AHANA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the AHANA Board
- Assistant for Canberra Health Services
Andrew has worked as an Allied Health Assistant for Canberra Health Services since 2015. Since 2020 he has also been the Profession Lead for the AHA workforce across ACT Health; a role which entails assisting with the governance, and initial and ongoing credentialling, of the AHA workforce. Prior to working for Canberra Health Services, Andrew worked as an AHA in a residential aged care facility.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the AHANA Board
Annette is a PhD qualified Podiatrist of 30+ years, who has worked within the Victorian DHHS as Project Manager developing the Victorian Assistant Workforce Model, and Supervision and Delegation Framework for AHAs and the support workforce in disability; as well as Monash Health where she was an AHA Advisor. She now currently works within the disability sector as the General Manager Therapy Services at SCOPE.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the AHANA Board
Ben is a Grade 3 Allied Health Assistant (Physiotherapy).
Ben founded the New South Wales Allied Health Assistant Network 2019, and co-founded the Allied Health Assistant Network of Australia (the forerunner to AHANA) in 2020.
Job Titles:
- Allied Health Professional
- Director
- Member of the AHANA Board
Dr Nerida Volker is an Allied Health Professional, and an educator with 30 years' experience in the health and community sectors. In addition to her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Nerida holds a Bachelor of Science, a Graduate Diploma of Dietetics, a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Promotion.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the AHANA Board
Dr Susan Nancarrow is an Allied Health Professional, former Director of Services for Australian Rural & Remote Allied Health (SARRAH) and spent two decades as an academic in Australia and overseas. Susan has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Podiatry) and a Master of Applied Science, as well as a Doctor of Philosophy. Susan's directorship is held in connection with her position as Chief Executive Officer of HealthWork International Pty Ltd, which is financing AHANA's initial development activities under a loan arrangement with a five year payback period.
Job Titles:
- Company Secretary
- Member of the AHANA Board
Kelli has worked within the Australian public health service for 20 years, both in Queensland and the ACT. She is an experienced allied health professional (Accredited Clinical Physiologist: sleep), clinical educator, operations manager, business manager, project manager, and Not-For-Profit Director. Kelli is one of the Founding Directors for the Australian Council for Clinical Physiologists (ACCP) and led the organisation as President from 2019 - 2023. Governance, profession identity and recognition, and competency development for allied health professions are very important to Kelli. The role of Company Secretary is a Board-appointment; Kelli is not a Director of AHANA.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chair of the AHANA Board
Kirra has worked as an Allied Health Assistant for 13 years, with experience in hospitals both Metro and Regional, Private and Public. Kirra holds a Certificate III (Nutrition and Dietetics) in Allied Health Assistance, Certificate IV (Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy) in Allied Health Assistance, Certificate III in Assistance in Nursing and a Diploma of Project Management.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Member of the AHANA Board
Lucy has had a 25 year career spanning health and disability in Australia and UK, in both clinical and governance roles. After a decade in AHA workforce governance for Monash Health and for the Victorian Department of Health, Lucy now holds the role of Workforce, Innovation, Strategy, Education and Research (WISER) Unit lead for over 1800 Allied health staff at Monash Health. Lucy has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy), a Bachelor of Applied Science (Ergonomics), a Postgraduate Diploma of Health Policy, a Postgraduate Diploma of Health Promotion, a Masters of Public Health, a Certificate IV in Disability and a Cert IV in Training and Assessment.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chair of the AHANA Board
Tara is an Allied Health Assistant and co-founded the Allied Health Assistant Network of Australia (the forerunner to AHANA) in 2020. Tara has worked as an Allied Health Assistant for more than a decade, with experience in public, private and not-for-profit health, disability and support services in Australia and overseas. Tara has been employed by the Northern Territory-based National Disability Insurance Service (NDIS) provider, Carpentaria, as an Allied Health Assistant since April 2021. Tara holds a Diploma of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Assistant.