Our People

Chutzpah Factory bases its activities around the business principles we teach. Ethical entrepreneurship is at the centre.
Our people run the Chutzpah Factory as an entrepreneurial venture, seeking to be self-sustaining and sustainable.
Our passion is not just entrepreneurship in its many forms but also the potential within every person to create a life’s purpose out of their passion.

 

Andrea Travers
Manager

For over two decades, Andrea has been engaged at a senior level in planning, organisational development, sustainable fundraising strategies and innovation projects across the community sector. Andrea has a particular passion for creative responses to all sorts of issues - especially with regard to social entrepreneurship and social enterprise.

Andrea also operates her own training and consulting business with a focus on communications skills.

Many years ago Andrea gained a Degree in Criminology which she now realises was great for finding out how people take a wrong turn. The Chutzpah Factory is one way in which we can help turn out right.

In all of her work, the central theme is about people finding their passion so that they can live with purpose.

 

Marcel Berger
President

Marcel Berger is a strategy consultant with success and experience in start-up and SME businesses. Marcel has over 8 years’ experience in marketing and four years in strategic business and marketing communication, and has founded three businesses both in Australia and abroad.

Marcel's successes have been confirmed by numerous business awards including the 2007 Australian Student Entrepreneur of the Year.

Completing a Bachelor of Business (Entrepreneurship) from RMIT, Marcel has assisted Australian SME's in the areas of innovation, marketing, strategic business planning, business development, commercial creativity and commercialisation.

 

Mark Emerson
Treasurer

Mark Emerson is a highly experienced senior executive with a record of leading service businesses from start up to consolidation and maturity. With tertiary qualifications in marketing and business, Mark has led and developed all areas of a business.

After building a solid foundation of experience with two of Australia's largest corporates, Mark set up a human capital business in partnership and led it from day one to successfully completing the sale of the business to an International firm sixteen years later.

Mark established Sustained Ability Pty Ltd in 2007. Sustained Ability is a high performance business consultancy that works with owners and managers to create the sustainable behavioural change required to maximise profitability.

In addition to Sustained Ability, Mark has been Managing Director of a medium sized national services firm, is currently Chairman of an emerging human capital consultancy and a Board member of the Chutzpah Factory College of Entrepreneurship. Chutzpah gives young people the vehicle to discover, develop and achieve their potential through enterprise education.

Mark also spent six years as a Board member and Chairman of The Pathways Foundation, a national harm prevention charity that provides contemporary community based Rites of Passage for boys into Manhood and girls into Womanhood.

 

Leanne Clarkson
Secretary

Leanne has over 16 years non-profit management experience working in social ventures to improve life opportunities with and for children and young people in out-of-home care and through innovative programs working with youth in rural and remote Australia.

In 2007, Leanne completed the Graduate Certificate in Business, Philanthropy and Non-Profit Studies, Queensland University of Technology.

Our Founder – Louise Earnshaw

Louise Earnshaw founded The Chutzpah Factory College of Entrepreneurship to provide accredited real-world entrepreneurship training to marginalised youth.

The Chutzpah Factory grew out of Louise’s PhD research into “Chutzpah” in entrepreneurs and maverick youth. The word "chutzpah" is Yiddish for cheek, audacity, guts and gall, in other words, a person with entrepreneurial traits.

The research found similarities between successful entrepreneurs and youth at-risk. Louise recognised that her research model and findings had international application and proceeded to establish The Chutzpah Factory and to develop a Registered Training Organisation, accredited courses and a not-for-profit organisation.

In March 2002 Louise introduced her methodology to the public as training workshops in youth entrepreneurship development, and since then has completed:

  • Workshop tours in seven countries working with in excess of 10,500 participants resulting in skilling high-risk youth to launch micro-enterprise including a number of projects for cultural preservation in the Indian Himalayas and Sri Lanka
  • Offered programs in five Australian states
  • Launching Australian Chutzpah sites including two Indigenous sites in the Goldfields and Ngaanyatjarra Lands, Western Desert, facilitating in excess of 100 high-risk indigenous and non-indigenous youth to create micro-enterprises, leading to employment, education and training, work placements, traineeships and apprenticeships