VicHealth Board of Governance 2011-12

Jane Fenton

Ms Jane Fenton AM - Chair

Ms Fenton AM is the founder and chair of Fenton Strategic Communications, which she founded in 1987. She has held the position of Board Chairperson since 2006 and is being appointed as Chairperson for a final one year period, to provide continuity for the new Board. Ms Fenton has served on the VicHealth Board since 1999. She has more than 25 years experience providing strategic communications advice to clients across a range of sectors including professional services, health, government and not-for-profit.

Mark Birrell

Mr Mark Birrell - Deputy Chair

Mr Birrell is a lawyer and company director with deep experience in public policy. He previously served as a Cabinet Minister and Government Leader in the Legislative Council, playing a leading role as Shadow Minister for Health in the passage of the Tobacco Act 1987 and the creation of VicHealth. Mark is the national leader of the Infrastructure Group at Minter Ellison and the Chairman of the Port of Melbourne corporation. Among his other roles, Mr Birrell is Deputy President of the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  

John Catford

Professor John Catford

Professor Catford is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic) and Professor of Health Development at Deakin University. Professor Catford has a strong history in health promotion and disease prevention. From 1998 to 2002 he was the Chief Health Officer and Executive Director of Public Health for the Victorian Government. During 1994 and 1995 he worked for the World Health Organization as Health Policy and Public Health Adviser to health ministers in Central and Eastern Europe. He is Editor-in-Chief of the journal Health Promotion International published by Oxford University Press, which he helped establish in 1986. He has published widely with more than 300 publications, and was co-author of the WHO’s Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion in 1986, the Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World in 2005, and the recent Nairobi Call to Action for Closing the Implementation Gap in Health Promotion in 2009.

Susan Crow

Ms Susan Crow

Ms Crow is currently employed as the General Manager Community, Melbourne Heart Football Club where she is responsible for the development and delivery of Melbourne Heart’s Social Responsibility program. She has twenty years experience in sports administration roles, as the Chief Executive Officer of Netball Victoria and Softball Australia and the Executive Director, Women’s Cricket Australia.  

Belinda Duarte

Ms Belinda Duarte

Ms Duarte is the General Manager, Indigenous and Multi-cultural Employments Programs with AFL Sportsready, a position she has held since 2009. She has been involved with the sporting industry for many years as an elite athlete competing at a national level. Ms Duarte is an ambassador for beyondblue and a Director for the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy (NASCA) which is committed to improving participation in sport. Ms Duarte has served on VicHealth’s Board since 2001 where she has played a leading role in progressing Indigenous health and discrimination in a sports setting. 

 

Margot Foster

Ms Margot Foster

Ms Foster is a former elite athlete representing Australia in rowing at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, winning medals at both events. She has over 25 years experience in law and is currently self-employed in her own law practice. Ms Foster is currently a Director of vicsport and Gymnastics Australia and a committee member of Australian University Sport. She has had significant roles on various not-for-profit boards and committees in sport, education, national parks and women's affairs.

 

Peter Gordon

Mr Peter Gordon

Mr Gordon is a lawyer in private practice and a leader in smoking and health litigation in Australia. He was first appointed to the VicHealth Board in 2006 and during his time on the Board, he has taken on the roles of Deputy Chair, Chair of Victoria Walks and Chair of the Australian Community Centre for Diabetes. Mr Gordon is also a former AFL Director (1990-93) and President of Footscray Football Club (1989-96).   

Margaret Hamilton

Professor Margaret Hamilton AO

Professor Hamilton has over thirty-five years' experience in the field of alcohol and drugs, including clinical work, education and research. She has a background in social work and public health. She was the Founding Director of Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre in Victoria, and Chair of the Multiple and Complex Needs Panel, a statutory body in Victoria. Professor Hamilton is currently a Member of the Executive of the Australian National Council on Drugs and the Prime Ministers Council on Homelessness. She is Vice-President of the Cancer Council and a Board Member of the Victorian Breast Cancer Research Consortium. Professor Hamilton is retired. 
 

Nicole Livingstone

Ms Nicole Livingstone OAM

Ms Livingstone is currently a host and swimming broadcaster on Network Ten Australia and ONE HD. She is a former elite athlete who has a strong background in sport, community, communications and media. She chaired the Ministerial Community Advisory Committee on Body Image. Ms Livingstone has previously worked with VicHealth and VicHealth’s funded projects including QUIT and Victoria Walks where she has demonstrated a good knowledge of health promotion.

Mike Morgan

Professor Mike Morgan

Professor Morgan is the Colgate Chair of Population Oral Health, University of Melbourne, and Executive Director, Oral Health Leadership, Dental Health Services Victoria. Professor Morgan is a member of the Australian Dental Council Executive and chairs the Australian Dental Council Accreditation Committee. His principal teaching responsibility is in Community Dental Health, focusing on disease causation in relation to social factors, models of health behaviour and communication. He has a strong background and interest in the causes and prevention of oral disease. 

 

Ruth Rentschler

Professor Ruth Rentschler

Professor Rentschler is Foundation Professor in Arts and Entertainment Management at Deakin University and is the Director of Deakin University’s External Research Program. Professor Rentschler is the Deputy Chair of the board of Multicultural Arts Victoria and has published widely including: Cultural and Entertainment Industries Handbook, Shaping Culture (in English and translated into Chinese), Innovative Arts Marketing, The Entrepreneurial Arts Leader, Museum Marketing in a Global Marketplace and Reflections on ANZAC Day. One of her key research interests is arts governance.

The three Members of Parliament appointed to the Board are: 

Neil Angus

Neil Angus MLA, Board Member

Neil was elected to the Victorian Parliament as the member for Forest Hill in November 2010 and was appointed soon after as a member of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee.  Prior to entering Parliament, Neil was a chartered accountant in public practice for over twenty five years, specialising in audit and investigations.  Neil has been actively involved in the community for many years, serving on the board of a range of not for profit organisations, including his children’s school and his local church.  Neil is married and has four children. 

Tim Bull

Tim Bull MLA, Board Member

Tim Bull is MP for Gippsland East and is a member of The Nationals. He sits in the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Before entering politics, Mr Bull worked as a newspaper editor, journalist, and sports program coordinator with the Australian Sports Commission. He is active in community sporting groups including cricket and football. He helped establish the East Gippsland Specialist School and continues to serve in the school’s council as well as Bairnsdale West Primary School.  He lives in Bairnsdale with his family and three children where they enjoy an active lifestyle. 

Danielle Green

Danielle Green MLA, Board Member

Danielle Green is MP for the district of Yan Yean, to which she was elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006 and 2010. She is currently Shadow Minister with responsibilities for these portfolios: Child Safety, Disability Services, Health Promotion, and Women. She has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1988. Ms Green is a member of local clubs including as a CFA volunteer firefighter.