Barry MacKinnon AM - Chair Barry has extensive experience in

Barry MacKinnon AM - Chair
Barry has extensive experience in community service, politics and the
corporate sector. An accountant by training, he continues to serve on a
number of boards and committees. He is currently President of the
Deafness Council Western Australia and Chairperson of the Western
Australian Centre for Public Health Consultative Committee.
He is a former Chairperson of the Disability Services Commission, the Fire and Emergency Services
Authority of Western Australia, the West Australian Football Commission, and the Speech and
Hearing Centre for Deaf Children. He has also been on the Board of Management of the Lord
Mayor’s Distress Relief Fund. From 1977 to 1993, Barry was a member of the Western Australian
Parliament.
Barry’s contribution to the Western Australian community has been recognised at a national level. In
1997 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia and in 2001 received a Centenary
Medal.
Dr Judy Edwards – Deputy Chair
Judy is the Executive Manager of the McCusker Alzheimer’s Research
Foundation Inc. The Foundation is a core partner of the newly established
Cooperative Research Centre for Mental Health which is working to identify
biomarkers for Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and related disorders. These
biomarkers will assist in early diagnosis and more effective treatment of
these diseases.
Judy brings to her role considerable experience in medicine, politics, advocacy, cross-agency
partnerships, social justice and community engagement. She was awarded her medical degree and
a Master of Public Health from the University of Western Australia in 1979 and 1996, respectively.
Between 1983 and 1990 she worked as a general practitioner in Mt Lawley and as an on-call
medical officer at the Sexual Assault Referral Centre. From 1990 to 2008 she was a member of the
Western Australian Parliament for the electorate of Maylands, where her work focused on
developing and enhancing local communities. From 2001 to 2006 Judy was Minister for the
Environment, during which time she oversaw community consultation and led the implementation of
policy to end logging of old growth forests.
She is currently a board member of Durham Road School (for children with disabilities) and
continues to participate in several community and health organisations.
Joe Calleja – member
Joe is CEO of the Richmond Fellowship of WA, one of Australia’s leading non
government mental health agencies. He was previously a member of the State
Executive Service at the Western Australian Department of Justice, Principal
Social Worker for the Department for Community Development, Manager of the
Advisory and Co-ordinating Committee on Child Abuse, and Executive Manager of
Kin Way, the relationship counselling, education and advocacy Division of
Anglicare WA.
As coordinator implementing the Child Sexual Abuse Task Force recommendations, Joe was
instrumental in introducing closed circuit television in courts to protect witnesses when giving
evidence. He also introduced the Hearing Voices Network into Australia soon after he started as
CEO of the Richmond Fellowship WA.
Joe was a member of the Project Steering Committee that developed the WA Mental Health 2010 2020 Strategic Plan and Policy and was Chair of the Centrelink Consultative Committee on Mental
Health in Western Australia. He was also an inaugural member of the Centre for Social Impact
Committee in Western Australia and is a former National Vice President of the Australian
Association of Social Workers. He is currently on the Board of the WA Association for Mental Health
and is a past President.
Margaret Doherty – member
Margaret is the convenor of Mental Health Matters 2, a community action group
aimed at mental health reform. She has a a particular interest in improving access
to and quality of services for the most vulnerable service users
- those
with chronic illnesses who have alcohol and other drug issues and possible
involvement in the criminal justice system.
Her experience of supporting a family member with mental illness has contributed to her passion for
ensuring that the voices of both the service user and their family are listened to and help inform all
steps of the journey.
Margaret has a professional background in Education & Training working with young people at risk.
She has also worked in Corrective Services, trained as a drug and alcohol counsellor and currently
runs a small business.
Margaret was the Carer Representative on the Expert Group for the review of the Mental Health Bill
in 2010.
She is a member of the WA Collaboration for Substance Use and Mental Health
Workforce Development Working Group, the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia Families
and Community Working Group and a current Board Member of the WA Association for Mental
Health.
Dr John Edwards – member
John has been a general practitioner for thirty years and was made a foundation
fellow of the College of Physicians Chapter of Addiction Medicine in 2003.
A large part of his practice has always been managing mental illness. His
experience encompasses managing patients as inpatients and outpatients and in
emergency situations. Having personally cared for someone who suffered bipolar
illness, chronic pain and substance abuse issues, he is passionate about reforming and improving
the mental health system.
John set up his own addiction medicine clinic in 1998, chaired the Opioid Pharmacotherapy
Advisory Committee (OPAC) for the last ten years. He is a foundation fellow of The Australasian
Chapter of Addiction Medicine, and more recently, he has been involved in taking over and rebuilding a private psychiatric hospital and setting up a private rehabilitation facility in the south-west
of Western Australia.
John has been Chairman of the board of Abbotsford Private Psychiatric Hospital, since 2007.
Pamela Gardner – member
Pam is a retired teacher of teenagers with intellectual disabilities and has cared for
family members with mental illness for more than 30 years. Having lived in regional
Western Australia from Kununurra to Esperance, Pam also has personal experience
of the particular needs of families in rural areas.
Pam has been Chair of Bay of Isles Community Outreach Inc for seven years and
has been closely involved in developing support services in the south-east goldfields including
Esperance, Ravensthorpe, Hopetown and Norseman. She is a member of the Western Australian
Association of Mental Health Board and has extensive experience in planning strategies, managing
businesses, developing projects and improving work force capacity.
While Pam runs a small training business most of her work is voluntary, particularly facilitating
education for carers.
She is passionate about mental health and developing the capacity of
organisations to serve their community.
Katherine Hams – member
Katherine is currently the Executive Manager of the Regional Social Emotional
Wellbeing Workforce Support Unit for the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service
Council. She is an Indigenous Mental Health Professional and has worked as a
teacher, counsellor and trainer and is a mental health services consumer.
With more than eight years of management experience in mental health services,
Katherine has extensive clinical experience, particularly in Aboriginal communities. Her interests
include developing strong recognition and positive promotion of mental health, establishing a
stronger link to holistic health, advising on providing culturally specific mental health service and
supporting stronger linkages between state mental health services and community based and
primary health care providers.
Katherine is a member of the Kimberley Aboriginal Mental Health Planning Forum and the National
Advisory Committee for Aboriginal Mental Health First Aid.
John Hesketh – member
John is a registered psychologist and qualified teacher working for the
Department of Education as a Manager Student Support - Statewide Services.
Currently he works in the area of Behaviour Management and on programs
associated with disability and exceptional need. As line manager of the School
Psychology Services Professional Leaders, he has direct contact with
programs designed to assist children with disabilities experiencing difficulty accessing the
curriculum.
He represents the Department of Education on the Pilot Youth Justice Initiative and the Youth
Justice Advisory Council. He oversees the implementation of PATHS (Promoting Alternative
Thinking Strategies) – a social and emotional curriculum, and YMHFA (Youth Mental Health First
Aid), Aussie Optimism and Gate Keeper Training for suicide prevention projects.
He is on the board of the Hospital School Council situated at Princess Margaret Hospital and for
several years he was on the Ministerial Council for Youth Suicide Prevention.
He is a keen
supporter of early intervention through coordinated inter-agency services.
Lindsay Smoker – member
Lindsay’s 36 years on the land and experience as a community leader give him a
deep understanding of how mental health affects individuals, families and
communities in rural areas.
He is currently a member of the Local Health Advisory Group for the Corrigin
Hospital and is an executive committee member of Farmsafe Alliance WA. In this
latter role, he has a particular interest in the effect injuries can have on farmers’ mental health.
His local leadership brings an insight into what matters to people living in regional areas and how
to tailor mental health strategies for rural communities.
Lindsay regularly speaks to service providers, professionals, private, and public sector organizations
on a range of topics, including mental health, and is an active member of his local community.
Alexandra Welborn – member
Former Chair of the Western Australian Branch of the Royal Australian and New
Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Alexandra is now serving as the co-opted
psychiatry member on the Australian Medical Association WA council. Her fulltime clinical appointment is to Royal Perth Hospital in Consultation Liaison (CL)
Psychiatry, which includes supervising psychiatrists in training as the honorary
Director of Advanced Training in CL Psychiatry. Alexandra’s broad experience including General
Practice, community mental health clinics, hospitals and prisons has given her a comprehensive
understanding of how mental health issues are managed across the system. Her current interests
are in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry, with specific liaisons in hepatology and nephrology: and
forensic psychiatry and mentally disordered offenders.
Alexandra Welborn’s varied career has included working with forensic pathologists providing injury
interpretation, giving evidence in court, contributing articles to a variety of publications and working
for Forensicare in Victoria as Consultant Psychiatrist at the Melbourne Assessment Prison.
Alexandra’s current appointment at Royal Perth Hospital in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry allows
use of both her medical and psychiatric skill set and provides for an acute understanding of the
stress points across the mental health landscape. Alexandra coordinated a detailed response to
the Draft Mental Health Bill from the WA Branch of the RANZCP. Her role on the Mental Health
Advisory Council has involved bringing an experienced clinical focus to this most complex of
sectors.
Dr Bernadette Wright – member
Bernadette brings a wealth of knowledge gained through a range of clinical
portfolios in the transcultural mental health sector. As a specialist clinical
psychologist, her 14 years with the Transcultural Mental Health Services in the
Department of Psychiatry at Royal Perth Hospital have also given her
extensive experience in addressing policy matters in migrant and refugee
settlement, services and disability.
Now Adjunct Professor at the School of Psychology at the Curtin University of Technology,
Bernadette is an active member of boards and committees. She is also Secretary of the Ethnic
Disability Advocacy Centre Board of Management.
Highlights of a busy career include being a founding member of the national editorial board for
'Diversit-E' – a magazine highlighting health issues of people from culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds – jointly planning the popular Let’s Talk Culture seminar series to inform the general
public about cultural issues and mental health, and playing a lead role in developing the first WA
Transcultural Mental Health Policy – A Transculturally Orientated Mental Health Service for Western
Australia.
Bernadette was awarded a Mental Health Good Outcomes Award in 2007 in recognition of
innovation and excellence in Western Australian Mental Health.
Professor Dianne Wynaden – member
Dianne has completed general and mental health nursing education and is a
credentialed mental health nurse with the Australian College of Mental Health
Nurses. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Nursing Education), Masters of
Science (Health Science) and a PhD. She has over 37 years experience in the area
of mental health. She is Professor (Mental Health) at the School of Nursing and
Midwifery and the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute. Her professorial position is in
partnership with Fremantle Mental Health Services and the WA State Forensic Mental Health
Services. Dianne has been on numerous State and national working groups in the area of mental
health nursing. She recently led a group of academics who received a grant of $110,000 from the
Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. The money was awarded to develop the first
interdisciplinary mental health postgraduate programs at Curtin University.
Dianne has experience of being a carer and understands the impact that mental illness can have on
family life. In addition, her PhD explored the “primary carer’s experience of caring for a person with a
mental illness in the Western Australian community”. The completed thesis describing a substantive
theory on the caregiving experience was awarded a Chancellor’s Commendation.
Dianne has expertise in health services research and is currently a chief investigator on an
NH&MRC $2.3 million capacity building grant in the area of Indigenous mental health. She is on four
editorial boards for peer reviewed journals, a national and international grant reviewer and she is a
member of the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Research Committee. She has published
extensively in the literature in the area of mental health.
In 2005, she won a leadership prize from the Office of the Chief Nurse for her contribution to the
profession. In 2009, Dianne was awarded the "Eminent Scientist of the Year" by the International
Research Promotion Council for her contributions to nursing and mental health. Dianne is a member
of the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee and is an ethics advisor within the
Faculty of Health Sciences. She also chairs the WA Mental Health Nursing Leadership
Collaboration.
Janelle Ridgway – ex officio member
Janelle Ridgeway has been a consumer of mental health services in Western
Australia for 13 years and has a lived experience of mental distress that has
had a significant impact on her life and has included several hospital
admissions at an array of facilities in Perth. As a young person with a mental
illness without any family support, Janelle ended up on the streets where
drugs became a part of her every day life. From her own personal experience she has first hand
knowledge of the damage that is done when mental health and drug and alcohol services do not
work cohesively.
Janelle is passionate about reforming this area of policy. Through studying at TAFE and then
University, Janelle is now a qualified social worker. During her studies she was awarded the Peter
Jordon Award for Social Justice through Curtin University and for the last two of years has been
working in the area of mental health and homelessness.
Janelle feels privileged to be a voice for members of Consumers of Mental Health Western Australia
(CoMHWA) and anyone affected by the inadequacies of the system and wants to continue to
advocate for the disadvantaged.