DAVID KOOPMANS – President

David Koopmans is the Committee President of Helping Hoops and has been involved since 2012.

David brings 20 years of marketing and leadership experience to the committee and specifically helps the organisation think about how to tell our story and grow this fantastic charity. His ambition is to see Helping Hoops continue to thrive and run more programs in more places around the state and the country.

A lifelong basketball enthusiast and father of two, David joined Helping Hoops because it’s a grass roots organisation and a very practical way to have a positive impact on the life of hundreds of kids around Melbourne.

His best Helping Hoops moment was being part of the hugely successful 24 Hour Charity Shootout, taking rebounds for the participants and watching the smiles all around.

ADAM McKAY – Executive Director

Adam is the Founder and current Executive Director/Secretary of Helping Hoops. Adam founded Helping Hoops in late 2009 after seeing an opportunity for participation-based sporting programs for disadvantaged children that focused on using basketball to instil positive values and help children in their lives off the court.

Adam has grown the Helping Hoops organisation from a simple idea to an organisation that now reaches over 1,000 children each year through 350-plus free session, and is incredibly proud of the progress the charity has been able to achieve in such a short space of time.

As Helping Hoops is a small organistaion, Adam is involved in many different areas and enjoys the diversity of his roles. Most of all, Adam enjoys the fact that his efforts, and those of the Helping Hoops coaches and committee, have immediate results for disadvantaged children that are real and tangible.

Adam’s Helping Hoops highlight to date is taking a select group of Helping Hoops kids to meet Muggsy Bogues, who was a personal hero of his as a child, and who graciously shared his story of overcoming growing up in public housing, and being shot at the age of five, to become the shortest player in NBA history.

DANIEL HEATH – Treasurer & Vice President

Dan Heath is the Committee Vice President and Treasurer and has been involved since 2013.

Dan has been involved in coaching the kids at Atherton Gardens housing estate in Fitzroy, and is passionate about giving back to the local community; he has 15 years experience as a CPA.

Seeing the kids thrive and focus their energy in a fun environment has been Dan’s highlight.

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KATE SLEEMAN – Secretary

Kate has been a General Committee member since joining the organisation in 2015. Working as a teacher in the northern suburbs, Kate became involved in Helping Hoops when a number of her refugee students spoke about their experience with the program.  Following that, Kate and her students raised money for Helping Hoops before she formally joined the committee later that year.  Coming from an educational background, Kate hopes to continue to expand Helping Hoops and focus on the development of the young people in our community.

So far, Kate’s highlight has been her involvement in the 24 Hour Charity Shootout; the passion and commitment displayed by volunteers and participants was fantastic.

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JULIAN HAMMOND – General Committee Member

Julian is a general Committee member and former volunteer at Helping Hoops Fitzroy. Julian has worked across international, government and national law firms on high-profile and sensitive matters. He is currently a Senior Associate at a large national commercial law firm and assists the Committee with any legal issues which the Committee considers.

Julian has seen first-hand the benefits of Helping Hoops – he is a passionate believer in the capacity of basketball to build resilience, teamwork, respect and work ethic. He believes that Helping Hoops taps into one of the most wonderful things about life – the endurance and triumph of the human spirit in the face of adversity

GREGOR BROWNLEE – General Committee Member

Gregor is a basketball enthusiast having played for Bulleen/Templestowe as a junior and more recently coaching his son’s school team. Working in the FMCG space for 22 years, he brings expertise in brand management and business partnerships to Helping Hoops.

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KRISTEN PENNY – General Committee Member

Kristen brings over 15 years in marketing in both the tourism and music industries. She has worked on major Melbourne events such as the Australian Open, Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, ICC Soccer Championship, ICC World Cup Cricket and the Boomers events. Kristen has previously sat on the boards of Arts Mildura and Mildura Country Music Festival, both extremely successful regional event organisations.

Kristen is currently the Social Media Producer for Visit Victoria with the responsibility of Visit Melbourne’s assets.

Kristen has been involved as an active volunteer at the Fitzroy program of Helping Hoops for over two years, and has regularly volunteered her time to escort groups to Melbourne United games.