Great local people committed to you.
Olympia
Olympia Hollink is a true local independent candidate. I'm proudly Mascot born and raised since 1971. My Greek parents, Michael and Mary Lazarides were already active in the local community by the time I was born, helping establish the Greek Community of Mascot Inc. and the Mascot Soccer Club. I am lucky enough today to serve on the Executive Committee of both these local institutions.
Educated at Mascot Public School and JJ Cahill memorial High School, I live by my old school mottos of "Strive to achieve" and "Do what is right, because it is right". I graduated from UNSW with a Bachelor of Social Science (Economics) and for the last 20 years have served in the public service in both the Australian and NSW Governments.
I've helped improve the lives of Australians through my policy and program work in early childhood education and aged care. I enjoy helping people, whether it be through my paid roles or volunteer roles in the community. I am just as happy writing briefings for the prime minister as I am firing up the BBQ at L'Estrange Park on a Saturday morning!
At home, I am a mother to two amazing young men - Tristan is 24 and Nathanael is 20. When they were little, the boys and I moved around Australia, as their father was an Australian Army Officer. He was deployed to Iraq and East Timor and during those times I returned to Mascot, my safe place, where family, friends and community supported me. Those postings were an incredible experience and included Darwin, Adelaide and Canberra. But our spiritual home was, and always is, Mascot.
Olympia and her partner, Robert, love dining out, going to concerts, travelling, and enjoying good company.
Fun fact about me? I make my bed every morning and, even though I'm right handed, I use a left handed mouse!
I love where I live. I love the people who also live and work here. I'm dedicated to improving our local area and building strong community connections, regardless of which suburb you live in. If you feel the same way, think of me on polling day. I'd appreciate your vote.
Glen
Glen Ramos is a true local independent candidate. Having lived in Mascot since 1975 (with a short stint on the Rockdale side of Bayside) and also keeping an office in Arncliffe for 10 years I’ve had the opportunity to live and work in the entire Bayside community my whole life.
Educated at St Therese Primary School Mascot, Marist Brothers Daceyville, and Marcellin College Randwick, Glen holds a Bachelor of Arts (History & Philosophy of Science), Bachelor of Science (Psychology), Master of Health Leadership & Management and a Master of Public Health (Health Promotion) (both with Excellence) and is currently undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy at UNSW Sydney where he is also a Casual Academic. His work in management, leadership, governance and health has enabled him to attain additional recognition including Associate Fellow, Australasian College of Health Service Management; and a Fellow of the following organisations: Governance Institute of Australia; Australian Institute of Management; Institute of Managers and Leaders; Royal Society for Public Health; and Royal Society of Medicine.
Glen is a highly experienced senior executive, director, and management consultant with over 30 years’ experience in health, allied health, and public health, non-profits, advocacy, governance, and engineering. In his health-related roles Glen has initiated public inquiries, judicial inquiries, and legislative changes at State and Commonwealth levels resulting in policy change improvements to injury and communicable disease prevention, access to mental health services, and equitable access to specialist medical services. In his engineering roles he led a team that was part of the one of the largest urban flood mitigation programmes in Australia (Brisbane River upgrades following the devasting floods). Other activities have included urban infrastructure works such dams, sewage, and wastewater remediation across the middle east, southeast and central Asia, and remote areas of Australia.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a very broad education, training, and work life that has provide with me with an array of experience in many industries and sectors. Many of these have been directly connected to the type of things that is core business for local councils. I hope that my “bigger picture” perspective will help bring and identify opportunities for collaboration, leadership, and rebuilding the reputation of our local council which has suffered through the challenges of amalgamation and seemingly service shortfalls on the former botany side.”
Glen currently serves on the board and committees of the Australian Health Promotion Association; Australasian Epidemiological Association; Public Health Association of Australia (NSW); Australian & New Zealand Head and Neck Cancer Society; Academic Council of Alliance for Health Cities, and Rare Cancers Australia, and the Mascot Kings Football Club.
“I’ve previously served on school advisory councils, helped rebuild the Rockdale Raiders Soccer Club, was a Sydney Cord Blood Bank volunteer driver in the St George Region, and member of Hurstville Rotary which covered the St George Bayside Council area. Up until recently I was also a Volunteer Ambassador for Cancer Council NSW. Additionally, as a person living with a rare cancer for 20 years, I know first-hand the challenges (particularly the institutional barriers and exclusions) of people in vulnerable situations. The inequities, in many cases, from being unable to participate equally in society is something that local councils can (and should) address. Just because people have challenges or are different shouldn’t mean they are excluded from things everyone else gets to participate in and enjoy. Our community should be inclusive and foster connections.
I want to ensure that my two boys and their friends are able to grow up, live, and enjoy their lives in this community in a similar, if not better way, than we all did growing up here. I’ve seen a lot of change in the nearly 50 years of living here. Change is inevitable but we can ensure, through good independent governance that it can have a positive impact on the lives of our community.
And when I’m not being so serious, you may catch me watching mind-numbing reality TV shows, trying to hunt down the best breakfasts in the area, or maybe just riding my bike around the neighbourhood with my two boys.”
John
John Araujo is a true local independent candidate. I’m a proud Mascot resident and I love being part of this very special community. I was born at the former Royal Hospital for Women in Paddington in 1972 to Portuguese immigrants, and grew up in Darlinghurst where my father was the live-in caretaker for the Jewish Community Centre – now the Jewish Museum.
My early school years were spent at Sacred Heart Primary School Darlinghurst and I also attended Portuguese school in Surry Hills to learn the native tongue of my family. I completed my HSC at St Mary’s Cathedral School in the city, during which time my family moved permanently to Zetland, where we formed life-long friendships and learnt to be street smart in this strong working class suburb of Sydney.
I was always intrigued by how things are made and created, so I decided to fulfill my love of building and architecture at the University of Technology Sydney, where I completed my Bachelor of Arts & Master in Architecture degrees. Before and during my studies I worked in hospitality and learned the importance of genuinely listening to people, gaining insight into all walks of life. I was privileged early in my career to gain valuable experience working with many talented architects and designers at top Sydney firms, including JPR Architects, Andre Baroukh Architects, FJMT and Turner Studio. My career spans 25 years in the construction and building industry. In 2020 I became a Justice of the Peace to serve the public and provide an accessible service to my local community.
One of the most important aspects of what I do professionally is helping people to create the home of their dreams to maximise their comfort and quality of life at home for their families. My approach has always been to help people translate their ideas and needs into functional, beautiful, liveable spaces grounded in great design. As a local architect, I am invested in ensuring our built environment reflects the needs and wants of the community, not just the desires of developers with deep pockets. Overdevelopment, poor planning and insufficient infrastructure will only be detrimental to our community and our local environment, and we must have strong voices sitting at the table to ensure sound decision making aligned with community wants and needs.
As a dad to four young kids who are all sports mad, our family is, like many local families, enmeshed in our local sports clubs. I’ve been a coach and a trainer to Mascot Kings football teams and Mascot Jets rugby league teams, and between my better half Kerren and I we manage to wrangle four kids around the very busy school and club sports commitments they take part in every week. Kerren is the CEO of a children’s health charity driving research into Sanfilippo syndrome, a type of fatal childhood dementia, and she is also president of the P&C Association at Mascot Public School. We are both deeply committed to giving back to our community. My family is my bedrock, and my hope is our local community is the best it can possibly be now and into the future for every single resident and the generations to come.
We bought our home in Mascot in 2011 and absolutely love the area. As the real estate agents say, there is proximity to the city, beaches, schools, shops and we have our own airport. But most importantly, it’s the people and the community that has my heart and I want to represent, promote, protect and make decisions based on genuinely community needs. I believe that for our community to be represented in what is a very Rockdale-dominated local council, we need Ward 2 councilors who live in Ward 2 representing Ward 2 residents. Not people who live outside the area and whose motivation for standing for election in Ward 2 is less clear.