SYDNEY, Australia — Thomas Peabody is the new CEO of Heaps Decent, the Australian organization that empowers underrepresented young people through creative expression, music, and digital media, Billboard can exclusively reveal.
As chief executive, Peabody succeeds Nerida Woods, who has led the youth music and arts organization for the past 13 years. In that time, Woods oversaw an expansion of its workshops, deepened its community partnerships, and generally strengthened its role as a creative pathway for young, marginalized people.
Peabody joins from Sony Foundation Australia, where he served as communications and grants manager, and will guide a period of “significant growth,” reads a statement.
The year ahead “is about showing up for more young people,” Peabody tells Billboard. “We’re starting strong in January, taking our artist-led music and visual arts workshops on the road across regional New South Wales, including Wilcannia, Wagga Wagga, West Wyalong, Dubbo and Gosford over the January school holidays.”
With Peabody at the helm, the organization will expand creative access for young people connected to youth justice, working across five of the six New South Wales youth justice centers in the first quarter, while continuing to support youth in refuge, overlooked communities, and those navigating disadvantage in both the city and regional areas.
“We’ve already received bookings for our flagship artist-led mentoring program Home Base, delivering weekly one-on-one music production support through mid-March 2026,” he adds.
“These early bookings highlight both the gap in equitable access to creative development opportunities and the strong demand from young people to have regular, supported spaces to share their voice and express themselves through music.”
Soon, Heaps Decent will unveil a new marquee event, a live fundraiser built to unite artists and industry around youth voices, “unlocking critical funding and inviting the creative, entertainment and philanthropic sectors deeper into our mission,” Peabody enthuses. “Because when the creative community backs young voices, change moves faster, and culture shifts in a more equitable direction.”
The transition is seen as a pivotal moment for the not-for-profit, particularly so as youth mental health, incarceration and exclusion remain urgent national issues.
Founded in 2007 by Nina Agzarian (aka Nina Las Vegas), Andrew Levins and Diplo, Heaps Decent has grown into a nationally-respected creative enterprise engaged with youth justice centers, specialist schools, community organisations and refuges. Its activities have enjoyed support from artists including Kobie Dee and Ninajirachi and long-standing collaboration with the likes of Diplo, T.E.E.D, Lykke Li, and M.I.A., A-Trak.
“Tom brings a fresh momentum to Heaps Decent and it’s inspiring to see someone with his experience and compassion step into the CEO role,” comments Agzarian, founder of NLV Records. “Nerida’s impact over the past decade has been profound. She has built a foundation of trust, creativity and community that will continue to guide us. This transition marks a powerful new chapter for the organization, and I’m excited for the possibilities ahead, ultimately empowering the young people Heaps Decent work with.”
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