Board of Directors

Chairperson, Non-executive director

Mr Damian Ferrie

Bachelor of Theology , Graduate Diploma in Conflict Resolution, Masters of Applied Science (Social Ecology), ANZSOG Executive Fellows Program, and Advanced Leadership Program  Judge Business School Cambridge University

Responsibilities: Commissioning, Quality and Performance Committee Chairperson

Damian has held executive leadership roles in health, housing and community development within the public and for-purpose sectors. His career has been focused on tackling social, economic and health inequity.

Until recently, he was a CEO in the community health sector, and in 2022 led the amalgamation of three services to form Better Health Network, a large community health service in the south eastern region of Melbourne. He has held governance roles on for-purpose organisations, including as the inaugural Board Chair of Mental Health Victoria. In addition to his passion tackling health inequity with NWMPHN, he is Board President of the Victorian Council of Social Services.

Other current appointments or memberships:  

• Victorian Council of Social Services, Board President

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Deputy Chairperson, Non-executive director

Dr Kathy Alexander

BA (Hons), GDip Public Health, PhD (Public Health Management), graduate of the London School of Business Proteus Program, 2012

Responsibilities: Member, Commissioning, Quality and Performance Committee

Dr Alexander is an experienced board member and chair who has served public, private and not-for-profit organisations. Her recent board and governance roles have included Chair of Administrators of the City of Greater Geelong, Chair of the Naomi Milgrim Foundation, and Chair of Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network. She has also held senior leadership positions in her previous roles as CEO of the City of Melbourne, CEO of the Women’s and Children’s Health Service (incorporating the Royal Children’s and the Royal Women’s Hospitals in Melbourne) and as CEO of several health services in South Australia.

Dr Alexander has an international reputation for stakeholder management, community engagement and effective public relations in complex and politically sensitive environments. She has chaired numerous governance and management reviews for state governments  and local governments in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Other current appointments or memberships:

• Chair, City of Wyndham Audit and Risk Management Committee
• Non Executive Director, Calvary Health Care

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Non-executive director, Community Council Chairperson

Ms Abiola Akinbiyi

BN, BTech (Hons)(Math), GradCert (MH), GradDip (ISM), MIS, MSc (Geront), Cert IV (Training & Assessment)

Responsibilities: Chairperson, Community Council. Member, Nominations and Remuneration Committee.

Abiola is an award-winning health care professional, entrepreneur, and community leader with over two decades of experience in the Australian health sector, focusing on aged care, multicultural communities and not-for-profit organisations. Her extensive background in education and IT, coupled with a deep commitment to community development and social justice, underscores her expertise. Abiola’s career spans from frontline health care to senior management, showcasing proficiency in clinical practice, leadership, and advocacy across aged care, mental health, women’s health, youth, and education.

As a registered nurse, she is a passionate advocate for enhancing health outcomes for all groups. She was appointed a Victorian Multicultural Commissioner 2021-2023. She also founded Changepreneurs, a non-profit dedicated to empowering CALD youth and women. An alumnus of leadership in Victoria, Abiola has won several health and community awards, including the 2021 Spirit of Victoria University Alumni People’s Choice Award.

Other current appointments or memberships:

• Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (ECCV), non-executive director
• ECCV New and Emerging Policy Advisory Committee, Chairperson
• Changepreneurs, President
• African Women and Family Network (AWAFN), board member
• Rotary Club of Wyndham Harbour, member and diversity, equity and inclusion team leader
• African Day Australia, member

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Non-executive director

Dr Tony Bartone

Responsibilities: Member, Finance, Audit and Systems Committee

Dr Anthony (Tony) Bartone is an experienced management executive and general practitioner of more than 35 years, working in two general practices in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.

Dr Bartone graduated from Melbourne University in 1984 after completing his residency at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, and obtained his fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 1990.

He also completed a Master of Business Administration from the Melbourne Business School in 2004 with First Class Honours.

Dr Bartone has held many federal AMA Council and Committee positions since 2008, including serving as a member of the AMA Council of General Practice. He was elected Federal President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) in May 2018, having served as Vice President since May 2016. He served as President of the Australian Medical Association Victoria (AMAV) from 2014 to 2016, and as Vice President of AMAV from 2012 to 2014.

His principal specialty interests include men’s health, mental health counselling, care coordination of patients with multiple chronic illnesses, and aged care.

Other memberships:

• Chair, Branch Council, AMA Victoria

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Non-executive director

Dr Chien Ho

MBBS (Hons.), FRANZCR, GAICD

Responsibilities: Member, Finance, Audit and Systems Committee

Chien is an experienced board director and radiologist with interests in clinical and corporate governance, strategic planning, equitable health care and digital health. He is a current board member of National Imaging Facility and he has been a board member of Integral Diagnostics.

He has held senior leadership roles, including chair and member of both the group-wide Integral Diagnostics and Lake Imaging clinical committees. As a radiologist for Lake Imaging, he has subspecialty expertise in musculoskeletal imaging, body MRI and cardiac computerised tomography. He is also a member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists’ Digital Health Committee and is actively involved with the not-for-profit global charity Radiology Across Borders, where he is co-lead of the Film Bank Project.

Other current appointments or memberships: 

• National Imaging Facility, board member
• RANZCR Digital Health Committee, member

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Non-executive director, Commissioning, Quality and Performance Committee Chairperson

Dr Nancy Huang

MBBS, DipRACOG, MPH, GAICD

Responsibilities: Chairperson, Commissioning, Quality and Performance Committee

Nancy is an experienced public health clinician and board member who has held senior executive roles in design, implementation, governance and evaluation of health programs within the commercial, not-for-profit, academic and government sectors.

Her 35-year career focuses on leading initiatives that use education, behavioural approaches, technology, clinical data, and systems changes to translate evidence into practice and deliver health outcomes that matter. Recently, she led the clinical governance of the Independent and Assisted Living Platform – a program by Australian Unity with 6,500 staff, 1,000 aged care beds, 20 retirement villages, and 35,000 home care packages, delivering care to more than 100,000 people across four states.

Other current appointments or memberships:

• Local Guardians Home Care Quality Care Advisory Board, Chair
• FightMND, Guideline Development Panel, advisor

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Non-executive director

Ms Elizabeth Kennedy

Responsibilities: Member, Commissioning, Quality and Performance Committee

Elizabeth Kennedy has had a 40-year legal career specialising in health law.

She has held a number of not-for-profit Board appointments throughout her career, including Director Monash Medical Centre, Alzheimer’s Victoria, Family Planning Victoria, Royal Women’s Hospital Foundation Ltd and the Victorian Cytology Service.

Other current appointments or memberships:

• Victorian Pharmacy Authority, Legal member
• Western Health, Board director
• Western Health, Chair, Audit and risk committee
• Australian Psychological Society, Board director
• Australian Psychological Society, Chair, Governance and risk committee
• Janet Clarke Hall, Director

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Non-executive director, Finance, Audit and Systems Committee Chairperson

Ms Genevieve Overell AM

BA, LLB, Grad Dip Financial Management, FAICD, FIPAA (Vic)

Responsibilities: Chairperson, Finance, Audit and Systems Committee

Genevieve Overell is an independent non-executive director on several boards. Her career spans leading executive and non-executive roles in financial services, infrastructure projects, professional services, government, health care, health sector, not-for-profits and the arts.

An experienced chair, Ms Overell brings significant commercial, legal, governance and advocacy skills. She was a Victorian Government deputy secretary and a partner at KPMG, advising on infrastructure projects. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Institute of Public Administration of Australia (Victoria). In the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia, in recognition of her service to the community. In 2021, Genevieve was appointed Distinguished Alumna of the Law Faculty, Monash University.

Other current appointments or memberships:  

• Global Infrastructure Hub, non-executive director
• Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alliance, non-executive director
• Victorian Opera, Chair
• Australian British Chamber of Commerce, Deputy National Chair
• Cladding Safety Victoria, non-executive director
• German–Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Deputy National Chair
• Committee for Melbourne, non-executive director

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Non-executive director, Clinical Council Chairperson

Professor Lena Sanci

MBBS., PhD., FRACGP., DipRACOG

Responsibilities:

• Chairperson, Clinical Council
• Member, Nominations and Remuneration Committee

Prof. Sanci is a local GP at Sexual Health Victoria, and Chair of General Practice and Head of Department of General Practice and Primary Care at the University of Melbourne. She is also Chief GP Advisor to the Victorian Department of Health.

Prof. Sanci has over two decades of expertise in medical curriculum design, co-design methodologies, implementation science, evaluation, and clinical trials and cohort studies in primary care and online settings. Her specific research interests are about improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people through primary care and educational or workplace settings, and health services research to improve the consumer experience. She has a wide network of national and international research collaborators.

Other appointments or memberships

• Melbourne Academic Centre for Health, Co-Chair, Primary Care Committee
• Victorian Department of Education Doctors in Secondary Schools Program, Medical advisor
• Australasian School Based Health Association, President
• Centre for Digital Transformation of Healthy, University of Melbourne, Advisor
• Collaborative Practice Centre, University of Melbourne, Advisor
• TROPHI (Translating Research Outcomes into the Primary Health Interface), Leadership committee member
• APPRISE (Australian Partnership for Preparedness Research on Infectious Disease Emergencies), Co-lead long covid project

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