Gaining Ground WA Welcomes New Board Leadership
Gaining Ground WA Welcomes Marly Batenburg as New Chair and Emily Randall as Vice Chair of the Board
PERTH (20 May 2025) --Gaining Ground WA is pleased to announce that board director Marly Batenburg has been appointed as the new chair and board director Emily Randall has been appointed as the new vice chair. Marly Batenburg succeeds Gaining Ground WA Founder and Executive Director Kris Marano, who has served in the role since Gaining Ground WA’s incorporation in April 2023.
“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Kris, whose vision, dedication, and tireless leadership laid the foundation for this organisation,” said Marly Batenburg, Chair, Gaining Ground WA. “Kris has guided Gaining Ground with unwavering commitment and has championed opportunities for women and girls with passion and purpose in the community. The legacy of her impact will continue to inspire us as we build on the strong platform she's created, and Kris’s passion and expertise keeps propelling the organisation forward.”
Gaining Ground WA Board Chair Marly Batenburg
Marly continued, “I'm excited to step into the Chair role, and I look forward to working with our board of talented and skilled individuals to lead this unique and impactful organisation to support women and girls to thrive. I'm especially looking forward to partnering with our new Vice Chair—our complementary skills and strong working relationship position us well to guide Gaining Ground through its next chapter.”
Marly has worked across the Asia Pacific, empowering young people to shape their lives and communities through education and sport. Marly has held key roles with the North Melbourne Football Club and Purple Hands Foundation to use sport as a tool to foster social inclusion and belonging. She currently works at Minderoo Foundation as Principal of Place Based Community Empowerment.
“Marly’s deep knowledge in systems change, community engagement, and values for healthier and stronger communities aligns with the mission of Gaining Ground WA to equip young women and girls with leadership tools, wellbeing skills, and role models in and out of sport. Our work together throughout the past year has shown her passion, commitment, and strategic mindset to grow our impact sustainably and long-term,” said Kris Marano, Executive Director, Gaining Ground WA.
New Vice Chair Emily Randall is the CEO of Swimming WA. She has a track record of leadership and consulting roles with state sporting organsations and peak bodies, including as current CEO of Swimming WA, former CEO of Gymnastics WA and as General Manager of TrueSport, SportWest’s capability building program for sporting organisations in the state.
Ground WA Vice Chair Emily Randall
Emily’s extensive leadership capabilities will continue to guide and contribute to the the organisation's risk management, policy development, and governance of ethical and value-aligned partnerships.
Following a strategic planning session in April 2025, the Gaining Ground WA board is focused on building a multi-year strategy, strengthening the governance of the organisation, and growing organisational capacity and capabilities to lead into impact across Western Australia.
Learn more about the Gaining Ground WA board.
Founded in 2020, Gaining Ground is a women-led mental wellbeing not-for-profit that supports women and girls to thrive in and out of sport. By delivering mentorship programs and wellbeing workshops, Gaining Ground WA equips young leaders with the tools to build confidence, connection, and positive communication and sustain and grow their participation and leadership in sport. Dedicated to ensuring women and girls’ voices are heard and sport programs are designed to meet their needs, Gaining Ground is growing a community of women and men committed to creating a gender equitable future of grassroots sport and communities. For more information about how Gaining Ground is creating change, visit Gainingground.com.au or follow Gaining Ground on Instagram (@gaininggroundwa) or LinkedIn (LinkedIn.com/gaininggroundwa).