NSW CAG governance
NSW CAG is governed by a Board comprising a minimum of 7 and a maximum of 11 Trustees. The role of the Board is to govern the organisation, primarily through setting the strategic vision and monitoring NSW CAG's progress towards the strategic goals set. At least 50% of NSW CAG's Board is comprised of mental health consumers.
Board of Trustees are elected by NSW CAG's members at our annual AGM. Trustees are elected for a term of 3 years, with office bearer positions re-elected at each AGM. All positions on the Board are on a voluntary basis.
Board Members click here to access board members restricted area or click on the image below.
Trustees
Chair - Anne Francis (consumer)
Appointment Date: 31 October 2011 (second term)
Anne has been a mental health clinician since training as a psychiatric nurse in the early 1970s. In her professional life she has fulfilled the roles of: Case Manager, Inpatient and Community Nurse Unit Manager, and Clinical Service Manager in community rehabilitation. Currently she works as the Coordinator of Consumer and Carer Participation Strategies for Greater Southern Area Health. She also comes from a family with a long history of major depressive illness and has suffered severe and disabling episodes for most of her adult life. The realisation that she was not only a clinician but also a consumer came home to her after she was admitted to hospital for the first time in 2002.
This experience provided her with insight into the disempowerment of consumers by services which are meant to offer the best opportunity for recovery. On returning to work she set about restructuring a community rehabilitation service to an evidence based recovery program. In 2007 the opportunity to take up her present role necessitated a move to Queanbeyan but it was an opportunity to good to be missed, and she now works with a group of consumers and clinicians committed to a "recovery" model of care.
She sees membership of NSW CAG as integral to the promotion of consumers rights and the opportunity to provide a consumer voice for those people who do not have an opportunity to speak for themselves.
Anne was elected Chair of NSW CAG Board of Trustees at the 2012 AGM held on 15 October 2012.
Deputy Chair - Tim Heffernan (consumer)
Appointment Date: 15 October 2012 (first term)
Tim has lived with Bipolar 1 Mood Disorder since the early 1980's. He worked successfully as a high school English/History teacher for over twenty years. Since leaving teaching in 2005 Tim has worked as a carer for adults with developmental disabilities and as a consumer rehabilitation worker in Wollongong. He has also worked as a volunteer Ambassador and Community Presenter with the Black Dog Institute for the past there years. He is a published poet.
Tim is married and is father to two beautiful and intelligent daughters. He first became involved with NSW CAG by contributing an article on "Consumer Participation" to INFO_LINK in December 2008. Since then he has sought to increase his own contribution to mental health recovery and advocacy. He is involved with NSW CAG because of their ability to bridge the gap between consumers and policy makers and because they are well placed to influence and shape mental health policy into the future.
Member - Lynda Hennessy (consumer)
Appointment Date: 31 October 2011 (second term)
Lynda got involved with consumer participation in 1997, joined the AMHCN, the Eastern Suburbs Consumer Consultative Committee, Aftercare Consumer Group. She has been a board member of the Australian Mental Health Consumer Network (AMHCN) in 2001 and 2002 as the NSW delegate. She is the SESIAHS representative of the NSW Mental Health Outcomes and Assessments Tool (MH-OAT) Consumer Consultative Committee. She has been employed by the SESIAHS since 2002 as the POW Consumer Support Worker for 2 years, and then as the Area Consumer and Community Participation Coordinator, the main role writing action plans, policy, memos, letters, consumer representation on area meetings and coordinating 13 consumer workers. Lynda is focusing this year on quality improvement activities relating to equip four criteria 1.6 Consumer and Carer Participation. She is also a mother and grandmother and has a partner.
Member - Des Idiens (consumer)
Appointment Date: 26 October 2010 (first term)
Des has been involved in local government sector for the last 30 years. Twenty years as Parks Superintendent, Horticulture, Greenkeeping. He has a Diploma in Land Management.
For the last four years, Des has been involved with non-government organisations in the mental health sector. He has worked for 2.5 years as a Team Leader of the Hospital to Home, Consumer Activity Network (CAN) Mental Health Service. Des is currently a support worker at the Psychiatry Rehabilitation Australia (PRA) for the Day to Day Living Program at Liverpool (last two years). Des has also worked for 1.5 years as a Peer Support Worker for the Macarthur Disabilities Services at Campbelltown (current).
Des is involved with NSW CAG to have a positive voice in recovery led NGO's, to recognise duplication of services and to lobby government agencies regarding funding and services to consumers.
Member - Warren Heggarty (consumer)
Appointment Date: 31 October 2011 (first term)
Warren has lived with mental illness since 1976 and has been a carer since 2002. He has been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder and agoraphobia. He is also a recovered alcoholic since 2001.
Since 2006, Warren has been the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Australia (PRA) Publication Officer. His main task is to interview consumers and produce stories about their recovery.
He was previously on the NSW CAG Board of Trustees (2008-2010) and the Anxiety Disorders Advisory Committee (2009-2010).
Warren believes that it is great to have help, but consumers also need to lead their own recovery and not wait for it to be handed down from on high.
Member - Gunter Koerner (consumer)
Appointment Date: 31 October 2011 (first term)
Profile coming soon.
Member - Mandy Miles (carer)
Appointment Date: 31 October 2011 (first term)
Profile coming soon.
Member - Fay Jackson (consumer)
Appointment Date: 31 October 2011 (first term)
Profile coming soon.
Member - Virginia Divall (consumer)
Appointment Date: 15 October 2012 (first term)
Virginia is the facilitator of a small group for consumers in Kempsey. The group partnered with Kempsey mental health unit to run a consumer day during Mental Health month each year. She organises and facilitates the group regularly. Virginia has been board member of the North Coast Area Health Service Board from 2010-2012.
Virginia has qualifications in mental health work and community services. She has completed the Certificate 4 in Community Advocacy at the North Coast Institute of TAFE. And has done work placement in the Taree mental health unit. Virginia has been an active mental health advocate and has attended several conferences and forums. She will be attending the Community Consultation Forum of the Review of the NSW Mental Health Act in Lismore.
As a consumer, she feels it is her duty to listen to other consumers and being part of NSW CAG Board will provide her with the opportunity to represent their needs, especially to represent the interests of consumers in rural areas of NSW as they are marginalised and disadvantaged by their lack of access to quality mental health care.