Honourable Linda Dessau AC
Patron
The Honourable Linda Dessau, Governor of Victoria, is the Patron of CFCC, a position she has held since taking office in 2015. In her career, the Governor practiced in commercial litigation and family law as a solicitor, then took up a role as Crown Counsel, and later Senior Crown Counsel in the Hong Kong Attorney-General’s chambers. After returning to Australia, she took up her first judicial appointment as a Magistrate in 1986. In June 1995, the Governor was appointed a Judge of the Family Court of Australia, where she served for 18 years until July 2013.
In 2010, the Governor was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to family law and the community. In 2017, she was made a Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to the people of Victoria through leadership roles in the judiciary, to the advancement of economic ties and business relationships, and as a supporter of charitable, sporting and arts organisations.
Katherine Kaspar
Board chair
Katherine was appointed to the Board of CFV in 2013, and then to the CFCC Board at the time of amalgamation in 2017. She took up the mantle of Chair in 2019. Katherine has more than ten years of experience as a lawyer, specialising in finance, trust and general corporate law and risk management. She has held positions at two of Melbourne’s top-tier law firms and has advised some of Australia’s largest trustee companies, including NAB, AXA, Colonial and UBS.
Throughout her service on the CFCC Board, Katherine has advised the Board on a range of legal and risk matters and she is an active member of the Large Steps Forward Subcommittee reviewing current research opportunities for CFCC to fund. She has a significant passion and interest in research and finding a cure for CF, and an ongoing interest in driving efficiency and effectiveness. Katherine has a son with CF.
Cameron Jones
Treasurer
Cameron joined the Board in December 2018, taking over the role of Treasurer. He has qualifications in accounting, governance practice and financial planning. He is currently the Managing Director of Bio101, finance and company administration experts for the biotechnology and life-science sector. Cameron currently manages a team of chartered accountants and acts as Company Secretary for a number of public ASX listed and unlisted companies. He also acts as CFO for a number of ASX listed companies.
Shane Fennell
Board Member
Shane joined the CF NSW Board in 2018 and was appointed to the CFCC Board in 2020. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and has over 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry across Europe and Australia. During his career, Shane has held senior finance and leadership roles in the pharmaceutical industry with GlaxoSmithKline PLC and most recently, worked in the natural health sector with Blackmores Group. Shane is currently employed at Australia Post as General Manager for Contractor Strategy, based in Sydney.
Jo Harrison
Board Member
Jo joined the Board in 2019. She is a paediatric respiratory physician at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, where she cares for patients with a wide range of respiratory conditions. She has been the Cystic Fibrosis Centre Director since 2014, during which time she has overseen a number of initiatives to improve the quality of care provided to the patients with CF. Jo undertook her training in Glasgow, UK, as well as spending time in London, Vancouver, Sydney and Melbourne. She has a passion for providing high quality care to children and their families. Her research interests include CF and preschool lung function testing. Jo has a long-standing interest in medical education and completed a Masters in Clinical Education at Melbourne University in 2019.
Bruce Jarvis
Board Member
Bruce has been a member of CFV and then CFCC for 16 years. He has been involved in fundraising, training and assisting in setting up activities and presentations to community organisations. He served in the Army Reserve for 40 years, obtaining the rank of Major and holding four Command Postings. He has also held senior positions in several companies both in Australia and overseas. Bruce is currently volunteering with RSL Victoria (ANZAC House) as Chief Staff Officer Remembrance Services, on the Lay Committee for the CF Conference to be held in Tasmania, and regularly volunteers with CFCC and Freemasons Victoria. He has a son with CF and is committed to raising community awareness of CF and its effects on families and life.
Alex Matijevic
Board Member
Alex has been involved with the CF NSW Board since 2006, and joined the CFCC board in 2020. He is an experienced IT leader with substantial professional experience across 18 countries in strategic organisational transformations, program planning and execution, and business project delivery within the entertainment, chemicals, FMCG, and IT industries. Alex shares a passion for helping to guide and support the organisation towards a clear future direction, providing input into proper financial oversight, and ensuring all affairs adhere to legal and ethical integrity.
Bryson Vaughan
Board Member
Bryson was appointed to the Board of CF NSW in July 1998 and has held a variety of positions, including President and Vice President. Bryson was appointed to the CFCC Board at the time of amalgamation in April 2017. He is an experienced Company Director of technology companies such as Benojo and Topme. With a background in psychology and a career as a business architect, Bryson has a history of managing global projects in a diverse range of sectors, including payments and social media. Through the Benojo platform, he has extensive experience throughout the charitable sector in helping charities better engage their communities, as well as getting companies more involved in giving.
As someone with cystic fibrosis who has been involved at all levels of CF organisations within Australia, Bryson uses his own experiences and runs several social media groups to help identify and develop strategy around the needs of people with CF and their carers.
Rachael Wilmot
Board Member
Rachael joined the Board in 2020. With nearly 20 years of media industry experience in senior roles across a variety of different media publishers and agencies, Rachael is a highly experienced media and marketing executive with a track record in delivering outstanding results for clients. She is currently the Managing Director of a start-up media agency called Thirty1Twenty1, which specialises in research and consumer insights, communications strategy, media planning/buying and campaign management.
Rachael has a daughter with cystic fibrosis, named Hope Autumn Nugent. Hope is a carrier of the double F508del gene mutation, and has a name that reflects the optimism for her future. Since Hope’s prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis in 2017, Rachael and her partner have become passionate advocates and immersed themselves in the CF community through CFCC.
Stuart McCulloch
Board Member
Stuart joined the Board of CF NSW in 2010 and the CFCC Board in 2017. He provided legal advice that was instrumental in designing the structure for, and organising the implementation of, the merger of CFNSW and CFV, which led to the creation of CFCC. Stuart has practiced as a corporate lawyer for more than 30 years. He is a partner at leading Australian law firm Allens and regularly advises boards of ASX 50 companies on transactional and corporate governance matters. He was a member of the Allens Board from 2006-2015, chaired its Audit and Risk Management Committee, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD). Stuart has a son living with CF.