ALZHEIMER'S WA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Manager, Finance and Operational Performance
Aishath provides us with financial data analysis to provide required information to CEO and other Managers, for decision making.
She has a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance) from Curtin University of Technology and a Masters of Advanced Accounting, also from Curtin University of Technology.
She has over 5 years of experience in internal auditing and over 10 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager, People & Culture
As Senior Manager People and Culture at Alzheimer's WA, Chamila is passionate about driving people and culture strategies that will accumulate to a more engaged workforce and help to establish Alzheimer's WA as an employer of choice in Western Australia.
Chamila is a strategically and operationally oriented HR professional with over 25 years of experience and is skilled in developing and implementing people related strategy and HR management across all aspects of the employee lifecycle.
She has held senior HR positions across manufacturing, travel and tourism, disability and aged care industries in Australia and overseas. Having special interests in the areas of Leadership, Culture and Change Management Chamila has successfully and proactively led turnaround and transformational change initiatives especially within the human services sector that have added value to business growth strategies and is a strong believer in open and transparent communication across all levels of organisations.
Chamila is a Certified Practitioner Human Resources CPHR of Australian Human Resources Institute and holds a Bachelor of Science, a Diploma in Human Resource Management, and a Master of Human Resource Management from the Curtin University.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chair and Honorary Medical Director
- Geriatrician
Dr Sean Maher is a Geriatrician and recent Head of the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. He graduated from the University of Western Australia and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He was the Federal Secretary for the Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine (ANZSGM) from 2008 - 2012 and is a current Federal Councillor. He has interests in delirium and dementia and coordinated the ANZSGM's Position Paper on delirium, as well as assisting to develop the WA Department of Health's Model of Care for Delirium and the Older Person. He was a senior lecturer in Geriatric Medicine at Edith Cowan University, and Honorary Research Fellow at Curtin University. He helped initiate the successful Vascular Geriatrics perioperative care program and is assisting with implementing the Dementia Care in Hospitals Program at SCGH.
Job Titles:
- House Leader for Mary Chester House, Shenton Park
Julie has proudly been with Alzheimer's WA for over 10 years. She has held many roles within the organisation including Assistant Coordinator, Coordinator, and now Team Leader of the North East.
Her education consists of a Diploma of Business, Effective People Management - Leadership, Dementia Care Mapping, an Eden Association, and an Ashby Memory Method-Certified Facilitator.
Julie's role is to ensure the delivery of a person-centered approach to clients and carers, as well as build a complementary team of coordinators and support workers that deliver services to the highest standard of care. This enhances individual's rights, abilities and recognises their individuality.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Alzheimer 's WA
- Team Leader - Hawthorn House, Albany
Lorraine is a dedicated member of the Alzheimer's WA team, joining the organisation over 20 years ago.
For the last 7 years, Lorraine has managed the hardworking, passionate team at Hawthorn House, Albany. Hawthorn House is a respite centre, focused on delivering best practice relationship-based support in the Albany area.
Lorraine has had years of experience working with people with dementia and an enthusiastic drive to improve services.
Job Titles:
- Team Leader - Ella 's House, Mandurah
Starting with Alzheimer's WA in September 2020, as South East team leader, Melissa Randall is our Regional House Leader for Ella's House in Mandurah.
Prior to her time at Alzheimer's WA she has held numerous roles in the disability sector for the last 7 years. These include management, as well as specialising in the care of many clients with dual diagnosis.
Melissa also holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws with a particular interest in NDIS, Elder Law and Rights Legislation.
Matt Budge joined PwC in 2001 and has over 17 years' experience in providing tax advice to Australian and multinational companies. Matt was appointed partner in 2012 when he returned to Perth six years ago after eight years on secondment in Melbourne and Sydney.
Matt has a very broad range of experience in diverse industries having worked on transactions in the Perth, Melbourne and Sydney markets serviced by PwC. Matt focuses on assisting clients through transformative transactions involving major acquisitions, restructures, refinancing and investments into significant infrastructure.
Matt successfully led a global reorganisation involving similar transaction steps from initial planning phase to the end of an audit of the reorganisation by the ATO.
Matt holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia, Masters of Taxation from the University of Melbourne, Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, Member of the Tax & Regulatory Committee for the Association of Mining & Exploration Companies of Australia and Chair of the Council at University Hall, University of Western Australia.
Majo Merriam is a recently retired experienced social worker with extensive knowledge of the aged care field, dementia and related community services. Having worked over twenty years in aged care, she is familiar with the experiences of people living with dementia and that of their carers.
Majo was an accredited assessor and delegate to the Aged Care Assessment Team at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital as well as being an aged care specialist in social work. Throughout her career, she had a special interest in assisting people with dementia and their carers. Developing and maintaining good working relationships with aged care providers were central to this role.
Majo holds a B.A ( Psych) and Master of Social Work from the University of Western Australia.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Alzheimers WA Leadership Team
Ella Dachs has 20 years of international experience in organisational/human capital strategy; specialising in aligning people with strategy; leadership and talent development; executive coaching; and culture/change management.
She has had an extensive consulting career specialising in strategic change and business transformation across multiple industries and sectors to develop and implement transformation initiatives.
Ella holds a B. Bus. Organisational Psychology and Human Resource Management (University of Cape Town) and a Post Graduate Diploma Marketing (IMM).
Ella has worked for international professional service firms EY (London), KPMG (Sydney), Korn Ferry (Perth), Heidricks (Perth), and BDO Spencer Steward (Cape Town).
Ella Dachs has over twenty years of consulting experience in change management and is an experienced People and Organisation Culture Change professional. Her career began in Tax, then Human Resources and continued on to Change Management and Talent Development. She has held operational and leadership roles and has developed a comprehensive understanding of different industry sectors across multiple geographies.
Ella is the CEO and leads a dedicated team of talented professionals who have extensive experience in Care and Support Services, People and Culture, Education, Consulting, Finance, Marketing, Brand and Digital Strategy. The team is committed to providing high quality, person-centred services that can improve the lives of those living with dementia.
Ella holds a B.Bus. Organisational Psychology and Human Resources Management (UCT) and a Post Grad. Dip. Marketing (IMM). She is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion to ensure Alzheimer's WA delivers on our purpose, to be the dementia care experts and ensure AWA is an employer of choice.
As a lawyer working with NFP organisations and across the aged care and disability sectors, Gemma is conscious of the need to improve the lived experience of our aging population and in particular those living with dementia.
Her experience of running law firm Panetta McGrath gives her a range of corporate governance and risk management skills and a thorough understanding of the need for high standards of client care and safety.
Sue graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Environmental Management) as a mature graduate in 2003 followed by a career that was cut short when her husband, Tim, was diagnosed with Fronto Temporal Dementia (FTD) at the age of 54 years. Sue nursed Tim at home until he passed away in 2013 aged only 59 years.
She is a Dementia Advocate with Alzheimer's WA (AWA) and has presented her dementia journey with Tim to aged care students, education and training workshops, local government employees and UWA medical students. She has been invited to speak at various dementia seminars and conferences, has been interviewed on live ABC Radio with Geoff Hutchison, and has participated in live ABC Radio forums on dementia. Sue and Tim's journey with dementia was also featured in AWA's Christmas Appeal 2015.
Sue is passionate about making a difference to the lived experience of those caring for someone with dementia, with a particular focus on the unique set of challenges faced by people diagnosed with Younger Onset Dementia (YOD) and their partners/carers, especially those still in the workforce.
Job Titles:
- Head of Finance and Operational Performance
- Member of CPA Australia
The Aged Care sector is going through significant change and Nigel's role is focused on creating financial value for the organisation and its members. To achieve this, we need to ensure we have robust systems and processes in place. Being able to introduce improvements and efficiencies to realise value provides job satisfaction.
Nigel has significant finance and commercial experience from working across various industries in senior finance roles. Working for Alzheimer's WA has allowed him to be part of a values-based organisation that addresses the needs of those living with dementia.
Nigel is a Member of CPA Australia and enjoys mentoring finance staff to help them achieve CPA membership.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the Alzheimers WA Leadership Team
- Chairman and Head of Research, Grants, and Innovation
Warren Harding was appointed to the Board in 2018/19. Warren has over 30 years of strategic management consulting and other NFP board experience. He was the former Ministerial adviser to a state Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development and held various senior government roles including Treasury.
Warren has a very broad international experience with PwC, Deloitte and Accenture at Managing Partner level in Asia Pacific serving some of the world's largest companies in energy, mining, telecommunications; life-sciences, health and public sector. He has been an External Adviser to McKinsey & Company. He has led major organisational transformations involving complex OPEX/CAPEX budgets; major technology change and has a track record of building culture and developing talent.
He was a co-founder of the Future of Work Institute in WA and has been a regular speaker on future work skills, and the human factors of digitisation; AI and Automation and digital health accutive technology and wearables.
He was the Minister for Health's Nominee on the Sustainable Health Review (2017-2019) and has strong views around financial sustainability, addressing inequity of regional access and delivery, the opportunity for digital health and assistive technology to support care in the home, and importance of workforce training. He has real-lived experience with dementia as a carer. He was appointed by the State Government to the Board, Disability Services Commission in 2020.
Warren holds a Bachelor of Science (First Class Hons) from the University of Western Australia, a Graduate Diploma in Media (AFTRS); was a British Council Scholar at London School of Economics; and holds an Adjunct Professorship to the Curtin Faculty of Health Sciences.