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Mountains Youth Services Team – New Chair Announcement

Posted on July 8, 2026 by - Home, Press Release

Head-and-shoulders portrait of a smiling blonde woman in a white blazer against a gray studio backdrop.

Mountains Youth Services Team (MYST) appoints new Chair to support strong governance and continued impact for young people in the Blue Mountains

The MYST Board is delighted to announce the appointment of Sema Whittle as Chair, effective 30 June 2026. Sema’s appointment follows a thorough and considered recruitment process and reflects MYST’s commitment to strong governance as it continues its work supporting young people aged 12 to 24 across the Blue Mountains.

Sema brings deep governance experience and a long-standing commitment to the wellbeing of children and young people. She served for nine years on the board of KU Children’s Services, one of Australia’s largest early childhood education providers, including three years as Chair from 2021 to 2024. There she served through a period of strategic transformation focused on inclusion, service quality and long-term financial sustainability and oversaw governance reform and board succession and the expansion of community programs for children experiencing disadvantage. She also oversaw the re-establishment of the KU Marcia Burgess Foundation, broadening community impact through Indigenous language and healthy-eating initiatives in areas of high need.

In her executive career, Sema leads ESG and Business Resilience at Stryker across the South Pacific, with earlier senior roles at Allianz and IAG spanning governance, sustainability, risk and customer advocacy, including strengthening protections for vulnerable and supporting First Nations customers. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and chairs the Sustainability Committee at the Medical Technology Association of Australia. Sema is also the co-author of the Being Brave series, two published books for tween and teen girls exploring identity, confidence and resilience.

The MYST Board looks forward to working with Sema to strengthen the organisation’s governance and extend its impact for the young people and families of the Blue Mountains.

ABOUT MYST

MYST is a youth services charity supporting the development of 12 – 24 year old people in the Blue Mountains areas with relevant, engaging and dynamic programs as well as individual and family counselling, financial counselling, and youth worker advocacy services. MYST programs are designed to build resilience and self-belief as an early intervention strategy to facilitate individual agency and ultimately support young people to get back on track, re-engage positively with the community and lead their best lives possible. More information about the services MYST offers in the Blue Mountains can be found below

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Mountains Youth Services Team – New CEO Announcement

Posted on December 24, 2025 by - Home, Press Release

Mountains Youth Services Team (MYST) appoints new CEO with a continued focus on providing quality services to support the young people in the Blue Mountains

After an extensive and rigorous search and recruitment process, the MYST Board is delighted to announce that Mr Mark Turley has been appointed as MYST’s next CEO. Mark will commence on 5 January 2026.

Mark brings a wealth of successful CEO, executive and senior leadership experience within the charities, private and public sectors. He has a strong track record of change management, team development and strategic planning and implementation. Mark also has proven commercial acumen honed for the charities and private sectors. He has demonstrated capability in developing
partnership arrangements across the charities, private and public sectors both in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Prior to his appointment at MYST, Mark held two CEO roles for over a decade. Previously he was the CEO at Connect Child and Family Services Ltd based in the Blue Mountains and more recently he was the CEO of Living My Way.

Given Mark’s extensive experience and his performance track record, the MYST Board is looking forward to working with Mark to continue to expand and improve the services that MYST provides.

ABOUT MYST

MYST is a youth services charity supporting the development of 12 – 24 year old people in the Blue Mountains areas with relevant, engaging and dynamic programs as well as individual and family counselling, financial counselling, and youth worker advocacy services. MYST programs are designed to build resilience and self-belief as an early intervention strategy to facilitate individual agency and ultimately support young people to get back on track, re-engage positively with the community and lead their best lives possible.


More information about the services MYST offers in the Blue Mountains can be found at www.myst.com.au/what-we-do


READ MORE HERE

Gratitude and reflection from a young person

Posted on March 26, 2024 by - Home

The first time I encountered mountains youth services team was late 2018, where their drop-in service was operating thrice a week and provided a place of refuge for me after school. I, at 13 years old, attended frequently, and it was here that I formed relationships that were, and are still the foundation of my life. These formative years for me, that I am grateful for MYST to have been a part of, were tumultuous, yet MYSTs youth workers and councillors supported me through unprecedented hurdles such as homelessness, wrongful legal convictions and navigating living alone at 16. 

Without the support and advocacy from past and present youth workers at the service many of my achievements would have been unattainable. my introduction to the service kickstarted a realisation for me, that adults can be empathetic and understanding towards me and I could, in fact, feel safe and comfortable around them for the first time.          

This simple kindness changed everything for me, and with encouragement from the youth workers at the drop-in service, I gained the courage to self advocate. This step would be the one to change my life, my living situation and be a catalyst for developing self advocacy skills in work environments, interpersonal relationships and for the rest of my life. 

At nearly 20, I still attribute so many of my experiences back to MYST, my life would be vastly different had MYST not been open to the community and hosted by talented youth workers who wanted to make a difference.