Suzanne Greenwood   Chief Executive Officer

Suzanne commenced as Chief Executive Officer of CHA in October 2014. Now based in Canberra, she has previously been General Counsel to the St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland and Corporate Counsel/Company Secretary to St Vincent’s Health & Aged Care, formerly St Vincent’s & Holy Spirit Health. Immediately prior to commencing with CHA, Suzanne was the National CEO of the Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia.

Suzanne was a member of the Board of the Brisbane Archdiocesan Development Fund, the Good Sams Foundation, the Queensland Law Foundation, the Queensland Law Society and of Epilepsy Queensland. She has also served on several Church advisory committees.

As a former medico-legal lawyer, Suzanne has a special interest in health ethics, having Chaired the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) for St Vincent’s Hospital Brisbane, St Vincent’s Hospital Toowoomba and for The Holy Spirit Northside Private Hospital. She was also a member of the HREC for Queensland Health Corporate Office and is currently a member of the Australian Government’s Clinical Trials Advisory Committee.

As a Catholic Executive dedicated to the healing ministry of Christ, Suzanne believes it is an honour and privilege to lead CHA.

 Contact Suzanne

Richard Gray AM    Senior Aged Care Advisor

Richard was appointed Director, Aged Care Services with CHA in April 1996. Since that time, Richard has represented the views of the owners and operators of Catholic aged care on multiple Government consultative committees and to 14 Commonwealth Aged Care Ministers. In February 2013, Richard chose to take on the part-time role of CHA's Senior Aged Care Advisor.

Richard served a full term as a board member of the Commonwealth Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency, and served for many years on the Commonwealth Aged Care Minister's Aged Care Advisory Committee. Before joining CHA, Richard was the inaugural Executive Director of what is today Aged and Community Services Australia, establishing its Canberra presence. He is also a former CEO of the Spastic Society of Victoria. Prior to those role he was a manager of a regional commercial TV station and General Manager of commercial radio station in Melbourne.

Richard currently serves as a board director of the Victorian disability and elder care provider Villa Maria. He is also a former board member of ACROD Ltd, Villaggio Sant'Antonio Ltd, Cerebral Palsy Overseas UK and also former chair of the Victorian Consultative Council on Rehabilitation.

Contact Richard

Margaret Deerain    Mission Manager

Margaret re-joined CHA in December 2014 as Mission Manager.  Margaret previously worked with CHA in 2003-2005 as the Manager, Policy and Research.  Between her two periods with CHA, Margaret completed a Master of Liberal Studies Majoring in Religious Studies from Georgetown University, Washington DC, had three children and worked in a policy position at the Australian Medical Association.

In her earlier career, Margaret worked for the Australian Government in the health, finance and employment portfolios.  Margaret also holds a Master of Letters majoring in Sociology from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Business from the Queensland University of Technology.

CONTACT MARGARET

Annette Panzera    Director of Health Policy

Annette Panzera (BBusMgt, MPH) joined the team in April 2015. Prior to that she spent five years working in north Queensland both for Queensland Health (based at Cairns Hospital) and for the Anton Breinl Research Centre for Health Systems Strengthening at James Cook University. During that time her research focus has been on health workforce innovation, in particular with regard to regional and rural Australian workforce shortages and how teaching and training programs  can be adapted to deliver flexible solutions for present and future health professionals. She has also undertaken several clinical redesign projects as a consultant for QH including improving patient flow within hospital, decreasing emergency department waiting times and fostering better relationships between the health service and general practice.

Prior to her return to Australia in 2010, Annette worked at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris for ten years concentrating on international health, education and social policy development. Major work areas included developing an international database of healthcare quality indicators and examining the role of private health insurance in selected member countries’ health systems. She has also worked as a consultant at the World Bank.

CONTACT ANNETTE

Anthea Gellie   Health Policy Project Officer

Anthea commenced as Health Policy Project Officer at CHA in April 2017. Her appointment is the outcome of the strategic partnership which was formed between CHA and Apunipima in August 2016. Her role will be to coordinate programs to assist Apunipima in our joint objective of providing equitable access to culturally-appropriate, high-quality healthcare to the people of Cape York; and to liaise between CHA’s member organisations, Apunipima and other key stakeholders to achieve this objective.

Previously, she spent five years working in Cabrini’s Research Institute, based in Melbourne. Her research focus was on delivering better health outcomes for older patients in the general hospital setting. Prior to that she studied a Master of Religious Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, and taught English as a second language in Spain, Turkey and Jerusalem. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University in Melbourne.

Contact Anthea

Nick Mersiades    Director of Aged Care

Nick has extensive experience in aged and health care, including 16 years in the Department of Health and Ageing. As well as roles as manager of the Department's Queensland and New South Wales state offices, Nick's most recent role in the Department was head of the Ageing and Aged Care Division, where he was responsible for the development of aged care policy and for the overall management of the Australian Government's residential and community aged care programs.

Prior to joining Catholic Health Australia in November 2008, Nick had been General Manager of Strategic Policy and Communications in Catholic Healthcare Ltd.

In 2012, Nick was appointed to the board of the Aged Care Financing Authority (ACFA).

Contact Nick

Deborah Reynolds   Office & Membership Manager

As Office & Membership Manager, Deborah is the friendly, welcoming face of CHA for all members and guests and she maintains the smooth running of the CHA office. She manages client and provider relationships, office technology and administration and provides day-to-day support to CHA staff.

Deborah is also Program Support Officer for CHA’s Ministry Leadership Program. In this role she provides hospitality and administrative support to participants and their organisations so that they have a positive experience of the program from registration, session attendance and interaction with the program’s learning management system.

She also provides a support role to CHA events, oversees national awards and registrations, and liaises with external conference organisers.

If you need to know who to contact at CHA on a particular matter, kindly contact Deborah who will happily re-direct you to the appropriate person.

Contact Deborah

Susan Sullivan    Director of Mission Strategy

Susan joined Catholic Health Australia in October 2010 as Director of Mission Strategy.

She commenced her professional life in Perth as a high school teacher in the Catholic system. Following the completion of a Masters in Religious Education at Loyola University, Chicago, Susan worked as a Senior Education Consultant at the Catholic Education Office, Perth. She held responsibilities in the area of Staff Development and Faith Formation.

Arriving in Canberra in 1993, she became involved in community education as Senior Education Officer with the Sudden Infant Death Association and later with the Arthritis Foundation of the ACT. Most recently she was Director of Mission at Calvary Health Care ACT for five years. Susan is married with three adult children.

Contact Susan

Siobhan Tanzer Accounts Manager

Siobhan has been a member of the CHA team since 2006, as of March 2016 she has moved from the wider responsibilities of Office/Accounts Management and Personal Assistant to CEO to concentrate on the Accounts Management.  She has earned qualifications in Bookkeeping and Business Studies.

Siobhan has worked, at various levels, in not for profit, community based organisations since returning to work after raising her family.  Siobhan is married with five children and four grandchildren.

Contact Siobhan

Stephanie Panchision    Senior Health Policy Advisor

Born and raised in Virginia, Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology concentrating in Immunology, a Bachelor of Art in International Studies focusing on World Politics and Policy, and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Health Promotion.

After working in biotechnology and completing her MPH, Stephanie relocated to Alice Springs to work in health promotion for an Aboriginal community controlled organisation in renal health, and most recently worked for the Batchelor Institute training Indigenous students in health and science. 

Contact Stephanie

Emma Hoban    Health Policy Officer

Emma commenced full-time with CHA in September 2017, after several months of work experience following her return to Australia after working overseas in Latin America for several years.

She has experience working in women’s health, community development, education, and government programs in both Australian and international contexts.

Emma holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Health Science with a majors in History and Public Health.

She has a keen interest in women’s health and palliative care.

Contact Emma

Christina James    Executive Assistant

Christina commenced with CHA in July 2017 as Executive Assistant to the CEO and Board Secretary.

With a strong interest in publications and communications, Christina also oversees the quarterly production of the CHA Health Matters magazine, our flagship publication, and the weekly e-newsletter of the same name.

Contact Christina