Board Chair
Shelly Park
Appointed 26 August 2022
Ms. Park has more than 25 years in CEO and senior executive roles and in governing complex organisations.
She has extensive experience and knowledge of high-performing Boards and brings a broad strategic focus to her role as a non-executive director, ensuring organisations deliver commercial outcomes and perform to ethical standards.
Ms. Park brings strengths in financial stewardship, is an experienced crisis leader and demonstrates passion for quality, leadership, safety and risk governance. Her work is informed by deep experience in leading turnaround strategies and transformations in large and complex health/life science related organisations (including business processes, automation, technology, digital and ICT security).
She also has a strong passion for leadership, strong stakeholder engagement (including Government and regulatory bodies) and has achieved strategic outcomes in highly complex and regulated environments. Ms. Park has a strong track record of delivering strategic goals by applying her understanding of the voice of the patient, clinical and professional leadership, people leadership, and embedding governance frameworks.
Board Members
Andrew Crisp AM APM
Board Member (July 2024 鈥� August 2024)
Andrew served a distinguished 40-year career with Victoria Police where he held a number of senior executive positions, finishing in the role of Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations. In 2018, Andrew was appointed as Victoria鈥檚 Emergency Management Commissioner, a position he held for five years.
In these roles Andrew provided strong leadership and was a calm, familiar face for Victorians during some of the most significant emergencies the state has faced including the 2019-20 bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic response.
In both his police and emergency services roles, Andrew is regarded as someone with sound judgement who builds effective teams that deliver positive outcomes for the Victorian community. It is important to Andrew that all voices are listened to, and that inclusion and diversity are front of mind when it comes to organisational culture and service delivery.
Andrew is well known as a champion for multicultural and faith communities and firmly believes he is a better person and leader through those relationships. Andrew joined the Board of AV in July 2024, then took a leave of absence from his role as a director to undertake the role of Interim CEO at AV from the 21 August, 2024 to 30 June 2025.
Andrew will return as Chair of the AV Board from 1 July 2025.
Dr Fergus Kerr
MBBS, FACEM, MPH, FRACMA, GAICD
Appointed July 2024
Fergus Kerr joined the Royal Melbourne Hospital as Chief Medical Officer in 2022, having been Group Director of Medical Services and Clinical Governance at Cabrini Health in Melbourne. Fergus was appointed as an Emergency Physician and Toxicologist at Austin Health in 1997.
10 years later, in September 2007, he undertook a new challenge as Director of Emergency Medicine, and in 2011 he extended his leadership roles by taking up the Medical Directorship of the Medical and Emergency Clinical Services Unit.
More recently, in a desire to develop his leadership capacity formally, Fergus completed his Fellowship with the Royal Australasian College for Medical Administrators following which he took up the role as the Executive Director of Medical Services at Peninsula Health.
In 2016 Fergus returned to Austin Health in an Executive position as the Chief Medical Officer. He has a strong interest in Toxicology, spending two years undertaking specialist training at the University of Pittsburgh and was pivotal in establishing the Victorian Poisons Information Centre at Austin Health. He has previously been an examiner with the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and, up until January 2018, continued to practice clinically.
Wenda Donaldson
Appointed July 2020
Wenda is a public sector and not-for-profit senior executive, combining her non-Executive Board career with her role as Chief Operating Officer at Key Assets Australia, a national children鈥檚 and family services agency.
Wenda has held executive roles with Uniting Vic.Tas, Australian Red Cross, Australian Department of Education and the Australian Sports Commission.
Wenda has proven expertise in advocacy for policy reform and investment to enhance outcomes for those experiencing vulnerability or disadvantages. She has also been involved in the establishment of inter-governmental and multi sector partnership agreements to deliver on major public policy reforms.
Denise Heinjus OAM
Appointed July 2023
Denise is an experienced leader in driving positive cultural and clinical change for the mutual benefit of an organisation, its people, and the community.
Denise was Executive Director of Nursing at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) for 16 years prior to her retirement in 2022. Preceding her appointment at RMH, she held similar roles as Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Monash Health, Illawarra Area Health Service and Northern Sydney Central Coast. Her roles have included managing nursing services, workforce and education, residential aged care, allied health services, Aboriginal health and emergency management.
Denise is passionate about shaping 鈥榡ust鈥� workplace cultures, in which an organisation鈥檚 people thrive as individuals and team members. Throughout her career, she has worked closely with employees and volunteers to create strategies, procedures and resources to minimise harm from occupational violence and sexual harassment.
Allison Smith
B.Acc, GAICD, CA (Australia and Scotland)
Appointed July 2024
With extensive experience in multiple industries, Allison is recognised as a leader in a number of disciplines, but specifically financial analysis and reporting. She has held senior finance, retail, merchandise, marketing, supply chain and IT roles in some of Australia鈥檚 most influential organisations.
Allison has a passion for innovation and cultural enhancement in the public health and emergency services sectors.
She is also a Board Member of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health where she chairs the Finance and Capital Works Committee. She was previously the Deputy Chair of Peninsula Health where she was also Chair of the Finance, Resource and Capital works Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee, People & Culture Committee and the Remuneration & Nominations Committee.
She is a member of the Australia & New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Allison has previously been an independent member of the AV Board鈥檚 Audit and Risk Committee.
Vijaya Vaidyanath
Appointed July 2022
Vijaya Vaidyanath is the former CEO of Homes Melbourne 鈥� a special entity of City of Melbourne. Prior to this role, Vijaya was the CEO of City of Yarra in Melbourne from July 2012 鈥� January 2022. Vijaya spent over a decade as CEO at Waitakere City Council and as the CEO of Rodney District Council in New Zealand. She is a Board Member at Procurement Australia, Parks Victoria, AV and Vision Super, and former Board member of Zoos Victoria.
Vijaya鈥檚 exemplary qualifications include a Senior Executive Fellow of the John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, MBA from JMKatz Graduate School of Business in Pittsburgh USA, Master of Arts (Economics) and a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from the University of Bangalore.
Vijaya draws inspiration from a variety of global thought and academic leaders as well as from her overseas mentors who have shaped her world view and led to her interest in social justice and values-based leadership. She has been a leader from the very early stages of her career in sectors such as commercial and central banking, international finance, and local government in both New Zealand and Australia.
Vijaya is renowned for her innovation, integrity, inspiring leadership style and a unique ability to deliver results. She instils a strong sense of pride and passion in her staff who deliver exemplary outcomes for our communities. Her strong belief in building coalitions and harnessing community capacity has been her work philosophy.
Dipak Sanghvi
Appointed July 2022
Mr. Dipak Sanghvi is a pharmacist and pharmacy owner in Victoria and is currently Board Chair of Musculoskeletal Australia and Monash Health.
His previous positions include President of the Pharmacy Guild Victoria Branch 2006-2011, Board Chair of Gold Cross Products and Services Pty Ltd, Board Chair of Return of Unwanted Medicines, Board member of Guild Insurance and Superannuation and Meridian Lawyers, as well as several other board positions both in the community and the pharmaceutical industry.
Amanda Watt
BCom LLB (Hons) LLM GAICD MAPP
Appointed July 2022
Amanda has extensive expertise in employment, industrial, and equal opportunity law.
During Amanda鈥檚 30-year plus experience advising the public and private sectors across many industries, including health and education, she has worked with clients on embedding strategic and sustainable workplace solutions. She has a comprehensive understanding of risk management, employee relations and culture.
Amanda also has a deep appreciation of the human, societal and economic impact of systemic sexual harassment and discrimination in our workplaces.
She was a contributor to the Champions of Change Coalition鈥檚 report: Disrupting the System 鈥� preventing and responding to sexual harassment in the workplace and has supported the work of the Respect@Work Council on its best practice guidance for confidentiality agreements.
Amanda has been independently recognised by Best Lawyers in the areas of Employee Benefits, Labour and Employment, Government, and Education, and as a leading individual in Employment Law by the Legal 500 Asia Pacific.
Amanda Chairs the Audit and Risk Committee and is a member of the People and Culture Committee.
Board diversity
| No | Yes | |
|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander | 100% | 0% |
| No | Yes | |
|---|---|---|
| Cultural and linguistically diverse background | 62.5% (5) | 37.5% (3) |
| No | Yes | |
|---|---|---|
| Identify as a person with a disability | 89.8% (8) | 11.11% (1) |
| Man | Woman | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | 33.33% (3) | 66.67% (6) |
| 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | 11.11% (1) | 33.33% (3) | 55.56% (5) |
| Metro | |
|---|---|
| Principal place of residence | 100% |
Board meetings
| Board | Finance Committee | Audit & Risk Committee | Quality & Safety Committee | People & Culture Committee | Community Advisory Committee | Rem & Nom Committee | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chair | S. Park | A. Smith | D. Sanghvi & A. Watt | Dr F. Kerr | W. Donaldson | C. Furlanetto OAM | S. Park | |||||||
| Board of Directors | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| S. Park (AV Chair) | 15 | 15 | Ex Officio | 5 | Ex Officio | 2 | Ex Officio | 2 | Ex Officio | 2 | Ex Officio | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| W. Donaldson | 15 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| D. Heinjus OAM | 15 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| F. Kerr | 15 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| D. Sangvhi | 15 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||||
| A. Smith | 15 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||||||
| V. Vaidyanath | 15 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||||||
| A. Watt | 15 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| A. Crisp | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Maule (People and Culture Committee Independent Member) | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Kathryn Brown (Finance Independent Member) | 9 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| D. Cudini# | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| T. Rodda# | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| C. Furlanetto OM | 4 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Kane Treloar^ | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||
| Cara Hudson^ | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Mumtaz Aktar^ | 4 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Laura Collister ^ | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| R. Coverdale^^ | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| Baruch Goberman^ | 4 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Pauline Rogers ^ | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||
Notes
H = Meetings eligible to attend (excludes those held by circular resolution) vs A = meetings attended
* Includes one (1) joint meeting.
** Includes two (2) joint meetings.
^ Community members of the Community Advisory Committee.
^^ R Coverdale & K Treloar are also voting members of Quality & Safety Committee.
# Paramedic representative (no voting rights).
Updated