Congratulations is in order for Dismantle CEO, Pat Ryan, who has been selected as a Westpac Social Change Fellow. He’s one of two WA-based leaders of a social enterprise to be selected, out of a group of ten, all of whom (Pat very much included) are superstars in their own field. Fellows are supported on a six month personal development journey, specifically to develop their leadership potential. Pat plans to travel nationally and internationally to engage with other organisations who are creatively providing employment support for at-risk young people. He’s going to observe best practice from all around the world to improve not only Dismantle’s approach, but that of the wider WA sector.

Pat's also been busy guiding WA’s Social Enterprise sector towards big things with his role in the establishment of the WA Social Enterprise Council (WASEC). WASEC is a voice for WA’s social enterprise network, an accreditation and certification body for emerging social enterprises and a proud member of the Alliance of Social Enterprise Networks Australia.

It’s early days yet, but the organisation intends to support and develop the sector with a focus on social procurement across all sectors, social enterprise accreditation, robust impact and outcomes measurement frameworks, legal and financial structures and support and ethical, values-driven stewardship. Pat Ryan, with his experience in establishing both BikeDr and ReNew as social enterprises, was invited to join the organisation’s steering committee. He’ll be representing established social enterprises and will be helping WASEC establish its advocacy practices to foster a thriving, collaborative social enterprise sector in WA.