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Chris Gibbs, Chief Executive Officer
As MHPN’s CEO, Chris oversees all of the activities of the Mental Health Professionals Network.
Chris has held significant leadership positions in the public health sector. He has undertaken roles at Melbourne Health and within both the Victorian Public Service and the community services sector. For 8 years, Chris was the Director of North Western Mental Health, one of the largest publicly-funded providers of mental health services in Australia with a clinical workforce of 1300.
Chris is currently Chair of VATMI Industries, a commercial business service employing 420 staff - 350 of whom have a disability. Chris commenced as CEO of MHPN in August 2008.
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Amanda Osciak, Office Manager / Executive Assistant to the CEO
Amanda manages the business operations of MHPN and provides support to the CEO. Amanda has worked in administration and customer service within the private health insurance industry and was an Office Manager specialising in corporate event management, OH&S and office operations for a 120-seat venue.
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Stewart Potten, National Project Manager
Stewart is responsible for the national rollout of the MHPN project through state and territory project teams.
Stewart was previously State Manager, Victoria Faculty at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He actively supported and resourced member-based general practice 'specific interest' sub-committees to identify educational needs of GPs with a focus of delivering workshops, forums and conferences that are relevant and responsive to day-to-day general practice.
Stewart also worked in the Northern Territory between 2002 - 2008 as Manager, Workforce Programs with General Practice and Primary Health Care Northern Territory, to recruit and support GPs working in Indigenous communities in remote areas.
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Trevor Donegan, Finance Manager
Trevor is responsible for overseeing the financial operations of the MHPN project. Prior to joining MHPN, Trevor served for 8 years as Chief Financial Officer at Northern Health (Victoria). He is a former President of the Australian Health Services Financial Management Association (AHSFMA).
Trevor applies his financial experience to a variety of concurrent roles including consulting to Australia Zoo on Management Accounting, working as Chief Financial Officer for Headspace – the National Youth Mental Health Foundation and serving as Board Member and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee for SGE Credit Union.
Trevor is a CPA, a Fellow of the AHSFMA and a member of both the Institute of Internal Auditors Australia and the Australian Mutuals Institute.
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Ian Macwhirter, Finance Officer
Ian joined MHPN in September 2008 as a Finance Officer. He has worked in a range of finance, systems implementation and change management roles in major public heath organisations. Ian is delighted to be part of the MHPN team and enjoys supporting the success of this project.
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Estelle Ihász, Online Strategist
Estelle Ihász joined MHPN in September 2012. Estelle holds experience in communications and web content strategy development for the non-profit, creative industries, education and corporate sectors.
With a background in photography, visual art and graphic design, Estelle also undertakes a freelance design and visual arts practice. She is currently enrolled to undertake PhD research in visual art, re-commencing in 2013.
She is passionate about developing strategy and improving MHPN's online communications.
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Nicky Bisogni, Clinical Liaison and Professional Development Officer
Nicky acts as the liaison between MHPN and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Nicky has worked in mental health for most of her professional life. Trained as a social worker, she has worked in a range of mental health settings including management of a suite of inner urban community mental health programs, teaching mental health at Melbourne University, Wodonga & NMIT TAFE, and working as a mental health project officer with a Division of General Practice.
Nicky is excited about her role with the Mental Health Professionals Network and in particular, the prospect of offering mental health professionals the opportunity to get together.
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Tina Horwood, Network Sustainability Project Officer
Tina’s role with MHPN is to support the sustainability of networks in New South Wales and Canberra. Tina previously worked as an Event Coordinator at Parliament House in Canberra and has a strong background in administration and events.
Working with MHPN is a role Tina enjoys as she has the opportunity to build professional relationships with people from diverse backgrounds and support collaborative practice in mental health.
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Lauren Tyrrell, Senior Project Officer
Lauren is responsible for the team managing network development and support in Victoria and Tasmania.
Lauren has a background in employment policy and research and public relations. She has previously worked for the Brotherhood of St Laurence, coordinating a research project, and University of Melbourne, evaluating community sector employment programs, social enterprise activity in Australia and social connectedness at the local level. Lauren has also worked as an account manager in the public relations field.
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Emma Galligan, Network Sustainability Project Officer
Emma supports networks in Victoria and Tasmania and also supports the establishment of new networks where they may benefit local mental health clinicians.
Prior to joining MHPN, Emma worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a Medical Representative promoting medications for cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases. Emma is a qualified Secondary School Teacher with several years experience teaching VCE Biology, Science and Maths in a public school.
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Angela Miller, Network Sustainability Project Officer
Angela supports the establishment of new networks and maintenance of exisitng networks in Victoria and Tasmania. Queensland born and educated, her professional qualification in social work gives her a direct focus on the objectives and goals of MHPN.
She has wide-ranging experience in practical matters surrounding mental health, homelessness and emergency accommodation. Beginning with a university placement in Brisbane’s Inner North Mental Health Service’s psychiatric ward, she went on to spend more than four years with the Salvation Army and NGO, Homeground, working on crisis housing issues.
Angela is investigating further studies in social sciences to complement her work with MHPN.
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Sarah Moore, Network Sustainability Project Officer
With tertiary qualifications in hospitality and tourism, and a substantial history in customer service, Sarah brings a talent for administration and coordination to her role as a Network Sustainability Project Officer. At MHPN, Sarah provides support to Victorian networks.
Sarah previously managed teams in major sports venues and directed staff in entertainment and leisure programs for an international tourism operation. At any one time, Sarah was responsible for event coordination, activities and safety for up to 3,500 cruise passengers.
Sarah views MHPN’s central tenet of interdisciplinary collaboration between mental health clinicians as complementary to her own team oriented approach. Sarah has part time study plans for a Certificate IV in Aged Care .
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Jacqui Hill, Network Sustainability Project Officer
Brisbane-born, Melbourne educated Jacqui joins the Victorian and Tasmanian team from a background in science and health.
A graduate in biochemistry and science from RMIT University, she interspersed her early career in medical and pharmaceutical sales with periods of travel in Europe, the Middle East and Canada.
Since returning to Australia, she has worked in allied and professional healthcare recruitment, a field which equips her well for her role supporting the variety of mental health clinicians she encounters.
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Phil Flanagan,Senior Project Officer
Phil’s leads the establishment and support of networks in Western Australia and South Australia.
His employment history is primarily health related, having worked for the NHS in the UK for almost 10 years. There he undertook roles including project work with the NHS's National Training Authority, Executive and Board level support at a large teaching hospital, and involvement in emergency heath planning and purchasing primary & secondary level health care services at a regional level.
Since migrating to Australia in 1997, Phil has worked on the commissioning team responsible for the redevelopment of the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, and within the Educational Services Directorate of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
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Bianca Hegde, Senior Project Officer
Bianca Hegde is the Senior Project Officer for MHPN leading the establishment and support of networks in Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Bianca has been involved with this unique project since its inception and has direct experience of the geographic, logistical and operational challenges of establishing this national platform in community mental health.
Bianca is a registered psychologist. Before MHPN, she worked as a psychologist in the public mental health system in Queensland and Victoria. She has recently returned to a clinical role as a volunteer counsellor at the Asylum Seeker's Resource Centre in Melbourne.
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Lydia Venetis, Network Sustainability Project Officer
Lydia supports new and current networks across New South Wales and Queensland. She is also responsible for managing member registration for MHPN networks across Australia.
Lydia has previously worked in allied health, and has a background in administration and human resources in the not-for profit sector.
She sees enormous potential in improving consumer outcomes through interdisciplinary collaboration and she is committed to fostering relationships between mental health services at a local level.
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Geoff Ward, Network Sustainability Project Officer
Geoff’s supports the the establishment of new networks and the sustainability of current networks in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Geoff draws upon a diverse background working in property management, finance and the not-for-profit sector. Geoff is excited to be involved in the MHPN project and to observe the positive impacts interdisciplinary collaboration can make.
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