Our people
Lena Cirillo, Chief Executive Officer (she/her)
Jan 2025 - present
Lena Cirillo is the Chief Executive Officer of 100 Story Building, a dynamic leader and passionate advocate for creativity, education, and community development. As a practising visual artist, mentor/coach and speaker, she actively contributes to the arts and education sectors. Lena serves on the School of Art Industry Advisory Committee at RMIT University, and is a Board member of Art Education Victoria.
With over 20 years of experience in the non-profit, creative industries, and education sectors, Lena has held pivotal CEO roles at Art Education Victoria, Arts Project Australia, Polyglot Theatre, Westside Circus (Circus Nexus) and the Lygon Street Festa, where she led initiatives empowering artists and communities through inclusive creative opportunities. An alumnus of the 2007 Williamson Leadership Program, she also served as Strategic Projects Manager for Leadership Victoria and is a sought-after speaker on leadership, creativity, and the arts.
Lena has held key governance roles, including Chair of The Women’s Gallery, Vice-President/Programming Director of Midsumma Festival, Chair of Melbourne Workers Theatre, and member of the Cultural Arts Advisory Board for the City of Melbourne. Her academic background includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from RMIT University, a Graduate Diploma in Arts Management from the University of Melbourne/VCA, and a Master of Teaching from RMIT University.
Lena is deeply passionate about the transformative power of storytelling and the arts. At 100 Story Building, she is driven by the vision of empowering young people through creative expression, believing that storytelling and the arts are essential tools for personal growth and community connection. Lena aspires to expand 100 Story Building’s reach, ensuring young people have the opportunity to thrive and use their voice through imagination and creative risk-taking
Simon Conlon, Story Hubs Manager (he/him)
Jan 2015 - present
Simon is the Story Hubs Project Manager at 100 Story Building. With 10 years as 100 Story Building Program Manager, Simon is excited to lead the flagship co-design program in schools. With a background in theatre and visual arts, he is enthusiastic and excitable about the intersection of arts, education and social justice. His work focuses on developing creative and active learning experiences, supporting all to have ideas and express those ideas.
Simon has over 20 years of experience designing and delivering arts-based programming for children, young adults and grown-ups in a variety of disciplines including story-making, performance, theatre, science, visual arts and circus, and tries to bring a little bit of everything into all he facilitates. More recently Simon has facilitated strategic planning sessions, community consultations, creative collaborations and co-design projects inside and outside of 100 Story Building. Simon also serves on the Brimbank Arts Advisory Committee as a proud Westie.
Simon enjoys helping participants from a range of backgrounds and communities to explore their own creativity, making lots of wonderful mistakes along the way. When not at 100 Story Building, Simon is a medical clown, a photographer and writes poetry on his phone for no-one else’s eyes.
100 Story Building is built and run on stories. The change that emerges when these stories are surfaced, supported and celebrated can be found everyday. The serious work of playing with stories continues when it leads to literacy, confidence and belonging.
Ella Bucovaz, Marketing Manager (she/her)
Oct 2021 - present
Ella Bucovaz is the Marketing Manager at 100 Story Building. With over 15 years specialist experience in the arts sector, Ella brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from her past work in festivals, events, galleries and performing arts centres as both a producer and marketeer.
Ella has a theatre background and a love of theatrical storytelling. Ella holds a bachelor of Creative Arts (Theatre) from Deakin University and a Masters of Arts & Cultural Management from the University of Melbourne.
Ella’s past work has always centered on community and inclusion, having previously worked at the City of Darebin in festivals and events and programming. Designing and delivering different community events such as Carols in All Nations, Darebin Music Feast, Homemade Food and Wine Festival and Community and Kite Festival.
As Associate Producer for Artlands Victoria – Australia’s largest regional arts conference and festival delivered by Regional Arts Australia, Ella delivered varied arts programs in Bendigo, Victoria.
Ella held different roles at Regional Arts Victoria as Programming Communications Coordinator and Touring & Communications Administrator respectively. In both roles, she established strategic communications and oversaw marketing for national touring projects.
Ella brings a deep understanding of creative practice and utilises this to better support artists and communities to communicate their work. As a proud ‘westie’, Ella is particularly passionate about communicating the value of 100 Story Building and celebrating its uniqueness with the local community and beyond.
Jenny Tran, Operations Manager (she/her)
Oct 2023 - present
Jenny serves as the Operations Manager at 100 Story Building. Growing up in both Australia and Vietnam, Jenny is a multicultural marketer and storyteller with expertise in digital marketing, partnerships, branding, public relations, strategic communications, and campaigning across the nonprofit, private, and public sectors.
At 100 Story Building, Jenny spearheads marketing and communications strategy development, collaborating with the team to implement marketing initiatives. She holds a deep passion for the transformative power of education, viewing it as the key to unlocking opportunities and reducing inequity.
Before joining 100 Story Building, Jenny worked as a sustainability, communications, and stakeholder engagement consultant. She has worked with leading agriculture, F&B, and waste companies, as well as government agencies, to create meaningful changes for people and the planet.
Jenny loves travelling and is always on the lookout for her next great book.
Our program facilitators
Brendan Barnett (he/him)
Jan 2016 - present
Brendan’s work with 100 Story Building ranges from collaborating with students to design creative spaces for their schools to unpacking the creative process with teachers to enliven and enrich classroom learning. He also runs the primary aged after school program, Creative Club, and acts as an in house illustrator when the need arises.
Brendan is a graduate of the Queensland College of the Arts and the Victorian College of the Arts with degrees in Animation and Acting respectively. Beyond 100 Story Building Brendan works as an artist across the mediums of illustration, animation, performance, game design and voice over (Don’t ask him to pick one - he won’t and you can’t make him). He has toured with theatre companies such as Bell Shakespeare and Complete Works and has been working to support the creativity of children and young people for more than a decade.
Brendan aspires for 100 Story Building to be an organisation that advocates for creativity as a vital force in all our lives and for the right of all children to connect with each other and the world through imagination and play.
Megan Petrie (she/her)
Jan 2021 - present
Meg is a facilitator at 100 Story Building, she leads the secondary After-School Program, alongside other creative projects. With a deep passion for education, community arts, and creative writing, Meg is dedicated to fostering and supporting creativity and expression among young people. She also teaches in the Education department at Victoria University.
With over twenty years of experience in education, Meg has worked across a variety of roles, within diverse learning communities. She has worked for Western Autistic School, in early intervention programs as well as a specialised VCE program for adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Her teaching journey led her to a chapter in Northern Italy, where she spent several years teaching theatre, filmmaking, and English as an Additional Language (EAL) at secondary schools and language centres. During this time, she also worked on documentaries about farmers and their beloved animals, she wrote short stories exploring these communities.
In addition to her teaching work, Meg has contributed to a number of significant community arts and youth initiatives. Her collaborations include projects with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Footscray Arts Centre, The Future of Toys workshops, Merri Merri Creekulum, and the Western Autistic School Saturday Social Club.
Meg is a writer of creative nonfiction, spoken word and poetry, her work has been featured in publications and festivals, including The Faber Academy Anthology, Meanjin, The Big Issue, Midsumma Festival, Melbourne Fringe Festival, and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
For Meg, 100 Story Building is a space where young people can connect to their creativity, have agency in their participation, and build a sense of community. Meg aspires to be part of the ongoing work of 100 Story Building being a place for all young people to authentically express themselves and find belonging.
Jess Wilson, Workshop Facilitator
she/her (Apr 2025 – present)
Jess is a facilitator at the 100 Story building, an Illustrator and Installation artist. Jess makes comics, visual art, murals and jewellery. She is the Creative Designer for Science Play Kids.Jess was the Story Hub artist for Sunshine North Primary and Secondary, in which she established an interdimensional space station in the library of the Primary School and an interdimensional rift in the Library of the secondary school. Using her unique blend of scientific know-how and imagination to create impactful experiences.
She is a resident at Maddern Studios in Footscray. In 2015 she opened Yonder Art Space in Yarraville, a studio and art gallery dedicated to supporting emerging artists. She has served on the committees of One Night In Footscray and the West Projections Festival and is committed to facilitating and encouraging the arts in Melbourne's west.
Jess is excited to embolden folks to take creative risks and pursue the silly and whimsical with sincerity. She believes in inspiring confidence in young people by supporting and developing their interests.
Paris Balla, Workshop Facilitator
they/them (Apr 2025 – present)
Paris is a facilitator at 100 Story Building. They are also a playwright, puppet maker and performer who has just finished their PhD in accessible and inclusive theatre practices. They have written plays performed by young people at La Mama Theatre and Full Spectrum Theatre, as well as plays for young people, including Owl and the Albatross, which premiered at Theatre Works as part of the VCE Drama Playlist in 2022.
Paris loves storytelling and taught communication skills at Monash University before joining the team at 100 Story Building. They can’t wait to see what stories are waiting to be found in hidden nooks and crannies around the building. Paris hopes to use stories of all kinds to build resilient communities of young people and start sewing seeds of exciting futures through creating ideas together.
Salih Ishaq-Ojibara, Workshop Facilitator
he/him (Apr 2025 – present)
Salih is a facilitator at 100 Story Building and is a dedicated Youth Support Worker at Wyndham Youth Services, where he excels in creating safe and inclusive spaces for young people. With a passion for human relations and a background in youth work, Salih has cultivated his skills through roles such as Senior Associate at YLab Global, where he advocates for youth rights and facilitates workshops. As a Learning Facilitator at Six Degrees, he has managed projects and developed programs, combining his interests in coaching and program development.
Salih is a member of YACVIC (Youth Affairs Council Victoria). His commitment to youth welfare is reflected in his SAFEtalk suicide prevention certification. Beyond his professional pursuits, Salih enjoys fitness, particularly Karate and gym workouts, as well as DIY building and coaching competitive games.
His aspiration is to leverage his experiences and education, currently studying a Bachelor’s in Counselling at Australian College of Applied Professions (ACAP) and a Cert 4 in Youth Work at the Hader Institute, to contribute meaningfully to 100 Story Building and continue making a lasting impact on young lives.
Kiki Havos, Workshop Facilitator
she/her (Apr 2025 – present)
Kiki is a casual Workshop Facilitator at 100 Story Building and a registered creative art and narrative therapist supporting young people and families in a refuge setting, as well as through her private practice. She is also an illustrator and cartoonist, sharing therapeutic comics—confidentially and with care—through her WebToon series, Guttered.
With a background in creative writing, screen and cultural studies, international politics, education, and creative arts therapy, Kiki has worked as a copywriter, editor, and creative facilitator across schools, libraries, refuges, and community organisations including Laneway Learning. She has co-facilitated workshops with the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Marriott Support Services, and Amnesty International, where she co-founded Am-Unity, its first youth-led online magazine.
Kiki is a published writer and cartoonist with work in Voiceworks, Gems Zine, and the Journal of Creative Arts Therapies. She is an editor and peer reviewer for the Graphic Medicine Review and plans to pursue a PhD exploring how Graphic Medicine and graphic pathologies highlight young people and intersectional health experiences to reduce stigma and foster empathy.
Drawing from her lived experience of neurodivergence, Kiki is passionate about enhancing emotional literacy, creating safe and accessible spaces, and bridging gaps in understanding how trauma shapes development. She is continually inspired by the stories children and young people bring to life.
Terri Elliott, Workshop Facilitator
she/her (Apr 2025 – present)
Terri Elliott is a South African/Australian arts-based-pedagogy facilitator who is currently completing a PhD in Drama Education and is a facilitator at 100 Story Building. Having studied both Drama and Psychology, Terri values the transformative power of the arts and has a particular interest in community-based arts. Coming from a family where stories always had a home, she grew up listening to the poems that her grandmother wrote about her and the stories that her mother wrote for her.
Her studies in drama took her into the world of graphic mime, clowning, directing, and theatre-in-education - all spaces in which harnessing the power of the story was crucial.
On completing her Masters, she made a promise to herself to continue studying something at every point in her life for as long as possible. This romance with learning has led her to explore copywriting, writing for young audiences, Italian, photography, guitar (a failed attempt, unfortunately) and endless hand crafts.
On her journey through the world of arts-education, Terri has collaborated and engaged with many wonderful people and organisations, including Assitej (The International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People), Unima (Union Internationale de la Marrionnette), and Giovanni Fusetti (Helikos). She has presented at international conferences (IDIERI and ITYARN) and has published drama textbooks (Maskew Miller Longman), journal articles (Research in Drama Education), and teacher training manuals.
She is part of several international research communities and piloted the GALP (Global Audience, Local Perspective) project in collaboration with Cardiff Metropolitan University (Wales).
Elijah D’Souza, Workshop Facilitator
he/him (Apr 2025 – present)
Elijah D’souza is a Workshop Facilitator at 100 Story Building, where he combines his passion for storytelling, youth empowerment, and personal development to create immersive, memorable learning experiences. In his current role, he energises and inspires young people by engaging over 1,000 students at Young Change Agents through design thinking and entrepreneurship workshops that build creative confidence and resilience. At Uncommon Collective, as Lead Program Coordinator and Facilitator, he designed and delivered more than 80 innovative workshops blending narrative techniques with reflective practices, empowering underrepresented communities to discover their voices.
His background as a Professional Learning Coordinator at Corwin Press and as a Regional Store Assistant Manager at Alchemy Story has honed his skills in program management, stakeholder collaboration, and digital marketing.
Elijah is also a published writer for the Saari Collective, sharing insights on creative expression and social impact. Deeply committed to social change, he leverages his creative expertise to nurture inclusive environments where young people thrive. At 100 Story Building, he eagerly aspires to push creative boundaries, empower emerging voices, and pioneer transformative educational experiences that inspire future leaders.
