Dr Stephen Duckett

Stephen Duckett is Director of the Health Program at Grattan Institute. He has a reputation for creativity, evidence-based innovation and reform in areas ranging from the introduction of activity-based funding for hospitals, to new systems of accountability for the safety of hospital care. An economist, he is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

Robyn Batten

Robyn Batten has held CEO and executive director positions in health, local government, community and aged care in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. Currently Robyn is a non-executive director of Uniting Victoria and Tasmania, the Executive Chair of Leap in! a tech start up and the Vice Chairman of MIM China Pty Ltd. Robyn holds a Bachelor of Social Work, Masters of Social Work, Masters of Business Administration and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Prof. Jane Gunn

Professor Jane Gunn is the Foundation Chair of Primary Care Research, the current Head of the Department of General Practice and Deputy Head of the Melbourne Medical School at The University of Melbourne. She is a General Practitioner, an Expert Primary Care Advisor to the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme, and was an advisor to the Australian Government’s Science Priorities and Mental Health Expert Reference Group. Professor Jane Gunn was the Chair of the Board of NMML Ltd from its inception until PHN formulation. In 2008 she was the inaugural recipient of the Bridges-Webb Medal for exceptional contribution to general practice research awarded by the Australian Association for Academic General Practice. In 2009 she was appointed to the National Health and Medical Research Council Research Committee, where she served for six years and chaired a variety of committees. She was a member of the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2007 Reference Group, a member of the Primary Health Care Research, Evaluation and Development (PHCRED) Strategy Advisory Committee between 2013 and 2014, and is currently a Chief Investigator in the 2012 NHMRC funded Centre of Research Excellence in Mental Health Systems Improvement (CREMSI).

Dr Leonie Katekar

Dr Leonie Katekar has 26 years’ experience in the health care sector including extensive primary care Indigenous health service delivery in government as well as being an executive in non-government not-for-profit organisations. Dr Katekar has also been at the forefront of the national innovations in health care utilising technology. Currently, Dr Katekar is the Clinical Director – Provider Networks, Medibank Private Limited. Dr Katekar's qualifications include, Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, Master of Bioethics, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and previously an Associate Fellow Australasian College of Health Service Management. Dr Katekar was recently on the Board of Directors, Australian Medical Association (AMA) where she was also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. Dr Katekar was also a Director of HealthDirectAustralia and was Chair of its Clinical Governance Advisory Committee and member of the Digital Services Advisory Committee. Dr Katekar was the Chief Medical Officer and Director or the Remote Health Branch in the Northern Territory responsible for delivering primary health care services for 30,000 Indigenous people in over 56 remote health centres; Director of the Clinical Unit for the National eHealth Transition Authority (NeHTA) and Former CEO for the Top End Division of General Practice.

Elizabeth Kennedy

Elizabeth is currently General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre which is Australia’s only public hospital solely dedicated to cancer treatment, research and education. Until early 2014, Elizabeth was Corporate Counsel at Epworth HealthCare, a position she held for some four years, having been previously appointed as Corporate Counsel at The Royal Women’s Hospital for eight years, and prior to this having been originally appointed as Corporate Counsel of both the Royal Women’s and the Royal Children’s Hospitals in 2002. Prior to her appointment to Women's and Children's Health, Elizabeth was Corporate Counsel at Southern Health for 3.5 years, and prior to that was the corporate solicitor to the Australian Medical Association (Victoria). She is Chair of the Appeals Committees, The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Elizabeth is also a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at Monash University.

Tony McBride

Tony has over 35 years’ experience in the health sector with the consumer advocacy and research, NGOs, Commonwealth and local governments, and universities. He currently works as a consultant and most recently established Community Owned Primary Health Enterprises (COPHE) with two colleagues. COPHE is promoting the greater involvement of NGOs and communities in providing primary health care as part of their integrated approach for their clients, predominantly outside of Victoria. Tony is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and a member of the Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner’s Advisory Council. For the last five years, he has been Chair of the Australian Health Care Reform Alliance (AHCRA), an alliance of about 25 national and state health professional and consumer organisations. AHCRA advocates for a more equitable health system with a stronger focus on prevention, primary health care and consumer participation. Tony has previously served as a member of National Health and Medical Research Council’s Prevention and Community Health Committee; a Director of Inner North West Melbourne Medicare Local; a member of the National Standing Committee on Quality of Care of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and a sub-committee of NPS Medicine Wise.

Terry Symonds

Terry Symonds has held senior leadership positions in government and worked closely for over a decade with Boards of public health services across Victoria. He is the Deputy Secretary, Health and Wellbeing at the Victorian Government’s Department of Health and Human Services. Terry is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

Tim Flowers

Tim Flowers has extensive expertise in financial reporting, enterprise management and governance and a passion for supporting organisations to successfully work within the NDIS. He has extensive experience working with the disability and community health sector as well as peak bodies, funders and government departments.

Dr Caroline Johnson

Dr Caroline Johnson is a practicing General Practitioner, Senior Lecturer at the University of Melbourne’s Department of General Practice and provides vocational training for GP registrars. She is actively involved in mental health advocacy work through the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

Taryn Rulton

Taryn leads financial and service reform projects at La Trobe University, building on a successful career as CFO and COO in the public health, justice and education sectors. She has an extensive background in strong financial management, being a former State Chair of Chartered Accountants ANZ’s Regional Council and member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). Taryn has held governance positions within the alcohol and other drugs and Community Health Sector and is a Board Member at Good Shepherd Australia and New Zealand.

Anne Heyes

Anne has over 35 years of experience in human resources having worked in Private Enterprise (Bank of Melbourne/Westpac, Coles Myer), Public Enterprise (Telecom, OTC, Sydney Waterboard , the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Workcover Authority) and more recently in the NFP sector heading up the People and Culture function for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. She has lead HR functions and been part of the Executive team for the last 20 years in organisations where she has led transformational and cultural change as these organisations have restructured to meet changing market conditions. She brings a commercial lens to people Management whilst being committed to building workforce capability and performance. She was a finalist in the 2015 CEO Magazine HR Executive of the Year awards and has received a number of industry awards for the work her teams have performed in the areas of Employee Engagement and Diversity. More recently Anne has transitioned from full time employment to a portfolio career including consultancy services. She has previously served as a member of the Advisory Board, Monash Medical Institute of Research.

Gabrielle Bell

Gabrielle Bell is an independent member of the Nominations, Remuneration and People Committee at EMPHN. Gabrielle is a corporate lawyer with broad experience working in Australia and South East Asia. During her legal career, she has specialised in corporate advisory, including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets. She is an experienced non-executive Director and is currently also serving on the boards of South East Water Corporation, V/Line Corporation, VicSuper Pty Ltd and InLife Independent Living Ltd. Ms Bell holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) from the University of Melbourne and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Janine Wilson

Janine is an accomplished executive with 25 years’ experience in the health sector, where she has held strategic, operational, marketing and general management roles. Prior to joining EMPHN on 1 June 2020, she oversaw the establishment and ongoing operation of Telstra Health’s National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR), operated on behalf of the Commonwealth Department of Health and supporting screening for cervical and bowel cancer. Prior to her tenure with Telstra Health, Janine held a number of executive roles with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (now “Lifeblood”) and in the American healthcare system as Director of Strategy for the New York Blood Center. Janine holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School, where she was the recipient of the Helen McPherson-Smith Scholarship.

James Scott

James is a Chartered Accountant and has worked for commercial organisations in the airline and financial consulting sectors and in local government. Prior to joining EMPHN, he was the Director Corporate Services at Moreland City Council where he drove significant improvements in financial outcomes and long term financial planning, implemented major technology upgrades and led large, diverse teams. James is an experienced senior leader and brings demonstrated skills in the areas of team leadership, financial and operational management, strategy implementation and good governance. In addition, he is a board director of the Moreland Energy Foundation Limited (MEFL).

Harry Patsamanis

Harry has worked in healthcare for more than 26 years developing a comprehensive understanding of the health system and the challenges associated with providing true patient centred quality care. For a number of years Harry managed quality improvement projects across the health sector and for the Department of Health and Human Services. Harry’s strong interest in chronic disease management lead him to take on management roles at both Alfred Health and St Vincent’s Health where he was responsible for the delivery of comprehensive services in complex care, diabetes, lung disease and heart failure. Prior to joining Eastern Melbourne PHN, Harry held a senior role with the Heart Foundation, where he was instrumental in implementing key campaigns in prevention, heart attack awareness, cardiac rehabilitation and heart failure. Harry is a co-author of nine publications and has held advisory roles at a state level in cardiac care. He brings passion and a reputation for collaboration, service innovation and patient centred care to his role at Eastern Melbourne PHN.