Branch Councils

President
Adam Stormont FCHSM CHE, GAICD

Vice President
Mark Upton FCHSM CHE

Treasurer
Adam Sacks MCHSM

Immediate Past President
Briana Baass FCHSM CHE

Secretary
Lachlan Crowe AFCHSM, CHM

Branch Councillors
Paul Butler MCHSM
Hayden Fletcher FCHSM CHE
Scott Gibbings AFCHSM
Col Hackwood FCHSM CHE
​Angela Jacob FCHSM CHE
​John Kirwan AFCHSM CHM
Amanda Quealy FCHSM CHE
Wendy Quinn FCHSM CHE
Adj A/Prof John Rasa LMFCHSM CHE
Sandeep Reddy FCHSM CHE
Melita Ryan FCHSM CHE
​Marg Way FCHSM CHE
Bruce Weston AFCHSM
Cody Yuen MCHSM
Hannah Kennedy MCHSM

EHM co-representatives
Ren Cazar MCHSM
Lucy Sutherland MCHSM

In attendance at Branch Council meetings
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS
Julie Owen (Executive Officer Vic/Tas ACHSM)

Adam Stormont FCHSM CHE GAICD

President Victorian/Tasmanian Branch

Senior Program Manager, Community Hospitals at Western Health

Adam provides leadership for the commissioning and operationalisation of the Sunbury Community Hospital and new Point Cook Community Hospital.

He has over 20 years of public health experience in Australia. He has held roles as a clinical pharmacist, project manager and program director within the Victorian health system. He has led the implementation of electronic medical records in several hospitals and has also published on this topic.

He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy and Master of Health Services Management from Monash University. He is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM) and a Member of Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). He has been a Victorian Branch Councillor for ACHSM since 2017. He has a keen interest in improving the equity of health care delivery and experience for disadvantaged parts of the population. He is passionate about developing emerging leaders to enable the health system to be sustainable and effective into the future.

Mark J Upton FCHSM CHE

Vice President Victorian/Tasmanian Branch

Statewide Manager – Health Information Management Services (HIMS)

Tasmanian Health Service, Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH)

Mark holds a Bachelors of Health (Professional Honours) and a Masters in Health and Human Services. Mark has previously been an Executive Director on the Board of the Health Information Management Association Australia (HMAA). Mark is a Fellow Australasian College Health Service Management (FCHSM) where he is a Certified Health Executive (CHE).

Mark is a passionate patient/client advocate and believes in a person-centered approach. Mark’s current management and leadership role is varied, including the overall management of the states HIMS Department. This includes over 380 front line and back office clerical and administration staff across the corporate and clinical administration streams.

Adam Sacks MCHSM

Treasurer

Victorian/Tasmanian Branch

Senior Business Manager, Monash Health

Adam has over 16 years’ experience in health sector and is currently the Senior Business Manager of Investigative Services, Capital and the Chief Medical Officer Portfolio at Monash Health. Adam is a past graduate of the College Management Residency Program and has previously sat on the Committee for the Emerging Health Managers between 2011 and 2012.

Adam holds a bachelor of Nutrition and Exercise Sciences at Deakin University and a Masters of Health Administration at Latrobe University. Interests of expertise include investigating innovative approaches to achieve financial sustainability and process improvement to achieve a more sustainable health system. He has a passion to assist emerging leaders enter into the health system to continue driving innovation and change.

Briana Baass FCHSM CHE MAICD

Immediate Past President

Chief Allied Health Officer and Executive Lead for Partnerships, Northern Health

Briana has over 20 years of experience in the health sector across Australia. She currently holds the role of Chief Allied Health Officer and Executive Lead for Partnerships, Transcultural and Language Services and Aboriginal Support at Northern Health. With a background in clinical Prosthetics and Orthotics, her experience spans health service leadership and operations, various roles in a government department and seven years of health and human services consulting in a global firm.

Briana is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM) and a graduate of the College’s Management Residency Program. She is a National Board Director and the current Victorian President for the College.

Briana has conducted research into Low Intensity Cognitive behavioural Therapy programs in collaboration with beyondblue; and has published on Business Continuity Management in Hospitals.

Briana is passionate about developing the health system and supporting emerging health managers to enable healthy communities across the country.

Lachlan Crowe AFCHSM CHM

Secretary, Victorian/Tasmanian Branch

Manager, Claims Reduction Advisory, VMIA

Lachlan is a senior health and improvement professional with extensive experience across the public health sector in Australia and the UK. With a clinical background in physiotherapy, he has led quality and service improvement initiatives at a local and system level. He is currently Manager, Claims Reduction Advisory at VMIA, the Victorian Government’s insurer and risk adviser.

Lachlan is an Associate Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Management and a graduate of the College’s Health Management Internship Program. He holds a Master of Health Management from the University of New England and a Bachelor of Physiotherapy from the University of Melbourne.

Paul Butler MCHSM

Branch Councillor

Interim Executive Director, Office of the Chief Executive, Monash Health

Paul has had an extensive career in the Victorian public health system, including executive and senior management roles at Alfred Health, in the Victorian Department of Health (and formerly Health and Human Services) in regional and program management, and in disability services. His interests include health system and service planning and management and, particularly, the intersection of primary health care and acute hospital services. Paul has been a Board director on a variety of non-government organisations in the health and human services fields.

Paul’s previous role as inaugural ED of the South East Metro HSP involved leading system-wide improvement projects and pandemic response across south east Melbourne in a partnership of the major Public Health Services (Alfred, Monash and Peninsula), Better Health Network and the Primary Health Network.
At Monash Health, Paul is responsible for strategy and planning, transformation, capital and infrastructure, engineering and procurement and supply, legal services and Monash Health Foundation.

Hayden Fletcher FCHSM CHE

Branch Councillor

Strategic Advisor, Public Health Strategy and Planning, Victorian Department of Health

Hayden is a health manager with diverse experience within the health and human service sector spanning service delivery, commissioning, project management and policy roles. He holds postgraduate qualifications in Health Management and Public Health, specialising in primary healthcare. Hayden is interested in developing health leadership and management workforce capability within the mental health and wellbeing, primary care and public sectors.

Hayden is a member of the Victorian and Tasmanian Branch Council and coordinates the Education and Events Committee (EEC), which is responsible for curating an engaging range of professional learning and event offerings that meet the evolving development needs of health managers.

As a values-based practitioner, Hayden is passionate about addressing inequities experienced by individuals, groups and communities by engaging them in decision-making on issues that affect and matter to them.

Scott Gibbings AFCHSM

Branch Councillor

Statewide Consultant – Allied Health Workforce Recruitment & Development, Tasmanian Health Service

Scott is a Physiotherapist with 12 years of professional experience. He recently relocated to Launceston to take on a newly-created role with the Tasmanian Health Service, as the Statewide Consultant – Allied Health Workforce Recruitment & Development. He is responsible for developing and implementing a statewide strategy to improve occupancy across the Allied Health professions within the three regional health services, which provide care in the acute, sub-acute, and community settings for the Tasmanian Department of Health.

Scott believes that making healthcare accessible – geographically, financially, and culturally – is a primary lever for addressing the socioeconomic maldistribution of health outcomes. Facilitating an engaged and informed workforce, especially in rural areas, plays a large role in this.
Prior to taking on this position, Scott was the Acting Physiotherapy Manager at Joondalup Health Campus in Perth for two years, before the call to adventure and new challenges in a different jurisdiction saw him looking abroad.

Since Physiotherapy studies, Scott has completed a Master of Health Leadership & Management at UNSW, and a Graduate Certificate in Mental Health at Monash University. He also contributes to SARRAH (Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health) as a director.

Col Hackwood FCHSM CHE

Branch Councillor

Healthcare Consultant & Health Service Management Professional

My career pathway is founded on a clinical nursing platform, and to some may appear unconventional, but I have attempted to develop a career that provides me broad exposure to many aspects of hospital and health service management , and health infrastructure planning/development/delivery in the public sector and the not-for-profit sector in Australia and abroad.

I have particular interests in building the careers of others through my own leadership skills, continue my own career in executive roles that are associated with transformative change, and advocate utilising expanding digital platforms to improve healthcare access and equity for all.

Angela Jacob FCHSM CHE GAICD

Branch Councillor

Executive Manager Operations, Gippsland PHN

Angela is currently employed as Executive Manager Operations at Gippsland PHN, and has had extensive experience in healthcare spanning both public and private rural, regional, and metropolitan acute and primary care settings; initially as a physiotherapist with an interest in women’s health and later as a General Manager at Latrobe Regional Hospital. Her qualifications include a Masters in Health Service Management.

She has a strong interest in governance and the Aged Care sector through her role as a non-executive director at Yallambee Aged Care Traralgon and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Angela is a Fellow and a Certified Health Executive, and has been involved with the college through mentoring in the Health Management Intern.

John Kirwan AFCHSM CHM

Branch Councillor

John has over 40 years of IR, HR and operational health experience. He has been the Commissioner for Public Employment in the Northern Territory, the Executive General Manager responsible for the Acute, Community, Public and Aboriginal Health areas of the Health Department of Western Australia (HDWA), and the General Manager responsible for Health Workforce Reform in HDWA. John was also a full-time union official.

John has held CEO positions at the Launceston General Hospital (LGH), Northern Area Health Service (NAHS), the Tasmanian Health Organisation – North (THO-N) and was the inaugural CEO of the Royal Flying Doctor Service Tasmania. In mid-2022 he retired from the RFDS and currently does limited consulting work, and is the Chair of the Mental Health Council of Tasmania, and is on the board of the Migrant Resource Centre North.

John is a former Board member and Vice President of the Launceston Chamber of Commerce and holds Fellowships of the Institute of Public Administration Australia and the Australian Human Resources Institute. John has been a member of ACHSM since the 1980s and is former Tasmanian Branch President.

Amanda Quealy FCHSM CHE

Branch Councillor

Regional Director South
Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Statewide Mental Health Services, Tasmania

Amanda has had an extensive executive career in the health care industry over the past 30 years in the government, corporate and not- for-profit sectors. She is a Fellow of ACHSM and currently Director of Allied Health, Tasmanian Health Service. She has previously held a number of CEO positions in healthcare and is an experienced hospital executive. Amanda has extensive governance and Board director experience, serving on National and State based Boards.

She has been recognized in the Top 100 Women of Influence in 2013 and Telstra Business Woman of the Year (Tas) 2010. Her academic background includes degrees in Economics (Hons) and Social Work, Post Grad Diploma, Human Services Administration and MBA. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an ACHS Hospital Surveyor.

Wendy Quinn FCHSM CHE

Branch Councillor

Managing Director, WJQuinn Consulting

Wendy is a Fellow of the College having been appointed in 2018 at the Darwin Congress. She has been a previous active member of the Tasmanian Branch Council prior to amalgamation of the Tasmanian and Victorian Branches and continues to reside in Tasmania in Hobart.

She is currently the Director of the Leadership Program at the University of Tasmania and a senior lecturer and coordinator for the master’s elective program; Advanced Leadership for Guiding Transformation; Professional Practice Pathway. In addition Wendy is the Managing Director of WJQuinn Consulting specialising in Guiding Transformational Journeys for individuals and organisations.

Her professional interest is in supporting the growth and development of leaders in the health and human service industries through teaching, coaching, and mentoring. She is also actively interested in research into the most effective forms of leadership, particularly in health and human service settings.

Wendy is a qualified company director with a Fellowship of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Affiliate Assoc Prof John Rasa LMFCHSM CHE BA MHP AIM MAICD FAHRI

Branch Councillor

John is a psychologist and a highly experienced CEO of Hospitals and Health Services in both Sydney and Melbourne, and has been CEO of General Practice Victoria and Networking Health Victoria. John is currently Unit Chair Hospital Financing in the MBA (Healthcare Management) at Deakin University, having previously been Associate Professor & Sub-Dean of Health Services Management – Charles Sturt University in NSW.

John is presently ACHSM Chief Examiner (International and Alternative Pathway), but was the National President of the Australasian College of Health Service Management until 2016 and was previously awarded 2011 Gold Medal for Leadership and Achievement. Currently facilitating the ACHSM From Clinician to Manager Facilitated Learning Group.

John has held Board Directorships positions in both health and education. He is the current Chair of the Mental Health Professionals Network for Australia (since 2018), Chair of health Ability Community Health Service Board (since 2018) and Deputy Chair Latrobe Regional Hospital (2014 to present) and Chair of both the Board Quality and Board Population Health Committees at Latrobe Regional Hospital.

Sandeep Reddy FCHSM CHE

Branch Councillor

Education Representative

Sandeep Reddy has a PhD in healthcare management and is a Fellow with the Australasian College of Health Service Management. He also has medical training and is a certified health informatician. He has in the past attained extensive experience managing various health service projects and formulating high-level policy in Australia, New Zealand and Europe. He is now researching and teaching the application of evaluation methodologies and digital health. He has been recognized by the World Health Organisation as a digital health expert and placed on their digital health expert advisory roster.

He has also been appointed Adjunct Professor in several overseas universities to progress healthcare management research. Sandeep has published healthcare reform, health service evaluation, digital health applications and strategies in leading journals. He has also written several books and chapters about health service evaluation and digital health. Further, he has raised over a million dollars in grant funding to undertake various research and evaluation projects in Australia. Recently, he has been involved in several funded evaluation projects, including evaluation of AI in community pharmacies, mental health training programs, maturity of digital health systems in Victorian hospitals and digital health strategies, among other projects.

Melita Ryan FCHSM CHE MBA BSC(OT) GAICD

Branch Councillor

Healthcare Consultant

Melita is passionate about how digital health can support sustainability and improve value delivered for health services and disability support. An experienced clinician, Melita is an Occupational Therapist who specialised in hand and upper limb therapy, taking her to the UK and managing large allied health practices in the UK and Australian. She has written hand and upper limb courses and contributed to the development of a hand therapy app.

Seeking a broader impact on health led Melita to a career in management consulting. Melita enjoys merging clinical and managerial skill sets to solve complex problems. Through consulting Melita possesses a broad range of health management experience across Australia, now specialising in digital health implementation as well as clinical governance and service improvement. Melita is also an experienced Board Director.

Marg Way FCHSM CHE

Branch Councillor

Clinical Governance Director at Deakin University

Dr Margaret Way is currently the Clinical Governance Director in the MBA Healthcare Management Program at Deakin University. She is an experienced Health Service Leader, Researcher and Educator with significant expertise in health service management, corporate and clinical governance, strategic and clinical service planning and stakeholder engagement, working in government, not for profit and university sectors. She has a Masters of Business Administration from Monash University, a Professional Doctorate in Public Health at LaTrobe University and is a graduate of the Leadership Victoria Program. She was an inaugural recipient of a Victorian Quality Council Travelling Fellowship and established the Clinical Governance Units at Austin Health and Alfred Health in Victoria and the Innovation, Quality, Research and Education (IQRE) Directorate at the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service in Queensland. She was most recently the Director of Safety, Quality and Improvement at Barwon Health in Victoria and is currently an Improvement Fellow with Safer Care Victoria.

Margaret is an Assessor with the Australian Council on Health Care Standards (ACHS) and a Fellowship Coordinator and examiner with Australasian College of Health Service Managers (ACHSM). She is also a Board Director and Chair of the Clinical Governance Committee for Beaufort and Skipton Health Service. 

Bruce Weston AFCHSM MHA GAICD

Branch Councillor

Program Director, North East Metro Health Service Partnership, Austin Health

Bruce is an experienced heath leader with specialist expertise in governance, strategy and partnerships. Throughout his career Bruce has worked across public, not for profit and commercial enterprises giving him a diverse lens on the opportunities and challenges of the health system.

Currently Bruce is the Program Director of the North East Metro Health Service Partnership, based at Austin Health. The Health Service Partnerships bring the skills of the tertiary, primary and community health sectors together, to find solutions to complex sector problems.

Bruce is an experienced Board Director, with current Directorships with Thorne Harbour Health and as an advisor to the Doherty Institute. Bruce has a Master of Health Administration, is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is currently completing his fellowship with ACHSM.

Cody Yuen MCHSM

Branch Councillor

Manager, PwC Health & Wellbeing

Cody is currently a Manager in the PwC Health & Wellbeing team. He is a dedicated individual who is passionate about making a difference by improving people’s lives through the work he does. Cody is focused on designing and delivering complex, organisation-wide digital change within the healthcare industry to improve health outcomes.

Cody has worked with many states, jurisdictions, health services and health insurance companies to develop digital health strategies and growth plans. Cody is also an experienced project manager, who has worked across multiple hospitals in the Asia Pacific region implementing Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Patient Administration Systems (PAS). Cody has been an active member of ACHSM since 2018.

Hannah Kennedy MCHSM MHA BHSc (Public Health)

Branch Councillor

Consultant, Impact Co

Hannah has a proven track record working, and delivering successful projects in the tertiary health setting. Hannah has worked as a project manager across several tertiary and government health settings, including Cabrini Health, Alfred Health and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Hannah has demonstrated her expertise on a variety of projects, including design, implementation, evaluation and reviews within the acute health setting, with a strong focus on improvement.

Hannah currently works for management consulting firm, Impact Co. that deliver projects with a positive social impact. In her previous role at Cabrini Health, Hannah worked in the business development team; working closely with medical staff and General Practitioners (GPs). Hannah played a part in Cabrini Health’s COVID-19 operational response, as a COVID-19 project lead. Assisting with project managing and implementing many of the DHHS guidelines and health service directives across multiple health service sites.

Hannah has been the chair of the Emerging Health Manager (EHM) committee in Victoria since 2019. The EHM is a sub-committee of the Australasian College of Health Service Managers (ACHSM) Victorian State Branch Council.

Ren Cazar MCHSM

Branch Councillor

Project Manager, Northern Health

Ren is a cross functional leader working across in healthcare and government. He specialises in strategy and transformation within the Victorian healthcare context. 

He is a graduate of the ACHSM Health Management Internship Program, holding a Masters in Health Management and Bachelor of Nursing. As a trained Cardiothoracic Nurse, he brings a unique understanding of patient care, enabling him to “join the dots” between both operational and strategic imperatives. In his current role is at Northern Health as Project Manager he leads strategic projects for the organisation including the successful voluntary amalgamation Northern Health and Kilmore District Health. Prior to this he has held roles across Victorian Department of Health, professional services consulting and public health services. His special interests include public policy and digital health.

Lucy Sutherland

Branch Councillor

Senior Policy Advisor, Department of Health

Lucy is a devoted healthcare professional with a wealth of experience in both government and clinical settings. As a graduate of the ACHSM Health Management Internship Program, she brings a unique combination of practical knowledge and strategic insight to her roles. Lucy holds a Bachelor of Midwifery, a Bachelor of Clinical Science and a Master of Health Management.

With a background as a midwife spanning health services in both New South Wales and Victoria, Lucy has acquired invaluable expertise in system trends, health policy, health service operations and stakeholder management. Her diverse experience includes active involvement in priority government programs, further enriching her perspective on the intricacies of the healthcare sector.

Her current tole as Senior Policy Advisor at the Department of Health, Lucy plays a pivotal role in influencing and shaping strategic priorities for maternity and newborn care in Victoria.