The Y Ballarat and Y Ballarat Youth Services are delighted to announce the appointment of Kylee Bates as the new Chief Executive Officer of Y Ballarat, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our organisation. Kylee will be commencing in January 2027.

With a strong background in leadership across the not-for-profit, public and commercial sectors, Kylee brings valuable experience, fresh perspectives and a genuine commitment to people, purpose and community.

For the last two years she has lived in London where she held the role of Chief Operating Officer for the BrightPeak group which brought together three independent training providers delivering employability, skills training and alternative education programmes across England.

Prior to this Kylee held senior leadership roles with Country Fire Authority, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Mission Australia and Volunteering Australia, and served five years as CEO of Ardoch, a children’s education charity working with schools in disadvantaged communities.

Alongside her professional career, Kylee’s volunteer roles have included 10 years on the board of the International Association for Volunteer Effort, including six as World President, and several years as Chair of the Victorian Community Services Panel for the Churchill Fellowship Awards. Kylee has tertiary qualifications in economics, law, and philanthropy and nonprofit studies, and an MBA from Melbourne Business School.

Importantly, Kylee’s leadership approach aligns strongly with the Y’s values and our broader mission to empower young people, strengthen communities and help people thrive.

She understands the importance of creating an environment where people feel valued, supported and connected to a shared purpose, and where our values guide not only what we do, but how we work together every day to create positive impact on our communities.

Kylee also appreciates the significance of the work of Y Ballarat as part of a national and global movement. She is also particularly excited to be returning to Victoria, and having the opportunity to work with staff and volunteers in local communities to make a difference to the lives of young people, children and their families across the state.

This appointment represents an opportunity to build on the strong foundations we have across all of Y Ballarat, embrace new ideas and continue shaping a sustainable and successful future for our organisation.

As an organisation with a proud history and an important role in the lives of people across our region, we have enormous opportunities ahead of us.

We are excited about the fresh energy, ideas and direction Kylee’s appointment will bring and look forward to our future growth and development alongside the strengthening of our services, as we continue to be a vibrant, resilient and impactful organisation.