Meet the Team!

		Pronouns: She/Her Katie is currently completing her Certificate 3 in Business Administration at YO Bendigo. She is 18 years old and graduated year 12 from Bendigo Senior in 2025. She is young, fun and full of energy. She loves spending time with her family and friends, going for walks with her dogs Odie and Hazel, as well as colouring in and exploring new places. Katie also has a pet turtle named Squirt and absolutely loves watching The Bee movie on repeat and listening to her favourite artist Kendrick Lamar. Katie applied for this traineeship as she believed it was an amazing opportunity to learn and gain hands on experience for her future, whatever that may be. She loves the idea of being able to help support and empower the young people of Greater Bendigo, giving them a safe space where they can be themselves.

Katie Mansfield - YO Bendigo Trainee

		Pronouns: She/Her Self-defined as a unique mixture of confident but awkward, Jesse is the go-to for any enquiries regarding events, joining the YO events team or inviting a young person to perform at your event! From a small, rural township, Jesse has always been passionate about the local community and ensuring young people from regional and rural areas have plenty of opportunities to follow their passions and be their best confident selves. Always known as the “arty kid” throughout high school, Jesse has always enjoyed painting, drawing and anything that involves having a flair for creativity (with a few fun murals around Bendigo). This is showcased by her bachelor’s in fine arts, a bachelor’s in Business Management and Marketing, and through her involvement in varying hackathons, accelerator programs and community-based arts and media roles. At YO Bendigo, Jesse supports the YO Media team and helps organise youth programs, including workshops, micro-credential training and activities that help young people connect and gain employability skills.

Jesse Munzel - Community Connections Officer - YO Bendigo

		Pronouns: She/Her Chelsea supports YO Bendigo's Amplify Committee, a group of young and passionate volunteers called YO Events, to organise and deliver safe, fun and inclusive events for other young people. Get in touch with Chelsea if you're interested in event management and joining the YO Events team, running small youth-focused events, or if you're a young musician looking for performance opportunities. With an education background and Community Services Diploma, she is passionate about working with young people and as a proud Aboriginal woman, particularly enjoys incorporating supporting young mob into her work. Chelsea is a mother of 2, comes from a big family and has lived in Bendigo all her life. She likes a good scary movie, anything Bratz, fun socks, banana flavour (but not real bananas!), metal and pop punk music and going on long drives and adventures with family and friends. She doesn’t like country music or cheese on anything ever, including pizza. You can find Chelsea taking her kids to the park most weekends, or doing the latest hobby she has picked up- the most recent is teaching herself how to do acrylic nails.

Chelsea Hill - Community Connections Officer - Youth

		Pronouns: He/Him Leon Moulden has a diverse background in higher education, the community sector, small business, and local government. Leon has worked in several community development roles since commencing work at the City of Greater Bendigo in 2016 and has been in his current position as the Youth Lead since July 2021. Leon coordinates the City of Greater Bendigo Youth Council and its activities so that they are empowered to provide a youth perspective on the City’s strategies, plans, policies, programs and projects. He’s role also includes leading the implementation of and reporting on the City’s strategic commitment to young people in Greater Bendigo. Leon also supervises YO Bendigo trainees and work experience students. When he isn’t busy supporting young people to be empowered and active young leaders and citizens, Leon is either in his vegetable garden or revegetating his eight-hectare property. Leon has qualifications in the social sciences and has an unfinished PhD gathering dust on a shelf in his library.

Leon Moulden - Community Connections Officer - Youth Lead



Others you might see

		Pronouns: She/Her Kristy is a born and raised Bendigo woman. She works in the Early Years section of the Community Connections team and is always busy with the next great event for children in Greater Bendigo. Kristy started working for the City in 1998 and has had many roles that support children in our community ever since. You might have also seen Kristy running around with the Bendigo Easter Festival, Fun loong Fun Day or any number of Family-focused community events each year. Kristy is the proud mum of three teenagers and two very spoilt dogs! She is always out running around with her family, whether that’s from footy, cricket, basketball or dancing. She loves Bendigo for its food, events, culture, parks and open spaces.

Kristy Bennett - Community Connections Early Years Events

		Pronouns: She/Her Jo has spent most of her career working in communication, employee engagement and change roles in medium to large corporations. Her first job was as a journalist and that’s where she developed a love for connecting with the community, something she’s enjoying again in her current role. This is Jo’s first stint working for local government and after 5 years she still gets to learn something new most days. In her role Jo leads the Early Years, Youth, Positive Ageing and Community Engagement teams to do all the wonderful work they do. Outside the office, you may see Jo being dragged around the streets by a big black dog that was meant to be a labradoodle but is definitely more wolfhound than anything else.

Jo Connellan - Community Connections Coordinator