Board of Directors

Jennifer is the current Board Chair of Yooralla. She is also Chair of Northern Health and Deputy Chair of the The Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority. Prior to being a non-Executive Director, Jennifer was Chief Executive of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service; Chief Executive of Alfred Health; and Chief Executive of Austin Health, as well as a Council member of La Trobe University. Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Economics, a Master of Science and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in recognition of her service to public health in the 2017 Australia Day Honours list.

John is an experienced senior executive with over 25 years’ experience in the health and not-for profit sector. John is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and prior to that was the Chief Financial Officer of the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

John holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) and is a CPA and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a member of the Alfred Hospital Whole Time Medical Staff Trust.

John joined the Yooralla Board on 14 April 2020.

Sandra is currently a non-executive director of the Yooralla Board. She is a senior marketing and business consultant with over 30 years’ experience working with some of Australia’s most well-known organisations in a variety of industry sectors. These sectors include fast moving consumer goods, cultural destinations, business to business, government and not-for-profit organisations. She has considerable experience working within the disability sector, a strong background in governance and 20 years’ experience on a variety of councils and boards. Sandra’s past board memberships has been with the Ian Potter Museum of Art, including as Chair of Supporters/Fundraising Committee; VATMI Industries, now merged with Endeavour Foundation; and the Lauriston Girls School Council. Sandra is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute. She has a daughter with a disability.

After 8 years serving as Chief Executive of Cenitex, the Victorian Government’s shared services provider of ICT services, Michael Vanderheide is leading a major IT-based transformation for RMIT University. Michael’s professional experience is a mix of public and private sectors, with organisations including Qantas and ActewAGL, in executive roles in the fields of IT and Human Resources. He joined the ACT Government’s Chief Minister’s Department in December 1998 as a Director of what was then called the Office of Information Technology and Multimedia and later, he established and led the ACT Shared Services organisation.

Michael has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Business Administration and served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra. He has extensive experience in driving significant organisation-wide transformation initiatives.

Felix is a current Masters of Social Policy student, a recent graduate of the Melbourne Law School (Juris Doctor) and has a Bachelor of Arts with The University of Melbourne (History Major; Media and Communications Minor). His interests include governance and management in the disability sector as well as social justice initiatives, particularly those focused on the rights of people with disability. Felix has worked as a Policy and Law Reform Officer at a community legal centre that provides services to people with disability. Felix also serves on the Equality and Inclusion Reference Committee for the Independent Advisory Council for the NDIS. Felix has been a Yooralla Board Director since September 2020. His interests include governance and management in the disability sector as well as social justice initiatives, particularly those focused on the rights of people with disability. He is also a Member of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Youth Affairs Council Victoria and previously held a position on the steering committee at the Youth Disability Advocacy Service. Felix identifies as a person with disability.

Morven is Head of Internal Audit for Asia ex-Japan at Nomura. She has over 20 years’ experience in both professional services and the commercial environment. As a former Partner at PWC in their Trust and Risk business in Melbourne, she led PwC’s delivery of outsourced internal audit and risk services to public sector clients. Morven has extensive private sector experience, having worked across a number of insurers and banks over her career. 

She holds various qualifications including a Bachelor of Applied Sports Science, Diploma in Treasury and a Certificate in Risk Management. Morven is a Chartered Accountant, a Certified Information Systems Auditor and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company.

A senior executive experienced in leadership and transformation in disperse consumer environments in Australia, NZ and Asia. Cath is currently the Executive Director, Donor Services and Marketing at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and leads the end-to-end experience for Lifeblood’s valued donors. Creating workplace flexibility and co-designed experience to ensure greater inclusion, diversity and accessibility are areas of interest in her leadership. With successful career roles in both competitive ASX and NFP agency environments, Cath holds a Bachelor of Applied Economics, is a member Asialink Leaders Alumni and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Cate has extensive medical experience across a number of health services. Currently working as a health care consultant, her most recent role was Chief Medical Officer, and Executive Director, Clinical Governance and Medical Services, at Melbourne Health. Cate brings strong medical and clinical governance skills to the Board as well significant operational and strategic experience from her previous roles.

Cate holds various qualifications including a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery and Masters of Health Administration. Cate holds General Medical Registration, is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators and a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Mandy had a successful career in publishing and advertising sales and spent significant time working with her local community of Mitchell Shire.

She lost both her hands and feet to sepsis aged 39.

Since then, Mandy has worked as a content creator for ABC Radio and online, is a regular face in the Australian media, a storyteller and public speaker.

She is on the Board of TOM Melbourne and is the Chair of Get Started Disability Support Australia. She co-founded The Quad Squad, a multiple limb loss support group and facilitates their bi-annual Musters. She regularly volunteers with La Trobe Universities Prosthetic Department, helping to educate the next generation of prosthetists.

Mandy was awarded the Mitchell Shire Access & Inclusion Campion Award for 2019, was nominated for the Pride of Australia Award and the Brenda Gabe Award celebrating the contribution made by women with disabilities.