Our People
His Excellency General
The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d)
Governor of NSW
On behalf of the people of New South Wales, I congratulate Royal Far West on 90 years of outstanding service to children living in rural and remote areas of our State.
Every year, thousands of country children who have developmental, behavioural, learning, emotional and mental health disorders, and limited access to local services, benefit from your specialised healthcare and support.
I am proud to be Patron of Royal Far West, an organisation much-loved by the people of New South Wales, who value your continuing contribution to working in partnership with families and local health and education providers.
ROYAL FAR WEST PATRON – His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d) Governor of NSW
MRS JOAN H TREWEEKE OAM
Chairman, LLB (Melb)
Board Member since April 2014. Elected Chairman in October 2017. Joan Treweeke resides in North West NSW and has represented communities in this area in local government, natural resources, the arts, education and community development. She is currently Vice President of the Royal Flying Doctors Association and has been a Board Member of the Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section since 1996, served three years as President, and spent three years on the National Board. Joan currently serves on the Boards of the Western NSW Local Health District and is the President of Contact Inc. She has a commitment to seeing better health and education services to rural and remote communities.
MR MICHAEL GILL
Vice Chairman, MAICD
Board member since 2015. Elected Vice Chairman in October 2017. Michael has been engaged in strategic management issues for the past 16 years in roles with an emphasis on change management and innovation. Currently, Michael is a Counsellor at Dragoman whose objective is to enable clients to win competitive advantage by understanding and managing risk. Michael is also Chair of Sustainable Skills, an advisor to governments and institutions on vocational education systems. He is also Director of Kilfinan Australia Ltd. From 1998 to 2011 Michael was CEO of the Financial Review Group and Chairman of AAP Ltd. Michael is a Board member at Tall Poppies Ltd and was previously President of UNICEF Australia. Michael was Treasurer in October 2016 – October 2017. Michael chairs the Nomination, Governance & Remuneration Committee, and is a member of the Investment Committee.
MR MARK S DRUMMOND
Treasurer
Mark S Drummond joined the Board in 2004 and was Vice Chairman in 2005 – 2017. Elected Treasurer in December 2017, Mark has over 31 years’ management experience and more than 15 years’ experience as a Company Director. A great-nephew of Royal Far West founder, Reverend Stanley Drummond, and grandson of past Chairman Norman W Drummond, Mark enjoyed a long association with Royal Far West before becoming a member in 1991. Mark chairs the Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee. Mark was appointed Company Secretary in January 2018.
MR G RICHARD BARRON
Board Member, Dip. Technology (Building)
Richard Barron joined the Board in 2001 and was Chairman 2005 – 2017. He has had an involvement with the Royal Far West for most of his life. He has a detailed knowledge of the organisation’s values and history, which he brings to the Board table whenever necessary. He has had a successful career in construction and project management, being involved in some major projects around Sydney. He has held Directorships in various propriety companies for more than 41 years.
MR TED WATERS
Board Member, BSc (Math), BA (Economics), Teaching Certificate, MBA
Board Member since March 2013, Ted, who is a local resident of the Manly area, has extensive experience in senior management roles in the finance industry both in Australia and overseas. He has been Chief Executive of ING businesses in Argentina and Spain, a member of the Global ING General Management Council and Chief General Manager at ING Australia. He has also been Managing Director of County NatWest Corporate advisory and an Executive Director of Macquarie Bank. He started his career as a high school maths teacher. He has extensive experience over 26 years as a Director of listed and unlisted public companies, private companies and not for profit organizations. He is a past President of the local Manly Sunrise Rotary Club. Ted chairs the Investment Committee.
MR PETER VEENSTRA OAM
Board Member, B.A. (UNE) MAICD
Board Member since April 2013, Peter Veenstra is CEO of Central West Rugby Union and holds Directorships with New South Wales Rugby Union and New South Wales Country Rugby Union. In addition, he is Chairman of the Lyndon Therapeutic Community – a drug and alcohol detox/rehab institution based in Central Western New South Wales. Peter had 38 years’ experience as a teacher in NSW, retiring from Kinross Wolaroi School as a Senior Staff Member and Personal Assistant to the Principal, in 1999. Peter is a member of the Nomination, Governance & Remuneration Committee.
MS SHERIDAN H DUDLEY
Board Member, BA, LLB, DipCrim (Melb), MAdmin (Monash)
Board member from February 2018. Sheridan has over 20 years’ experience as a chief executive and leader in state and local government and the not-for-profit sector, focusing on delivering strategic redirection, policy reform and high quality service delivery. She has provided advice to Premiers and Ministers in NSW, Victoria and the Northern Territory on education, early childhood, employment and training, health, community services, planning and local government. Sheridan has been District Commissioner – South West on the Greater Sydney Commission, Chief of Staff to the NSW Minister for Education, the Hon Adrian Piccoli, MP, General Manager of Camden Council and Chief Executive Officer of KU Children’s Services and Job Futures Ltd. She has also been Visiting Associate Professor of Management at a university in China and College Director of Tamworth TAFE. Sheridan was a founding Director of the Australian Council for New Urbanism and has been a Director of the international aid agency, Austcare. Sheridan is a member of the Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee and the Nomination, Governance & Remuneration Committee.
MR STEVEN GRUNDY
Board Member, FAIM, MAICD
Board Member from February 2018. Steven began his career in the Royal Australian Navy and amid many other highlights culminated in him becoming Commanding Officer of HMAS Rushcutter. He left the Navy in 1999 to further develop his interest in the commercial sector – this included senior executive roles in Advantra (national IT outsourcing company) and Telstra. A move into the Health sector saw Steven appointed as the inaugural Chief Operating Officer, then appointment as Managing Director, of Australian Hearing. Steven has been a retained consultant at Lazard Australia Private Equity and recently was the Executive General Manager at Airservices Australia as part of the team which successfully restructured the organisation. Other Board appointments have included Australian Hearing, The Hearing CRC, Hearworks Pty Ltd and The National Acoustics Laboratory research committee. Steven is currently a Director of “The Little Learners Group” which owns/operates a portfolio of Early Learning Centres across NSW; currently Yass Little Learners and Warners Bay Little Learners and is the Non-Executive Director of Sitebeau Pty Ltd. Steven is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Steven is a member of the Audit, Risk & Compliance Committee.
MR DAVID HEARD
Board Member, GAICD, MBA, BE (Elec)
Board member since October 2018. Member of the Investment Committee. David Heard is a resident of Manly and an active member of local surf lifesaving and cycling clubs. He is a past Director of Scallop Credit Union and Shaun Parker & Company, and a current Director of Community First Step, a non-profit offering child, youth and family services, disability services under the NDIS, and commercial child-care service in the Fairfield Local Government Area in SW Sydney. David is an experienced financial advisor, equity analyst and investor, and is the founding principal of Finncorn Consulting, through which he provides specialised energy-sector advice spanning commercial, investment and policy issues to private and public sector clients.
LINDSAY CANE
Chief Executive Officer
Lindsay Cane is an experienced non profit CEO and company director. She brings with her a wealth of experience in leading, managing and inspiring organisational development and growth in the non-profit sector. She has a solid background in physiotherapy and healthcare management with previous directorship roles that include The Australian Physiotherapy Association, The Asthma Foundation (NSW) and Netball Australia.
KATHERINE BURCHFIELD
Health Director
Katherine joined Royal Far West in March 2015 as the organisation’s first Health Director.
She leads a multidisciplinary team of medical and allied health staff to deliver effective health services and programs for country children and families, provided in Manly, via Telecare and in community; and develops new partnerships and service models that improve access and outcomes for children and families in rural and remote communities.
An economist by background, Katherine has 20 years’ experience in health reform, strategy, research, policy and health management in Australia and internationally, working the public, NGO and consultancy sectors Prior to joining Royal Far West, Katherine was Director of the Integrated Care Branch of the NSW Ministry of Health, leading a broad portfolio that covered integrated care reforms, primary and community care, aged care, hospital substitution, disability and priority programs. In previous roles she has led national studies into the UK National Health Service, advised NSW and Commonwealth governments in areas such as health funding models and rural health workforce, and consulted on a range of donor-funded health reform projects in Central and Eastern Europe and Africa, relating to health financing and governance.
JACQUELINE EMERY
Business Director
Jacqui joined Royal Far West in November 2016. Prior to joining Royal Far West, Jacqui set up a new business development team at the Australian Institute of Company Directors, to provide bespoke education and training to improve the governance of organisations across Listed, Private, Public and NFP sectors. Jacqui has also held a number of leadership roles in the media and publishing industries. As Marketing Manager of the Financial Review Group, she led a number of award winning brand and promotional campaigns for The Australian Financial Review, BRW and BOSS magazines. She also set up numerous strategic partnerships with professional associations tertiary institutions, and commercial partners.
LISA RICHARDSON
Operations Director & Company Secretary
Lisa joined Royal Far West in January 2018. She is responsible for the day to day running of the business operation and redevelopment of the Manly site. Lisa brings over 25 years of experience in governance, strategy and planning, program management, finance, technology and risk management from her work in investment banking, the finance industry and the public sector in Australia and internationally. Prior to joining Royal Far West Lisa worked in leadership roles in Macquarie Bank and Accenture.
Every year, thousands of country children who have developmental, behavioural, learning, emotional and mental health disorders, and limited access to local services, benefit from your specialised healthcare and support.