Our Executive Committee
Carlyle Ginger
Chairperson
Carlyle (Carl) Ginger graduated from Sydney University with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Honours) and subsequently completed his MBA through Deakin University. He is a retired Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia. He has over 30 years of Senior Executive experience in State and Local Government and currently serves as the Divisional Manager Recreation Services with the Eurobodalla Shire Council. Some of his major projects have been in the areas of capacity building and public infrastructure development in NSW and overseas including Indonesia, Laos, The Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Mauritius, Timor Leste, and Trinidad. Funding for these projects was through the World Bank, UNDP, and AusAID.
Carlyle’s humanitarian and community development projects include water supply, sanitation, schools, housing, rural medical infrastructure, adult literacy, micro-enterprise development, environmental management, and organisational capacity building. He has served as the Chair of Asian Aid. and Deputy Chair of the ACFID Code of Conduct Committee. In additional to his professional experience his voluntary experience has included countries such as India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Solomon Islands, Myanmar, Vanuatu, Fiji, Zambia, and Sri Lanka.
Sherree Hughes has been involved in development work in Cambodia since 2010. Flourish Cambodia was established in 2012 when Sherree and her family spent time living and training in the rural community south of Phnom Penh. Sherree has been heavily involved at Light of Hope Cambodia since 2013 and loves working alongside the staff who do an amazing job. She believes in the power of education to lift these families and communities out of poverty. Sherree gains great satisfaction from working at the grass-roots level with the local people and seeing the impact that effective development projects can have in these communities.
Sherree is a hospitality VET teacher at Bethel Christian School in Albany, Western Australia. She is married with three adult sons and one lovely daughter-in-law. She loves her daily walks along the beach and enjoys being creative when she can find the time.
Althea Thomson’s life began in New Zealand as the youngest child of Pr David and Gaya Currie. She attended seven schools in eight years and has lived in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Thailand. After graduating as a registered nurse from the Sydney Adventist Hospital, she worked as a nanny in Sydney and the UK before specialising in surgical nursing. Her last position in that field was as a Nurse Unit Manager at the Ringwood, Victoria hospital.
Since 2014, Althea has worked as the Country Director and Administrator for the children’s village now called the Adventist Rescued Children’s Care (ARCC) in Chiangmai, Thailand. Her passion is seeing young lives changed for the better, as children find hope, love and opportunity. For Althea, this is the most rewarding work in which she has ever been involved. She loves to share the children’s stories and show how God always provides.
Noel was born in The Philippines and migrated to Australia in the late 80s. Noel has embraced Sydney as his home, and this is where he and his wife Cherry have raised their three children. Both of them are committed to their faith and they continue to be involved in missionary works.
Noel has over 22 years of experience as a Senior Manager in commercial real estate in Australia. He currently serves as the Head of Property with a Corporate Retailer based in Sydney operating within the retail, manufacturing and integrated logistic solutions. Noel’s core responsibilities include real estate strategy, network expansion, site negotiations, project management, demographic assessments, contracts management and leasehold acquisitions from concept to completion.
Apart from his interest in photography and nature, Noel remains an avid volunteer, supporter and contributor to not-for-profit projects. Both he and Cherry have on-going participation in overseas projects in The Philippines including school builds in Mindanao, medical missions and educational initiatives in Luzon, micro-business sustainability projects and child sponsorships in India. While currently working, Noel continues his active involvement in the NGO world where he believes global sustainability has a critical role to play in today’s society.
Dr Alex Currie
Country Manager, Solomon Islands
Dr Alex S. Currie, Ed.D. (Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA, 1977) retired in 2001 as Assistant to the President of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists, Sydney, Australia.
A New Zealander by birth, Alex has served the Adventist Church as a pastor, evangelist, college teacher, director of theological education, college principal, departmental director at Conference and Union levels, hospital chaplain and administrator. In retirement he oversaw International Children’s Care operations in Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines and helped pioneer the Solomon Islands Education Support organisation. He has authored significant publications and magazine articles. Alex is married to Beverley with four adult sons, twelve grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Born in Port Pirie South Australia, Valerie Robyn Mann (nee Ford) spent her early working years in Adelaide in media, specifically in Public Relations for ADS Channel 7 and Programming for Radio 5AA. In the late 1970s, the opening of a new radio station brought a move to The Illawarra and subsequent involvement in land subdivision. Val held the position of Company Secretary for Nareena Developments Ltd and Nebo Farm Pty Ltd.
Later Val completed a Bachelor of Teaching degree at the University of Wollongong with post-graduate qualifications in Gifted Education. She also qualified in International Baccalaureate (PYP) education. Val has now retired from full-time work but remains active in various child-centred roles.
Always active in the sport of basketball, Val was Chair of the Board of the Illawarra Basketball Association. She was then elected to the board of Basketball NSW, a position she held for nine years.
Spencer Carnie
Country Manager, Sri Lanka
Spencer Carnie grew up in Sri Lanka before making Australia his home. Now based in Melbourne, he works as an air conditioning installer – but beyond his trade, Spencer’s life has been marked by a deep commitment to helping others.
That passion was shaped early on through the influence of his grandmother Hope Carnie, whose legacy of generosity and care left a lasting imprint on his life. Inspired by her example, Spencer continues to find ways to give back and make a tangible difference in people’s lives.
With a heart for service and strong family values, Spencer is a husband, father of three, and proud Grandfather of two. His involvement with Projects of Promise reflects his ongoing desire to see hope extended to communities in need.
Dr Denis Hankinson
Dr Denis Hankinson has a professional background spanning over 40 years of ministry in Australia and New Zealand. His work has included leadership in cross-cultural initiatives with Aboriginal, Maori, Burmese, and African communities. Over this period, 13 years were dedicated to administration oversight, including youth and adolescent support, aged care, emergency services, counselling, and general church community support. His academic record includes a BA in Theology, an MA focusing on Ancient Near East Archaeology, a Masters in Leadership and Management, and a Doctorate in Church Growth and Group Dynamics.
His life motto is “Living Life to the Full Following Jesus.” He has been blessed with a happy marriage to Bev for over 40 years. They have three children and eight grandchildren. Leisure interests include spending time with family, golfing, and water sports, particularly surfing.
Dr Hankinson became passionate about the ARCC Thailand orphanage after visiting with a youth group in 2018. This experience sparked ongoing involvement in supporting this challenging ministry for disadvantaged children.
