Our leadership 

BA (Politics and Psychology), MSW, MBA, GAICD 

Sandy is an experienced non-Executive Director spanning health, education and child, youth and family services. She is an experienced community services consultant, specialising in strategy and stakeholder engagement and works extensively with government and not for profit sectors. Sandy has a long-standing commitment to feminist values, social justice, and inclusion in our community. 

BA

Ashlea is the Director of Partnerships and Enterprise at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where she leads high-impact projects, fosters strategic collaborations, and develops commercial ventures to improve cancer outcomes. Before joining Peter Mac, Ashlea advised leading Australian life-science organisations and led advocacy campaigns that secured over $60 million in investment. She has also worked in the Victorian Government as Senior Adviser to the Minister for Trade and Investment, and as an Adviser to the Hon. Fiona Richardson MP during her tenure as Minister for Women and Australia’s first Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence. 

GAICD, B.Com, B.Acc, CA(SA), MBA, ADIT, Dip.Gov, FICDA, CAANZ Risk Specialist 

Lesley is a highly experienced finance and risk professional, specialising in the not-for-profit sector. She is a Chartered Accountant (South Africa and CAANZ) and recognised Risk Specialist, with a Master of Business Administration and undergraduate degrees in Commerce and Accounting. She also holds an Advanced Diploma in International Tax (ADIT), a Diploma in Governance, is a Fellow of the Institute of Community Directors Australia (FICDA), and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). Lesley has also completed the Human Rights from the Top: Mental Health Leadership program. 

Her background includes domestic and international structured finance, general banking, and treasury bank auditing. She has also served as a tax examiner and university accounting lecturer. 

Lesley is currently Vice President and a member of the Finance, Governance, and Development Committees of NCJWA (Vic.) She is Treasurer and Chair of the Finance and Risk Committee of Women’s Health Victoria, and a Finance and Risk Committee member of the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health. Her dedication to empowering women and promoting gender equality is a driving force in her work. 

BA, Grad Dip (IR/HR), GAICD, FGIA 

Julie Bignell is an experienced Board member with extensive experience in corporate governance, risk management, strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and industrial relations. She is currently a Director of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.  Julie’s previous experience as a board member includes Austin Health, CareSuper, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, and the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation. She was previously Secretary of the Australian Services Union (Central and Southern Qld Branch), incorporating a term as National Vice-President. 

B. Comm B. PD CA 

Brigid Mahar has extensive experience working with not-for-profit organisations in relation to strategy and operations, specialising in the development of transparent and efficient funding models, policies and processes to support effective decision making.  She is a chartered accountant and has a strong financial background spanning the not-for-profit and corporate sectors. 

BA Social Sciences (Politics and History), Grad Cert FDV, Grad Cert Case Management, Cert IV Training and Assessment

Assunta brings more than 30 years of experience in the health, community, and family violence sectors, with a strong track record in strategy, governance, and culturally responsive service delivery.

Assunta has led cultural diversity strategies, supported multicultural advisory committees in health, and worked closely with migrant and refugee communities to amplify their voices in policy and program design.  She has as a deep and practical understanding of gender-based violence, informed by years of frontline experience supporting women and children across crisis, recovery, and prevention settings.  Assunta led the implementation of the Multi Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM) across at Western Health. She is currently the National Family Violence and Recovery Specialist at Good Shepherd.

Assunta is also a Committee Member of The Federation for Ethnic Communities Council (FECCA) Multicultural Advocates for Inclusive Aged Care, STOP DV Conference and the Western Region Ethnic Communities Council

BPod, LLM, MBA, GAICD 

Sharon Olivier is a values-based and outcomes-focused professional with experience in the health and education sectors.  Sharon’s skills extend across governance, strategy, risk management, policy, and operations, and she has held senior leadership roles within the Victorian public health and TAFE sectors. Sharon is currently Company Secretary of Austin Health and a member of the Board Finance, Audit and Risk Committee of the Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance. Sharon holds Masters degrees in Health and Medical Law and in Business Administration, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Sharon is passionate about supporting women to lead empowered lives. 

BCom/BA, GCertIntPol, PGDipIntAff, ICP, GAICD

Stacey is an economist by training, and Director of One Red Step, a social equity consulting practice. One Red Step works with clients to address issues such as gender inequality, family violence, homelessness, disability, disadvantage and marginalisation. Stacey is an experienced management consultant with over 17 years’ experience in private, public and community sectors. Prior to founding One Red Step, Stacey was a Director in management consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers focusing on social policy and was their national staff lead for cultural diversity and inclusion for three years. Stacey is also on the Board of Melbourne City Mission and is a Fellow with the Women’s Leadership Institute of Australia. She is undertaking a Master of Social Science with RMIT University.  

MBChB, MD, LLD (Hons) FRCOG, FRANZCOG, FAHMS, FACHSM (Hons) Member

With almost 40 years’ experience in healthcare and government, Euan is a senior clinician, academic, healthcare executive, and public servant. A specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist, Euan led Victoria’s largest women’s health service, Monash Women’s, for a decade (2006-2016) and was the Head of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University (2013-2020). In 2017, Euan became the inaugural Chief Executive of Safer Care Victoria, the state’s quality and safety agency for healthcare. In 2020, Euan was appointed Secretary, Victorian Department of Health, a position he stepped down from in 2025.

Justice of the Peace

Deb is a proud Gunggari woman of Southwest Queensland, with extended family from the Gunditjmara and Yorta Yorta Nations. She brings a strong professional background in stakeholder collaboration, with deep experience fostering meaningful relationships across the community sector and government. A passionate advocate for access and equity, Deb is committed to advancing and empowering Indigenous communities, working alongside partners to address social justice issues.

Based in regional Victoria, she contributes vital cultural knowledge and regional insight to the WHV Board.

Sally brings more than 15 years’ leadership experience in gender equality and health organisations as an executive, non-executive director and volunteer. Most recently, Sally was a Director in the Office for Women in the Victorian Government.

She has also held leadership roles with the Commonwealth Government, The Fred Hollows Foundation, and The Women’s Foundation Hong Kong. Sally has implemented major government programs and strategies, facilitated multi-sector partnerships with diverse stakeholders, and led philanthropic and business development strategies.

Sally brings expertise in gender and health policy, strategy, inclusion and intersectionality, stakeholder partnerships and business development.

In her role as CEO, Sally is a member of the Victorian Government Women’s Health Advisory Council, the Victorian Cancer Advisory Committee and the Mental Health Ministerial Advisory Committee.

She has been an active volunteer with St John Ambulance since a young age and is currently a non-executive director of Lifeline Direct.

Judith joined WHV in 2023 and oversees the corporate services areas as well as acting as Board Secretary. Judith brings extensive executive experience in the not-for-profit and for-profit sectors both in Australia and overseas. She is passionate about bringing business solutions to the not-for-profit sector especially those which improve outcomes for women, girls and other marginalised groups.

Sianan (she/her) leads Women’s Health Victoria’s research, evaluation and capacity building programs across our priority areas of mental health, sexual and reproductive health and cancer. She has more than 10 years’ experience in research and research translation, training, policy and advocacy in the university and not-for-profit sectors.

At WHV, Sianan oversees research partnerships and health promotion activities, including our award-winning website The Labia Library, and working with the Victorian government and health services to develop gender-responsive care resources for the cancer sector. Sianan also chairs WHV’s Reconciliation Action Plan, work which aligns strongly with her commitment to First Nations gender justice. She is passionate about collaborating with government, the health sector and communities to improve the health and wellbeing of women and trans and gender diverse people.

Carolyn joined Women’s Health Victoria in 2018 during the establishment of the 1800 My Options service and brings more than 15 years of health promotion and service delivery experience, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health. Carolyn is committed to access and equity in health services and reducing stigma in the health system, and to centring the experiences of all women in health system development, delivery and evaluation.

Carol leads a small team of professionals who bring a wealth of skills and experience to the task of making a positive impact on health systems and services.

She has spent more than 20 years in communications and engagement roles in the Victorian public sector across a myriad of portfolios, with a particular passion for social policy.  Her time in the public sector followed a career in the corporate world and a stint running a not-for-profit community gym.

Carol volunteers on the consumer advisory committee of the Binational Bowel Cancer Outcomes Registry and has a number of patronages in organisations supporting LGBTIQA+ communities, First Nations communities, and dementia support organisations.

Jo leads WHV’s strategic engagement across government, philanthropy and the broader health and social services sector—working to amplify our impact and secure the sustainable funding we need to drive change.

She brings 10 years of experience in policy and advisory roles in the Victorian Government, both as a public servant and ministerial adviser where she led significant social policy reforms, including implementing the Gender Equality Act 2020 and whole-of-government family violence and sexual assault reforms.

Her expertise includes stakeholder engagement, politics, program delivery, and advocacy.

Jo is passionate about empowering communities and driving sustainable systems change to improve social and health outcomes.

Cindy joined Women’s Health Victoria in 2022 and oversees our Counterpart service. She has more than 18 years of experience delivering programs and services in the not-for-profit health sector, including advocacy, psychosocial and financial support, peer support and information services. Cindy is committed to delivering effective services and programs in the health and community services sector to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities.