Committee

Co-President

David lives on Wurundjeri land in the leafy North East of Melbourne with his partner and two dogs. David has been a health promoter in community settings for more than 20 years and has a particular interest in Alcohol and Other Drug related harm, Sexual and Reproductive Health and the prevention of homelessness. Currently David is employed as the Executive Lead Community Impact at Access Health and Community – a community health service in Melbourne’s Inner East. David leads programs in Health Promotion, Community Engagement, Neighbourhood Houses, Men's Sheds, Emergency Relief and Family Services Programs.

Between 2010 & 2017 David was a member of the Victorian Branch Committee of AHPA serving as a general committee member and branch president. David also had three terms on the National Board, holding the role of National Treasurer. 

Co-President

Teresa leads Education for Sustainability in the Health Nature and Sustainability Research Group, Deakin University. She has been a key member of research projects focused on the links between nature, climate change, health and wellbeing. She has also researched in the teaching and learning field, including health competency skills and knowledge related to sustainability. She is currently Course Director, Master of Health Promotion and has taught in the tertiary education sector for over 25 years, recognised with multiple teaching awards.

Teresa has a health practice background in women and migrant women’s health. She is the current Chair, Board of Governance, Women’s Health in the North. Teresa is also the founding member of Ascolta Women, a collective of Italian affiliated women across Australia and London focused on creative works, academic research, community engagement and activism related to diasporic Italian communities.

Vice-President

Prue is a Research Coordinator in the Indigenous Epidemiology and Health Unit in the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at The University of Melbourne. Prue's role is to assist the unit's research which focuses on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly children and youth. 

Prue holds a Graduate Certificate in Health Promotion and is in the process of completing her Graduate Diploma in Health Promotion at Deakin University. She also has a Bachelor of Business (Management) from R.M.I.T University. 

Prue is passionate about disease prevention and early detection with a special interest in tobacco reform, obesity, physical activity, heart disease, cancer screening and skin cancer prevention. 

Prue was a member of the VIC/TAS Branch Committee in 2020 and 2021 and has been an AHPA member since 2016.

Secretary

Siobhan lives and works on the Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung Peoples of the Kulin nation. Siobhan is currently employed as Senior Health Promotion and Community Engagement Officer at Bendigo Community Health Services. She leads health promotion programs across key health priority areas in accordance with the Community Health – Health Promotion 2021-25 Guidelines.

Siobhan holds a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Health Sciences majoring in Health Promotion, Sociology and Disability and Inclusion from Deakin University. She is the process of competing a Graduate Certificate in Counselling at Edith Cowan University. Siobhan has particular interests in Women’s Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health and mental wellbeing across the lifespan.

Committee Member

Melissa is the Health Promotion Specialist at Vision Initiative, a Victorian integrated eye health promotion program, training health professionals in eye health, to help build capacity and identify clients who may be at risk of vision loss.  She has also enjoyed engaging with members of various multicultural groups to help raise awareness of how to prevent avoidable blindness and low vision.

With extensive experience working in educational, welfare and health community organisations as well as with Carers, Melissa is passionate about health, prevention and wellbeing and committed to improving health outcomes for all.  She has a keen interest in mental health and nutrition, particularly in coeliac disease and diabetes and has written a book about Coeliac disease.

She is excited to join the AHPA Vic/Tas Committee and hopes to actively use her health promotion and education skills to advocate for improvements in areas of health prevention.

Committee Member

Anthea is an intergenerational health promotion practitioner who has had diverse work and lived experience in Tasmania, Townsville and Zimbabwe. Health promotion principles have provided a framework for Anthea to work with intergenerational communities in Tasmania, Aboriginal health, promoting holistic spiritual health, community nutrition and food security.  

Anthea is currently working in three roles: a Primary Health Consultant for Primary Health Tasmania, a team leader for Launceston City Baptist and a coordinator of Food Plants International.  These roles allow Anthea to pursue her passion for preventative health, intergenerational community, spiritual wellbeing, community nutrition and ecological sustainability.

Anthea has been a AHPA member since 2015. She lives in a rural village in northern Tasmania with her husband and daughters.

Committee Member

Kate is a health promotion practitioner with over five years of experience working across a range of organisations including government, not-for-profit, and women's health sectors. Kate holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences (Hons) from Deakin University and Bachelor of International Studies from RMIT University.

In her current role as Local Government Development Lead at VicHealth, she has been overseeing the delivery of the VicHealth Local Government Partnership and building the capacity of local governments to engage in place-based, systems-driven approaches to prevention and health promotion.

Kate is particularly passionate about the application and practice of health promotion in the areas of health equity and climate change.

She looks forward to sharing her experience and enthusiasm for health promotion as part of the AHPA Vic/Tas Committee in 2022.