having hailed from Account Service and made the swap to the dark side (creative). She has a passion for meaningful ideas that solve real world problems and has worked across global clients like KFC, James Hardie and Coca-Cola.
Elle joins Assisterhood with a passion for helping young creatives get their foot in the door. She is also the current Co-Chair of Youngbloods Queensland where she enjoys creating events and initiatives for young people entering the industry.
On the weekend you probably won’t find Elle anywhere as she’ll be on her couch watching any and everything on demand. Her favourite directors include Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson and Tim Burton.
Anais Read
Creative Lead (Copy), 2018 Assisterhood Alumni
Anais is a NZ-turned-Australian copywriter and one of the five O.G. Assisterhood mentorship recipients in 2018.
With almost a decade of industry experience and more than a handful of industry awards under her belt, including the national 30 Under 30 Grand Prix and Women in Media Rising Star Award, Anais’ tenacity and passion for giving back to the industry shines in her Assisterhood role. She’s also a regular award show judge, panel speaker, and recent AWARD School tutor.
Anais brings her wealth of Assisterhood experience to all things creative, having been promoted to Creative Lead after dedicating her time to both the VIC and QLD programs.
Leah Morris
Head of Editorial and Content
Leah loves the craft of copywriting and its role in ideation and commercial creativity.
What sort of writer is she? Comma queen, literary conversationalist, outspoken feminist or culture vulture; Leah will read the room then decide.
When she’s not tippy-tapping away at her keyboard you’ll find Leah interviewing inspiring women for her independent publication Mavens, or attempting a new recipe which she’ll either nail or fail (there is no in between).
Online Squad
Elise Le-Galloudec
Web and Event Coordinator, 2023 Assisterhood Alumni
Elise has 3+ years experience in the industry as a digital marketer, event manager and project coordinator passionate about all things technology, business growth, DEI and branding.
After participating in Assisterhood’s 2023 cohort, Elise couldn’t wait to join the squad in 2024 and put her love of marketing, event planning and organisation to good use!
Elise is a proud cat mum, former ballerina, self-taught crocheter and in her spare time, you’ll find her trying to find Brisbane’s best cosmopolitan.
VIC Squad
Caitlin Alcock
VIC Event Coordinator, Community Manager
Caitlin began her career in advertising as a strategist, lending her thinking to the team at Saatchi & Saatchi and across clients such as Toyota, Ampol, Visa and Chemists’ Own. Keen to be an all-rounder, Caitlin also completed AWARD School in 2023 and proudly saw three of her pieces make it to the coveted Wall. Now, she’s ready for another year of impact as a part of Assisterhood’s VIC squad.
When she’s not strategising, you’ll find Caitlin doom scrolling through TikTok, trying a new class at the gym, or daydreaming about when she can eat her next bánh mì (must-try recommendations encouraged).
Anoushka Praveen
VIC Community Manager, 2022 Assisterhood Alumni
Anoushka joined us after undertaking the inaugural VIC program, bringing her expertise and organisational skills as Business Analyst at Wavemaker to the VIC team.
Isabelle Beaupré
VIC Creative Producer
Isabelle is a Senior Creative Producer and Team Lead at Australia’s largest video production agency, Visual Domain.
A good day for Isabelle is creating content that is as meaningful as it is visually stunning, alongside a talented team that she can empower and inspire to bring their A-game.
Tyler Cicerale
VIC Art Director, 2023 Assisterhood Alumni
Tyler is an ambitious creative professional with a passion for art direction and a diverse skill set in graphic design, photography, and videography. With a strong background in marketing and advertising, she brings a unique perspective to visual storytelling and brand communication.
Tyler’s ultimate goal is to transition into the realm of art direction, where she can leverage her diverse skill set and passion for visual storytelling and bring visions to life. She’s eager to collaborate with like-minded professionals and contribute her expertise to the development of impactful campaigns and brand experiences.
Sarah Vanderschoot
VIC Copywriter
Sarah is a Copywriter at Scooter and has written for big brands and small ones, across lots of different industries for lots of different mediums. She aims to make stuff that gets noticed. With an ambitious nature, Sarah places a high value on fresh thinking and takes a creative outlook to every task she works on.
Outside of creative copywriting, you’ll find Sarah umpiring on the footy field, helping out tutoring English to immigrants & refugees and collecting stationery that she’ll never use because she ultimately deems it too good to use.
NSW Squad
Rebecca Chan
NSW Community Manager
Bec is a marketer with over 10 years of experience in brand management across a multitude of brands such as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Tic Tac and Nutella. Currently, Bec leads Australia’s favourite chocolate bickie Tim Tam, which is as delicious of a gig as it sounds!
No two days are the same and her role spans from product tastings to financial management, creative development to strategic commercial alignment, manufacturing discussions with Arnott’s bakeries to using her previous fragrance knowledge to create a Tim Tam perfume for Arnott’s very first D2C store that made international news!
Most recently, Bec appeared on national television for the Snackmasters x Arnott’s episode and realised there were a myriad of unconscious biases many of which were cultural and universal! Through Assisterhood she wants to give back to the community by breaking unconscious biases, provide guidance and shared experiences that she wish she had when joining the industry. To continuously learn and grow through a diverse network is an added bonus!
On weekends you’ll find her chatting away whilst catching up with friends & family, eating good food and tending to her mini veggie garden!
Rosalinde Czysnok
NSW Squad
Rosalinde’s career and life are guided by a simple motto – to be good and do good.
To be good is to be the best possible version of herself, and to do good is to leverage her skills, effort and opportunities for the betterment of her community and the world at large. Rosalinde is commercially minded, loves working at the intersection of creativity and strategy, and is passionate about female financial empowerment.
Through Assisterhood she wants to give back to the community by breaking unconscious biases, provide guidance and shared experiences that she wish she had when joining the industry. To continuously learn and grow through a diverse network is an added bonus!
On weekends you’ll find her chatting away whilst catching up with friends & family, eating good food and tending to her mini veggie garden!
Sophie Gallagher
NSW Squad
I have always had an insatiable need to learn, and I can’t help but dive deep into any topic presented to me. That’s why as a Strategist, I’m known as The Library: I know every chapter of my client’s business, category and audience in order to find new opportunities.
Throughout my career so far across journalism, publishing, social media, commercial editorial and strategy, I have brought stories, ideas and products to life with smart thinking and research. I leave no page unturned, ask every question and learn fast. I can craft a story that will get audience’s obsessed with a product. I read things from every angle, ensuring the direction chosen is the right one. And ultimately, passion and dedication is infused into everything I do.
Vicky Stewardson
NSW Squad
I am a bright, enthusiastic and highly motivated worker both in a team environment and individually. Cool under pressure, I am a great communicator with a friendly manner, a strong creative and technical understanding and a keen eye for detail.
I have real strengths working with stakeholders from all areas of the business, uniting them to ensure cohesive and competent marketing strategy and activity. I relish getting hands on to make things happen, and firmly believe in measuring and improving marketing activity to ensure all projects exceed expectations.
QLD Squad
Claire Bass
QLD Copywriter, 2023 Assisterhood Alumni
Claire joins the squad after participating in the 2023 QLD program. She’s worked with two of Brisbane’s leading independent agencies, which has formed her into a creative who is passionate about creating content that simply delights her audience. Claire was first inspired to work in advertising because she was unhappy with the way women were consistently misrepresented, objectified & stereotyped. Advertisements have the unique opportunity to both inform and respond to popular culture, which places an enormous responsibility on the shoulders of those who create them. We are all exposed to thousands of advertisements each day, so why not take this opportunity to delight & inspire our audience on the daily?
Maddie Cristaldi
QLD Event Coordinator, PR
I’m a skilled writer and adept communications specialist who loves hearing people’s stories and bringing them to life. My strong foundation in technical writing has given me
an eagle-eye for detail, while my experience in publishing and broadcast has created a natural curiosity and a knack for working under pressure. I’m proficient in content
creation, client relations, and stakeholder management, bringing people and prose together.
I am currently working as a medico-legal report writer for a case management company in Brisbane. We support clients who have been in accidents or have a disability get access to appropriate funding through national funding agencies such as the NDIS, NIISQ, and CTP.
Petrice Koutsis
QLD Partnerships Lead, 2022 Assisterhood Alumni
2019 Graduate Bachelor of Business (Marketing & Advertising) at Queensland University of Technology, Partnerships Manager UM Brisbane on the Australian Government account, Disability Ambassador for Mediabrands Australia, Member of the Media Federation of Australia’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board, Member of the Mediabrands Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board.
2022 Assisterhood mentee. 2024 Assisterhood Squad member
Isabelle Debnam
QLD Mentor Liaison
With 8+ years in the marketing industry, Belle has plenty of experience in the strategy and execution of integrated marketing solutions. Her passions lie in marketing strategy, video production, brand marketing, content creation, social media marketing, and of course, sharing her knowledge and experiences through her podcast.
On the weekends you’ll likely find Belle in her garden, with her friends and family, or travelling somewhere along the coast with her partner in their trusty van “Yoko”.
Liz Ballantyne
QLD Mentor Liaison
Liz has over 10 years experience in marketing and communications roles within a variety of industries – from agency, to automotive, to agricultural and now non-profit. No matter the industry, Liz is passionate about helping organisations build long-term, profitable relationships with their stakeholders by executing planned, relevant marketing strategies.
Liz is a self-claimed life-long learner and enjoys helping others grow in their career through personal development, mentorship and her podcast, Your Marketing Mates. When she’s not listening to podcasts or chatting to other comms professionals, Liz is busy hanging with her two small kids, her husband and her puppy Morris.
Bryony Hardy
QLD Community Manager, 2022 Assisterhood Alumni
With 4+ years in the marketing industry, Bryony (or Bea as she is more commonly known) is a self-confessed all-rounder. Having worked in a variety of roles and with a range of clients and industries, Bea has a passion for content marketing. Currently a Social Media Coordinator at a Brisbane creative agency, she joined Assisterhood in 2023 after participating in the mentor program in 2022.
On weekends you’ll find her relaxing by the beach, checking out a new restaurant, booking her next adventure or learning something new because #neverstoplearning!
Molly Atkinson
QLD Digital Producer
Whilst still relatively early in her career, Molly has had experience in both media, marketing and advertising, with a particular interest in the creativity and insight behind awesome campaigns.
Molly joins the Assisterhood squad after being in 2021’s cohort, having an amazing experience she didn’t want to end.
Molly is the ultimate organiser – planning her weekends months in advance as she loves to always have something to look forward to. This skill translates perfectly in her current role, where she dabbles in all areas of marketing from campaign planning to event organisation, social media and paid advertising, all the way to sponsorship management, digital execution and design.
If she isn’t on a weekend away, Molly has most recently been on a quest to find Brisbane’s best French Martini.
Web Dev / UX: become a part of the Squad!
We need a website designer with the knowledge of WordPress to help take the Assisterhood site to the next level by updating and evolving our online presence.