As the CEO of Community Colleges Australia (CCA), Dr Don Perlgut has worked to strengthen CCA’s research and advocacy activities. Prior to his commencement as CCA CEO in 2015, he worked as the CEO of three other organisations, including the Rural Health Education Foundation and the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC). Don has also worked in the Community Outreach Program, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC); as the Executive Officer of The Bright Alliance, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW; and as a business development manager for both the Australian Institute of Management (NSW/ACT) and a start-up IT company.
As Project Manager, Open Learning and Adult Education for ABC Television, Don had responsibility for the ABC’s partnership with Open Learning Australia (now Open Universities Australia) and 15 Australian universities undertaking distance learning activities. For the ABC, he supervised the development two adult literacy television series with NSW TAFE, for which he received a Commonwealth Literacy Medal for his work during International Literacy Year 1990. He also developed a business management TV series with Holmesglen Institute (VIC), and an AusAID-funded English language teaching series broadcast both in Asia and Australia.
Don has been nominated three years in a row – 2019, 2020 and 2021 – for the Pro Bono Australia “Impact 25” social sector awards. He holds a PhD in communications from Macquarie University and a Master of City Planning (MCP) from the University of California, Berkeley.