Sophy Athan

Sophy has had diverse roles as a health advocate in the sector for over 15 years with a strong interest in mental health, disability, aged care and women’s health. She also brings experience from employment in senior executive roles at the state and local government levels. Sophy currently Chairs or is a member of a number of consumer and carer committees across the region and more broadly including Health Issues Centre (Chair), AHPRA Community Advisory Committee, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Community Advisory Committee (Chair), and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Community Advisory Committee, just to name a few. Sophy is currently a Director of Euroforce Music. She has presented at conferences and workshops on the consumer and carer perspective; a perspective she continues to share in her role as Chair for the Community Reference Group.

Judith Drake

Judith is a health and disability advocate who uses her lived experience to advise organisations at a local, state and national level. She has a particular interest in the intersections between mental health, physical health, disability, gender/family violence, emergency services, suicide prevention and peer support. She is on Mental Health Australia's National Register of Consumer and Carer Representatives, and is involved with various advisory groups including at Each Social and Community Health, Eastern Health, the National Disability Insurance Agency, Equally Well, and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare (National Standards for digital mental health).

Adrian Feegar

With a Bachelor's in Psychological Science, a Certificate IV in AOD, and currently undertaking an Advanced Diploma in Psychology, Adrian's passion for mental health and substance abuse research is unwavering. Motivated by personal experiences, he has dedicated himself to volunteer work in these areas, further enriching his academic journey. Additionally, previous roles in healthcare administration inform his practical knowledge. He is committed to advocating for consumers and improving public health services across all areas of health. Adrain aspire to leverage his lived experience while contributing to the EMPHN CCC with the aim of enhancing health initiatives and services.

Lara Gliana

Lara is an accredited seasoned Pharmacist with 19 years of community pharmacy experience in Melbourne, specialising in vaccinations, asthma, and wound care. She's a Monash University graduate and skilled in conducting home medication reviews. Lara speaks multiple languages and has worked as an aged care, GP, and wound care pharmacist, and now manages a pharmacy in Melbourne's north. She leads the vaccination programme, administering thousands of flu and COVID-19 shots, and participates in the Victorian Pharmacist prescribing pilot. Recognised with multiple awards, Lara's commitment shines in her empathetic, patient-focused approach, striving to enhance patients involvement in their healthcare.

William Lau

William has worked in mental health for the past 7 years and currently works as a Post Discharge Peer Support Worker at Eastern Health and as a Consumer Educator at Australian Catholic University. He has experience on a variety of advisory groups such as the Speaking from Experience Independant Mental Health (IMHA) Advisory Group, Ambulance Victoria Community Advisory Committee, Mental Health Tribunal Advisory Group and Health Complaints Commissioner Community Advisory Committee. William is passionate about advocating and improving access to mental health and physical health services for people.

Deanne McKenzie

Deanne is a marketer with a passion for consumer experience and more than 25 years of experience in health, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and community aged care. She is currently managing her own marketing & communications consulting business, working predominantly within community and aged care sectors. Deanne is Chair of the Inspiro Community Health Consumer Advisory Group and represents Inspiro on the Eastern Health Primary and Population Health Advisory Committee. In addition to her diverse professional background, Deanne brings lived experience supporting family members living with complex health issues and navigating the aged care system, which further motivates her to contribute to the improvement of consumer experience in health.

Heather McMinn

Heather has more than 20 years’ experience in the health and community sectors. She is currently in the role of Manager for Inclusion and Diversity at EACH, which involves working collaboratively across all parts of the organisation to incorporate the voices, experience and opinions of all community members accessing EACH services, for themselves or family members. This includes consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community members, people who speak a first language other than English, the GLBTIQ Community, and people living with disability or chronic health conditions. Heather’s background has seen her provide a range of counselling and support services directly to families and through many community groups in the eastern region. In addition to a diverse and rich working life, Heather has family insight into degenerative chronic health conditions and living with a disability.

Hamish Russell

Hamish was a senior executive with the Victorian Health Department and is currently a consumer representative on the Quality and Clinical Governance Committee at Inspiro Community Health. He has served as a Board Member of several community and health organisations in the Outer East, including serving as Chair of the Yarra Ranges Council Health and Wellbeing Advisory Committee for over nine years. He was involved in the creation and maintenance of a health profile for the Shire of Yarra Ranges and has strong links with a range of health service providers and community organisations in the area. Hamish is passionate about improving health outcomes for the ageing population and people with chronic disease issues.

Kirsty Young

Kirsty is a resident of the EMPHN catchment and has lived experience with disability ay home. She has deep experience navigating primary healthcare services for nearly 20 years. Kirsty is currently an employee at Australian Unity in the Healthcare Property Trust from which she brings experience of the dynamics of the healthcare property industry and an awareness of the commercial drivers impacting the physical presence of healthcare providers. Kirsty enjoys strategic thinking, and strategic conversations are skills she has developed over the years through a combination of both work experience and study at the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She hopes to apply these skills and experiences to assist the Council in the development of the Strategic Plan.

Katherine Cummings

Katherine Cummings (she/her) is a project and change manager currently working on the NEMHSP Victorian CRM project. With a diverse background, she started working in health after losing a second family member to pancreatic cancer in 2015. Her work at North-western Melbourne PHN and Eastern Melbourne PHN fostered her curiosity in the sector, leading her to take the helm with statewide initiatives in Oncology, Family Violence and HIV. She has also worked in digital change and corporate services at Epworth HealthCare and Access Health and Community. As someone with a chronic health condition and a disability, Katherine knows firsthand how tricky it can be for patients and carers to navigate the system. Now with an MBA in Healthcare Management, she is devoted to optimising efficiencies to improve patient outcomes. In addition to topics already listed, her interests include mental health, LGBTQIA+ health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, digital health, emergency diversion and health literacy.