2023/2024 Committee
CHAIR: Jake Little (he/him) - North Bondi
I joined surf lifesaving as a nipper in the Under 6’s at Cronulla Surf Club, and 27 years later, I am still actively involved in surf lifesaving. Now, I am a member at North Bondi. I have been part of LWP since 2016 and have been on the LWP committee for the past 6 years.
As the Chair of Lifesavers with Pride, I am committed to leading and representing the diverse membership of both LWP and SLSA. I am excited to broaden our impact with local surf clubs across Australia, to increase our visibility on the beach, and to promote lifesaving as welcoming, progressive and inclusive. The ocean doesn’t discriminate, and neither should we.
When I am not on the beach, I work as an educational consultant and advisor to the NSW government. I have a PhD in education and can talk all day about all things mathematics!
SECRETARY: Mike - North Bondi
In 2014, I earned my Bronze Medallion and became a proud member of North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club. Since then, I've dedicated myself to mastering various skills and have achieved the rank of IRB driver. These days, you're likely to spot me skillfully maneuvering beyond the break - perhaps even executing the occasional donut for good measure.
When I'm not at North Bondi, you can catch me at Coogee Beach participating in the Original Bootcamp. I'm an early riser, so you'll find me there at 05:30 in the morning!
TREASURER: Tracey Constantinou (she/her) - Coogee
I was born and lived in Melbourne until I was 25. I then decided to travel the world spending a year in Canada then 2 years in London where I met my husband who is from Sydney. When we returned, we settled in Sydney, where we welcomed our son Curtis, 16 years ago. I have been a Lifesaver at Coogee for the last 10 years – inspired by my son doing Nippers with Coogee Minnows. I achieved my Bronze Medallion in 2014 and then become Age Manager for the under 10s age group. I loved teaching them everything from sun and surf safety, beach sprints and board paddling, then life saving skills, CPR and seeing them morph into lifesavers themselves.
I live a very active lifestyle training at the beach through all seasons 5 days a week, I also love running and am very proud of the fact I completed the 2024 Sydney Marathon.
CREATIVE: Bastien Wallace (she/her) - Bondi
I joined Surf Life Saving because my lovely swim squad coach told me to join his club (Dixon Park). I have served for 17 years in Hunter, Sydney and Northern Beaches Branches, competing as a surf boat rower for a number of clubs in NSW and even once for Torquay in Victoria. I will race and patrol with Manly this season.
I loved being involved with surf clubs, but introducing my girlfriend to my patrol in my 20’s wasn’t a great experience. I joined the committee because I believed Lifesavers With Pride could help Surf Life Saving evolve into a better, more inclusive organisation.
My goal is to help Lifesavers With Pride become more Welcoming, Inclusive and Progressive by learning from our members, and a greater diversity of voices.
My professional and research work has focussed on using sport, physical activity, and active transport to improve public health and inclusion. My government relations, social media strategy, legal and policy skills have contributed to national and international active transport and sports policy improvement. I am also the CEO of Sport Health Tech- a health technology company focussed on digital solutions to improve lifestyle disease.
MEDIA: Ben Munro Smith - North Bondi
LOGISTICS: Matthew Werner - Tamarama
I’ve been a Surf Life Saver at Bondi for 4 years. I joined Surf Life Saving because I wanted to take my love of the ocean to the next level and get involved in community service.
I’ve had an amazing time participating in LWP events over the past 2 years and wanted to get more involved with the Committee to help continue building a safe, inclusive and accepting culture at Surf Life Saving Australia.
As a committee member, I’d like to expand our reach with local surf clubs, increase membership and support an active calendar of events across Australia throughout the year.
As a corporate innovation and entrepreneurship specialist, I help teams embrace change and transform into organisations of the future. I hope to bring these skills to the LWP committee.
GENERAL: Nabil Alizai (he/him) - Palm Beach
I’m a member of Palm Beach Surf Club (NSW), but am still relatively new having only joined Surf Lifesaving a few years ago. I grew up in the UK, and have called Australia home since 2017. During that time, I’ve loved my time at the beach and have learned so much about the ocean – the good and the bad. For me, Surf Lifesaving has been as much about giving back as it has about finding a community of like-minded people in a new country.
As part of the Lifesavers with Pride committee, I hope to continue to grow the amazing diversity and engagement that this community has become known for, throughout the year and across the country.
Beyond Lifesaving, I work at Qantas in the head office – I’m all about iconic Aussie brands!
GENERAL: Trent Wrightson - Newcastle
Trent has been a patrolling member at Newcastle Beach SLSC since 2021. He has been on the management committee of the club, helps out with Bronze Medallion training and is regularly training on the sand and in the water for competitions. Trent joins the LWP committee with enthusiasm to create a culture which welcomes and celebrates LGBTQI+ members and hopes everyone gets as obsessed with the ocean as he is. Trent is a public health professional with undergraduate qualifications in health science and development studies along with post graduate qualifications in public health. His current work sees him coordinate the commonwealth funded health outreach programs across the Hunter New England and Central Coast regions of NSW. Trent aims to bring this experience in public health to the LWP committee in building and developing a national network of LGBTQI+ surf lifesavers.
