Ben has been on the Board at Melba since September 2015 and was elected President in November 2017.

Ben holds a law degree and is a Chartered Tax Advisor (UK & Australia). He is a Partner at BDO Australia, and previously worked for large professional services firms in London and Singapore.

Ben was born in England and moved to Melbourne in 2008 where he now resides with his wife and four children. Ben’s interests include yacht racing and scuba diving.

Matt Brett (GAICD) is the child of Deaf parents and has been associated with disability throughout his life. Matt has extensive experience in disability and equity in higher education. 

​

Matt has published widely on disability and equity issues and been involved with over $1.5 million in externally funded research grants.  He  is currently employed as Director of Academic Governance and Standards at Deakin University. He is a Graduate of The Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Michelle joined Melba’s Board in September 2015 and was elected Treasurer in November 2017.

Michelle holds a Business degree and is a Certified Practicing Accountant and an affiliate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Michelle’s career has included roles in financial management, project management, process improvement and business transformation. 

Natasha is a policy evaluator and research consultant and runs her own freelance practice, Ludowyk Evaluation. She holds degrees in Arts and Science and a Masters in Criminology. Natasha routinely works across sectors including health, mental health, disability and community development.

Natasha lives in Ballarat with her partner and two children. She joined the Melba board in 2019.

​Samantha joined the Karden Disability Services board in 2014. After the merger with Melba in July 2018 she joined the Melba Board. Samantha lives in Ballarat and has a Bachelor of Commerce. She runs her own businesses and has a background in both corporate and small business across a number of industries including retail, food, community and retirement living.

Andy is a veterinary surgeon who has spent the last twenty five years working in executive management in medical research and education fields. He has more than ten years’ experience as a Chief Executive Officer and has been a director of numerous boards for the last fifteen years, amongst these he was Chairman of Australian Centre for Health Innovation and Chairman of Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE. He has recently been working with the Living with Disability Research Centre to develop training programs for workplaces.

Andy is a member of Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Arvind (BSc MBuss GAICD) is currently a Senior Technology Specialist at a major telecommunications company where his passion is to simplify complex technology to help address strategic customer transformation objectives focusing on Education, Health and FSI.

Previous experience include Philips Lighting where he worked on their research-driven higher education and smart city/campus solutions as well as independent advisory roles focusing on digital transformation and smart city feasibility studies. This has culminated into a unique understanding of the digital landscape from disruptive strategies through to the technology tools to enable change and how to navigate this journey.

Diana is an experienced commercial lawyer and has advised many clients in the health sector. She is also a former Australian diplomat, having gained extensive experience in foreign policy through various roles in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Diana is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is currently working towards a Master of Business Administration (part-time) at Melbourne Business School. She is also a Non-Executive Director of Family Planning Victoria. 

Jonathan joined the Melba Board in 2018.

Jonathan is the brother of Daniel Pickering who attends Melba Avenue Community Connections. He has a Bachelor of Arts and Economics and has a background in campaigning, community organising and communications.

While currently a Communications and Community Engagement Advisor at the Victorian Health and Human Service Building Authority (VHHSBA), Jonathan enjoys spending the weekends with his brother seeing the occasional movie or Phil Collins concert. 

With over 30 years’ experience in the disability, aged care and community health sectors, Hayley’s career has focussed on the creation and provision of innovative and responsive person-driven services within a high quality human rights framework. Hayley joined Melba in early 2017 as the organisation’s first Chief Outcomes Officer, supporting the organisation through the transition to the NDIS and the successful transfer of government services. Hayley was appointed CEO in September 2020. 

leadership team 

Sarina Bunnett,

General Manager,

Support 

Coordination 

​

Kirsten Filmer,

Executive Office Manager

​

Samantha Easton-Cavanagh,

General Manager,

People and Culture

​

Peter de Fontenay

Chief Information Officer 

​

Aaron Fry,

General Manager,

Outcomes East

​

David Glazebrook,

General Manager, 

Innovation and Development

​

Penny Harris,

General Counsel

Russell Harrison 

Chief Outcomes Officer

(Position Vacant)

General Manager Outcomes,

Central Highlands and Wimmera

​

Dr Anneke Jurgens,

General Manager,

Practice,

Quality and Safeguards

​

Marc Sinclair,

Project Management

Office Manager 

​

​

Angela Quero,

General Manager, 

Outcomes South

​

​

Karen Wijsman,

General Manager, 

Finance

​

​

Kerrie White,

General Manager, 

Outcomes Gippsland

​

​

Organisation chart