Kylie Shepherd-Smith
Administration Manager At Whitsunday Christian College
Born and raised in the Adelaide foothills of South Australia Kylie was 21 years old when she went travelling and explored the world.
Now Kylie works as Administration Manager at Whitsunday Christian College. As Administration Manager her and her team look after Administration, tuckshop and sickbay tasks.
She is passionate about giving both students and families support and prides herself in her communication skills.
“The best part about my role is seeing the students grow over the years, assisting them with their challenges and celebrating their achievements,” said Kylie.
In honour of International Women’s Day, Kylie thanks her mother and Nan for shaping who she is today and hopes to one-day be an inspiration to her daughters as they navigate their own careers and choices in life.
“Women empowerment to me means giving every woman a voice, sense of self-worth, the opportunity to make their own choices and the power to control their own lives in every aspect,” said Kylie.
When not working hard in the office, Kylie enjoys spending time with her family and close friends either travelling, boating or camping but, on quiet days enjoys spending time listening to music and in her garden.
Mett Silvanna Morris
Quality Assurance and Compliance Manager
With no two days the same and with years of expertise under her belt, there is never a task too big for Silvanna Morris, Quality Assurance and Compliance Manager of Whitsunday Foodservice.
A passion for dynamic problem solving and enjoying a unique and fascinating challenge, Silvanna ensures the best practices within her role and for the wider Whitsunday Foodservice, finding a great sense of purpose knowing that her day-to-day decisions directly affect the thousands of customers.
Joining the business for close to three years, Silvanna welcomed the new challenges that came with the role, with a diverse professional history spanning sales in the food industry, being promoted to Export Manager with a strong focus in Europe and Asia for a time. In this capacity, she primarily managed massive international brands, being recognized with ‘Young Manager of the Year’ award twice, and the company ‘Exporter of the Year’ three times. This led her to relocate to Townsville in quality assurance roles, which acted as stepping stones to her role with Whitsunday Foodservice.
Responsible for the Whitsunday Foodservice Food Safety Program, Silvanna ensures that all products the business receives, and delivers is safe for consumers.
“I assess and establish processes and actions to prevent food from containing substances that could harm a person’s health,” Silvanna explained. “These include contamination sources from chemical, physical, biological and allergens. Throughout the business there are critical control points and control points that aid in prevention of contamination, such as truck temperatures at receival.”
Outside of the office, Silvanna enjoys spending time with her four boys and their one fur baby, usually cooking, practicing her artistic ability, and working out. She particularly loves travel, with good friends across Australia that are always willing to host her was a brief holiday away.
Gabriela Matos
Assistant Venue Manager At Jubilee Tavern
Originally from Brazil, Gabriela was searching for a better lifestyle opportunity when she discovered Australia and has lived in the country for five years now, the Whitsundays for two and a half years.
Gabriela sees herself as someone who wants to grow and succeed in life, as well as being resilient and persistent with what she wants to achieve.
From being a financial assistant in Brazil, to hair braiding at Movie World on the Gold Coast, Gabriela experienced a variety of jobs before finding her true passion in hospitality.
Joining the hospitality world just after Covid-19, Gabriela thoroughly enjoyed being a bartender and gaming attendant and getting to know the locals.
After a year of this, she began to look for more challenges.
“I then decided to try management here in the Whitsundays, where I started as a bartender at Jubilee Tavern and with time and improvement, I stepped up to Duty manager within six months, and after eight to nine months I got promoted to Assistant Manager,” she said proudly.
Gabriela’s also acted as venue manager twice which she said has given her lots of knowledge about the financial side of the business and what goes on behind the scenes.
“I am very grateful for every single opportunity I had, especially the ones that gave me space and opportunity to grow professionally and personally,” she shared.
When not working Gabriela likes to go travelling, camping and road tripping.
A normal weekend for Gabriela involves the gym or something outdoors like a trip to the beach, a walk or fishing.
Star sign: Gemini
Fav Colour: Pink
What have you felt inspired by this year? There’s a song from Ocean Alley that I love “Corduroy” or “Bright Lights” from Ziggy Alberts
Fav quote: “Don’t do to others what you don’t want done to you”
Something most people don’t know about you: I have a twin sister.
Describe your personality in three words: Independent, resilient, outgoing
