Trustees
All current active Trustees were involved in the early development and growth of the Pathways Foundation. These dedicated individuals continue to oversee the development of the Foundation and its programs and it is their duty to ensure the organisation stays true to its values. The current Trustees are:
Don Bowak
Don was trained as an Anglican Priest receiving his Licentiate of Theology in 1960 and training as a counsellor at the Royal Melbourne Hospital 1961-3. From1967 he worked as trainer and staff development officer with the Department of Social Security. After starting his own business as Catalyst Consultants, he worked with most Australian Government departments. He has tutored at Canberra University and worked with the UN in the areas of Management and Supervisor training and Organisational Development. Don has facilitated Training, Conflict Resolution and Personal Growth workshops since the early 1980's. He now lives on the NSW South Coast where he runs mens and youth workshops and facilitates men's support groups as well as maintaining his private counselling practice. He was a member of the first ANZMLG in Sydney in 1991 and has been involved in mens work, specifically, since 1988. A founding member in the development of the Australian "Pathways to Manhood" program, he is State President of NSW Men’s Health & Wellbeing Association and a NSW representative in the The Australian Federation of Men's Health & Wellbeing Associations.
Ranald Allan (B.A. Dip.Ed)
Ranald is a co-founder of the Pathways to Manhood program. Has worked with Aboriginal people for five years before working as a writer in film and television. His first experience of "men's business" was his participation in Aboriginal ceremonial life which created a passionate belief in the necessity of ritual and rites of passage for healthy communities. This was reinforced after involvement with Native American rituals and training with Navaho and Sioux medicine men. Ranald established the first Pathways program in Tasmania in 1995, founded the annual Tasmanian Men's gathering and has taken groups to desert Aboriginal communities every year since the early nineties. He is a qualified teacher and university lecturer in Aboriginal Studies and Screenwriting with over 14 years experience as a workshop facilitator.
Joseph Raya
Joseph is a father of two who lives on the NSW north coast with his partner, Joseph is a trained and versatile musician and experienced facilitator who skillfully incorporates music, ritual and storytelling with an innovative and refreshing leadership style. He is passionate about the creative, deliberate and respectful use of rhythm, personal story, collective wisdoms and the responsible use of natural and manmade environments to draw out and inspire the discriminating fire of genius which he believes is present for us all. He draws on many years experience providing mentoring, residential care, therapeutic and educational programs for aboriginal and non-aboriginal youth. He has also been a facilitator, musician, and organiser with men's, youth and community projects in Australia, New Zealand and Canada since 1989. He is a co-founder of the Pathways to Manhood program.
Allan Rudner
Allan's passion is building deep relationships. He works with men and teenage boys, individually and in groups and is a regular presenter at conferences and on radio. He is a skilled communicator, storyteller, personal coach, counsellor, workshop and ceremony designer and is a Mentor for young offenders with Juvenile Justice. He is a founder and facilitator of Career Coaching for youth, Men, Passion and Purpose, She Says He Says forum, Lifeline Sydney Training Coordinator and a Telephone Crisis Counsellor. He is accredited by the Savannah Family Institute as a facilitator for the Parenting with Love and Limits (Transforming the Out-of-Control Teenager) program. Allan has a Masters Degree in Cultural Psychology and is in private practice. He lives in Sydney.
Bere (Diploma Outdoor Ed.)
Bere is a co-creator of the Pathways to Manhood program on the North Coast since 1994. Bere brings over twenty years experience in working with people and place. With a diverse background in education, welfare and the arts, it was his time in the early 1980’s at Mittagundi Youth Education Centre that fostered his passion for young people and wilderness. Bere has focused the last six years on facilitating and developing Pathways programs and is a co-founder of the Pathways Foundation
Elvian Drysdale
Elvian is a co-founder of the Pathways Womens Leadership team since 1999. She has been practicing complimentary and preventative medicine as a naturopath and herbalist for twelve years and specialises in community and family health. She also leads and facilitates womens circles.
Marybeth Zang
Marybeth is a facilitator of Rituals and all Rites of Passage work from birth to death. She is a Bereavement Counsellor, Marriage Celebrant, part time school teacher and yoga teacher for the last 20 years. She runs programs and workshops for girls (menarche) and workshops and support groups for women in Menopause. She designs and facilitates ceremonies to mark these times. She has been facilitating the process for women in Pathways for 4 years. Marybeth is the mother of 3 grown sons and a daughter. She is one of the senior Leaders and trainers for the Pathways Foundation.
Gary Williams
Gary is a father of two who lives in Fremantle with his wife Glenis. Glenis is also a Pathways leader. Has worked in the non-government sector initially in the drug and alcohol field for 8 years and for the last 5 years with the mental illness community. Active member of the Menswork Project (MWP) in WA, qualified Vision Quest guide, recognised national ‘Train the Facilitator’ consultant for the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia (MIFA), Pathways to Manhood leader and partner in Drinking Lizard Entertainment – entertainment and events management consultancy.
Dianne Ryan
Dianne is a spiritual woman passionate about transformation, community, ritual and ceremony. Her greatest teachers have been her blended family of 5 sons and 2 daughters and her journey in the Sweet Medicine SunDance Tradition to be a sacred pipe carrierDianne balanced life as a professional corporate trainer with her pursuit of excellence in the martial arts of Kendo & Karate, representing internationally, forming a strong love of cultural and spiritual diversity. As a passionate pioneer she is a founder of Women’s Wellbeing Association and International Coaching Federation – Brisbane. She is the co creator, facilitator and trainer of ‘Womanhood’, ‘Calling All Daughters’ and ‘Pathways into Womanhood.’ And speaks on Rites of Passage, Sacred Sexuality and Work, Life, Balance. Dianne is a practising counsellor psychotherapist and a teacher at the Institute of Energy Science and co owner of Junjarina Healing Centre