Leadership

Noel Clement is Director of Migration, Emergencies and Movement Relations with Australian Red Cross. He first joined Red Cross in 2001 as National Manager of the Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme and since 2002 has held senior management roles including General Manager (Domestic Operations), Head of Australian Services and Director Australian Services.

Reporting to the Red Cross CEO and as a member of the Executive, Noel's responsibilities include migration and emergency service programs across Australia, international humanitarian law activities and leadership of key Red Cross Red Crescent Movement relationships.

Noel has worked for almost 30 years in the not-for-profit sector, including many years in community-based organisations in community health and public housing. His previous roles have included senior leadership, management, program coordination, social work and community development. He holds a Bachelor of Social Work (PIT) and a Masters of Social Policy and Community Service Management (RMIT).

Belinda Dimovski joins Red Cross after 10 years at Weight Watchers where as a passionate people and customer experience advocate, she led the Customer Experience, Operations, Customer Service, PMO and Logistics functions for the Australia/NZ business and played a co-ordination role for the international team. She has a comprehensive background in leading a multichannel service delivery organisation that includes digital, face to face, call centre and global solutions.

She is a values driven individual who is excited by a challenge, is motivated by people and has fallen in love with making a difference. As a Customer Experience advocate, Belinda believes that supporting an organisation to be more consumer-centric (be it a product, service or an experience) leads to better outcomes for the consumer and therefore a more engaged organisation in a state of continuous improvement.

She has extensive senior management experience and a proven track record innovating strategic and service initiatives across three diverse sectors, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and health service delivery. Her experience has allowed her to understand the ongoing work required and challenges faced by a business that is implementing a focus of customer experience and service improvement.

Penny has held senior strategic leadership positions within prominent international humanitarian and development organisations for over 15 years. Drawing on her experience working with locally based partners internationally and in Australia, Penny is keen to fostering collaboration among organisations, communities and governments and through this ensuring community participation in developing responses to complex needs. She is passionate about empowering people, groups and partner organisations to lead and advocate for the changes and improvements they seek.

Penny commenced in the new position of Director Volunteering in December 2016 where she will play a key role to ensure Australian Red Cross is part of an inclusive, diverse and active humanitarian movement in Australia. Prior to this Penny was Director, Victoria for 18 months leading Red Cross' programs across the state.

Before joining Red Cross, Penny worked at Oxfam Australia for 8.5 years including as Associate Director International Programs. In this role Penny lead and provided operational oversight to humanitarian and community development programs in partnership with locally based organisations across Africa, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific. Before this Penny worked in Australian Red Cross' International Program team for 3 years including and earlier over a six year period held a variety of positions with Médecins Sans Frontières including Country Directorships in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Penny holds a Master of Arts (Development Studies) and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) both from Monash University.

Kerry joined Red Cross in April 2004 and is currently Director of Community Programs.

Prior to this, Kerry held the following positions:

• Executive Director, South Australia Red Cross (2004-2013) - responsible for CEO support and special projects.
• Manager, Community and Environment in local government having oversight of community services, community and cultural development, library, environmental and health services.
• Regional Director for Spastic Centres of South Australia - managed significant service reform from an institutional base to consumer service model which led to the establishment of community based, individually tailored options for consumers with multiple and severe disabilities and their families.
• Social Worker with the South Australian Government's Department of Human Services and Intellectual Disability Services Council, working primarily in child protection with children at risk, families and communities and people with intellectual disability.

Kerry has a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of South Australia.  In 2017, Kerry completed the IMD High Performance Leadership Program in Lausanne, Switzerland and in 2012 completed the Women In Leadership Executive Program at the University of New South Wales.  In 2009 Kerry was selected for the South Australian Government's Women's Honour Roll and in 2012 was a finalist for the Telstra Business Women Awards.

 

Cameron has extensive experience in all facets of finance and business. He ran the Corporate Shared Services function within the Blood Service which is responsible for many business processes including transactional services, financial systems and delivery of strategic projects.

Prior to the Corporate Shared Services role, Cameron was the Financial Controller and oversaw key strategic changes at the Blood Service. Cameron served with the Blood Service for 10 years and was actively involved in the CPA contributing to their education programs.

Cameron is CPA qualified, and has a Masters of Business Administration from Mt Eliza Business School and a degree in Business (Accounting) and Software Development from Monash University. He has also completed the Company Directors Course with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

In June 2016, he took up the role of (Interim) Chief Financial Officer at Australian Red Cross and made the move permanent at the end of October.

Peter Walton is Director of International, joining in October 2013. He has over twenty years' international experience working in multi-sector international development in both not-for-profit organisations and the private sector.

During his career he has undertaken assignments in over 40 countries, including being based for seven years in Vietnam where he was the Regional Representative for operations across the Mekong region for Child Fund Australia. During this time he was awarded the Vietnam Government's Medal for Peace and Friendship, the highest award offered to foreigners, for services towards social development and poverty alleviation.

Peter was also previously the Director of International Programs at Save the Children Australia, overseeing global projects and leading an international team of technical and program support staff. Before joining Australian Red Cross, Peter was Chief Executive of Infoxchange, a social justice organisation that uses technology in support of social impact and social justice. Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Science (MSc) in Development Economics and an MBA.

Christopher Wheatley is Director of Strategy and Performance with Australian Red Cross.  He joined the humanitarian arm of Red Cross in 2015 after 7 years at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. 

Reporting to Judy Slatyer and as a member of the Executive team, Christopher’s responsibilities include strategic and annual planning, outcome and impact measurement and program evaluation, performance reporting and data analysis, the organisation’s research and horizon scanning functions, and government relations. 

Previously Christopher has worked for Medibank Private, Affinity Health (then the largest private hospital chain in Australia) as well as numerous roles in the Australian Government, including the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Department of Health and Ageing.  He holds a first class honours degree in psychology from the Australian National University and a Masters of Business and Technology from the University of New South Wales.

Poppy has a wealth and depth of leadership and sector expertise including:

• General Manager Early Education Inclusion and Acting CEO at various times at KU Children's Services – a not for profit national organisation which operates early childhood services and programs across Australia. Poppy has responsibility for over 400 staff, $80m budget and accountability for trauma informed and early intervention programs supporting vulnerable children and families, children with disabilities, migrant and refugee supports and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs. In this role, she works closely with approximately 6,000 parent members of the organisation. This includes ensuring the organisation seeks their input, meets their needs and addresses their concerns. 
• Management Consultant for Arthur Andersen focusing on strategic planning, organisation change, process and systems change.
• Learning and Development Manager including responsibility for graduate development programs.

Poppy has a BA Hons Business Economics, is a chartered accountant, has undertaken the Australian Institute of Company Directors course and is completing a postgraduate MBA in Social Impact. 

Sue has close to 20 years leadership experience across health, emergency services, aged care and community sectors including:

• Baptcare – led the business, digital and cultural change across aged care, disability, family services, affordable housing and asylum seeker programs in 3 states (VIC, SA and TAS). This includes co-designing an internal start-up trialling new ways of working in the community care sector.
• Various executive roles Ambulance Victoria (2007-17) – led major reform initiatives, strategic and operational performance, innovation and the transition of Victoria's adult retrieval service when it was on the brink of collapse.
• A volunteer mentor with Leadership Victoria and University of Melbourne's Connection Mentoring Program.

Sue has a Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Arts, Graduate Diploma in Business Management, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a certified coach/practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming.

Tara joined Red Cross in 2018 as Head of Legal. She has 10 years’ experience as Head of Legal and an Executive team member of innovative, intellectual property and brand-based businesses; 8 years top tier private practice experience; and experience with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and volunteer legal organisations.

Tara was previously at Gilead Sciences ANZ, where she was Legal & Compliance Director from 2015. Tara also acted as an Executive team member, statutory director and Privacy Officer. During Tara’s tenure at Gilead, she developed and implemented a new compliance framework for the organisation and built a legal/compliance team. Tara also helped achieve key business outcomes such as the negotiation of the largest ever Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme product launch with Government.

Prior to Gilead, Tara was the Legal Director at Merck & Co Inc for ANZ based in Sydney. Tara was at Merck for 7 years, managing the Legal team and acting as an Executive team member, statutory director, company secretary and Privacy Officer. Tara supported key business priorities such as merger implementation, pricing and business development as well as developing the lawyers in her team.

Immediately prior to Merck, Tara was on an AusAID program (Youth Ambassadors for Development) where she worked for the WHO based in Hanoi, Vietnam assisting the Ministry of Health implement their WTO obligations.

In private practice, Tara was with Minter Ellison (lawyer) and Clayton Utz (Senior Associate) focusing on product liability and class actions.

Tara has been lucky to live in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam during her career so far. She used to be able to speak Mandarin but now unfortunately only remembers enough to order takeaway.

Tara has a LLB and Asian Studies degree from ANU, a Masters of Laws from USYD and a Graduate Diploma in Corporate Governance from the Governance Institute. She is admitted to practice in Victoria, NSW and the Federal system.

Tara is married and has two girls. Tara enjoys exercising and cake decorating in what spare time she has.

Veronica Frost joined Red Cross in 2009 and has held several senior management positions throughout her tenure, including Business Services Manager and Head of IT Operations, before being appointed to Chief Information Officer in May 2014.

Veronica has 20 years' experience in Information Technology and a long track record of leading the transformation of technology functions in diverse and complex organisations.

Before joining Red Cross, she held development and digital roles at NineMSN and Pretzel Logic, Senior Business Analyst and then Head of IT at Rusty Surfboards. Veronica is an avid traveller, holds a Graduate Certificate in Business and Technology (UNSW) and is currently completing her Masters of Business and Technology (UNSW).

She was recognised for her outstanding ability to drive transformational change by being named one of the top 50 CIO's in Australia from IDG communications in 2016. Veronica's motivation for joining Red Cross resonates in her passion for the role of technology in transforming the delivery and improving the effectiveness of essential humanitarian services.

Mark Groote brings a wealth of experience having worked in senior roles in local, state and Commonwealth government, and the non-government sector. Mark's recent role as State Manager in the Commonwealth Department of Employment saw him responsible for South Australian employment services, support for workers experiencing structural change, labour market analysis, and local oversight of the national customer service line.

He has also worked in senior roles in the South Australian Government in Fire and Emergency Management, Volunteer Strategy Management and Social Housing including Aboriginal Housing.

Mark was also the National Director of the Australian Government's School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program. Mark holds a Bachelor of Social Work and is completing an Executive Masters in Public Administration.

Mali Hawkins has been the Director of Tasmania since December 2017 and has worked with Red Cross since 2011. She joined our community programs team in New South Wales firstly managing the community health and wellbeing programs, then working as social enterprise projects manager. Mali was our Community Services Manager for NSW/ACT from February 2016 to December 2017.

Currently completing a Masters in not-for-profit and social enterprise management at University of Technology Sydney, Mali holds qualifications in not-for-profit management, marketing and communications.

She has 10 plus years’ experience in community services and has held positions in management, program coordination and youth work. Prior to moving the not-for-profit sector Mali worked in media account management.

Leanne Joyce brings a wealth of experience in government affairs and communications across the not-for-profit, government, and corporate sectors. Her experience is supplemented by my qualifications in journalism, public policy, and business administration.

Her corporate and government experience includes senior executive roles with Telstra, NSW State Government, and the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade).

Leanne was Executive Director of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) in the 1990’s during a transformative time in health policy. She remains committed to social justice and to humanitarian issues.

Prior to joining Australian Red Cross, Leanne worked with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) - an international non-profit foundation created to develop new, affordable antimalarial drugs - as well as the Digital Industry Group, the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), the Asia Pacific Business Coalition on AIDS, and the Australian Primary Principals' Association.

Andy Kenyon has a 30 year career which spans a diverse range of themes and locales, including water management, Australian Indigenous land use and management, international development, monitoring and evaluation, program quality management and organisational change management and leadership.

He has lived and worked across Indigenous Australia, Asia, the Pacific and Africa. Prior to employment with Red Cross Andy worked for Indigenous Australian organisations, for non-governmental organisations and as a consultant providing monitoring and evaluation services and training. While working for the Central Land Council in Alice Springs, his highlights included participating in a Social Impact Assessment of the Alice Springs to Darwin Railway and membership of the team, working on behalf to traditional owners, negotiating compensation for loss of Native Title resulting from the construction of the railway.

While working as an employee of Oxfam Australia he was involved in the management of major disaster responses in Sudan, northern Kenya, Somaliland, the Pacific and the Asian tsunami. Andy also led a major change process, devolving significant areas of management out of Head Office to country offices.

As a consultant Andy worked with AusAID, Australian Red Cross, Oxfam Australia, Ngaanyatjarra Council and the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara land management team. He was involved in developing Close the Gap Local Implementation Plans for FAHCSIA on Mornington Island and at Doomadgee in Queensland.

He also worked with AusAID Disaster Management staff to develop performance assessment frameworks for the Disaster Management strategy and for the PNG Disaster Risk Management Program.

His expertise was also beneficial to the Victorian government departments in the natural resource sector, where he provided training and evaluation services, and with the Department of Sustainability and Environment to undertake an evaluation of that Department's and Park Victoria's 2009 bushfire recovery program.

Since joining Red Cross four years ago and prior to working back in the NT, Andy supported processes of continuous improvement for the International Programs Department and, to a lesser extent, in Australian Services.

Garry Page brings a wealth and depth of leadership expertise having worked for more than 25 years in senior roles in government and not-for-profit organisations, including CEO of the Ethnic Communities Council of Queensland; Chief Operating Officer with Access Community Services; Senior Executive roles in the Queensland Government – including in Youth Justice, Multicultural Affairs, and Families and Communities; and an active member of many external forums, partnerships, external committees and his local Rotary club.

Garry has worked and led policy development in the areas of settlement services, child safety, youth justice, family and domestic violence, homelessness, youth, multicultural affairs and disability services. He led the development of Queensland’s first Multicultural Recognition legislation and major changes to youth justice and family and domestic violence legislation.

Garry is a Paul Harris Fellow – recognised for voluntary international aid work. His qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts Degree, a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Science, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management. Garry is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of the Australian Society of executives.

Garry has a passionate interest in the continued promotion of social inclusion, the reduction in social inequity across society and the development of positive life outcome opportunities for all though particularly for our communities most vulnerable.

Craig brings a diverse background in both the statutory and the not-for-profit sectors. He has extensive experience delivering on local, regional and national initiatives. An experienced and qualified social worker, Craig is well versed in child protection, children and families, and mental health, having trained and practiced in Britain.

In addition to his social work qualifications, Craig holds two Masters Degrees in Management and Crime Deviance and Social Policy. He is also a qualified Prince2 Project Manager and a graduate of Leadership WA.

Craig’s previous roles include Director responsible for Early Years at the WA Department of Communities and Chief Executive Officer EdConnect Australia, a national children’s charity.