One of our treasured clients – Mark Watt, CEO of Whitelion – has received a prestigious national award!
Mark has been appointed a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia “for significant service to the community, particularly to disadvantaged and at-risk youth, through social welfare support organisations”. The ceremony will be held at Government House in May.
Throughout his long career, Mark has given thousands of young people the pride, courage and opportunities to change their lives – both at Whitelion and before.
In 1999, Mark and Glen Manton co-founded Whitelion after becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of post-release services to stop young people returning to prison. From humble beginnings, Whitelion now:
- operates in five Australian states
- has around 120 staff and 340 volunteers
- intensively supports over 2,500 young people
- provides outreach services to 20,000 more
- has 40% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.
The award recognises Mark’s enormous contribution to making Australia a better, fairer and more equal place. Congratulations Mark – we couldn’t be prouder of you, and of Whitelion!
Pesel & Carr first undertook communications work for Whitelion in 2010, and was invited back in 2017 to assist with developing its DNA, messaging, Bail Out events and other strategic communications. We love supporting its vision of an Australia in which “all young people have equal opportunities to succeed” and working with the friendly, dedicated staff.
