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.
Trustees
Chair - Allison Kokany (consumer)
Appointment Date: 27th October 2009 (second term)
Allison has worked for Hunter New England Area Health Service as a Consumer Consultant for the past five years. During this time she has been involved in several areas within the field of Mental Health Advocacy.
She has been involved with the Mental Health Outcome Assessment Tool (MH-OAT CCC) for the past 3 years, and has recently taken on the position as Co-Chair of this committee. During this time she worked on the working parties to establish the MH-OAT forms and subsequent guidelines.
She was also a member of the Mental Health Consumer Perceptions and experiences of services technical working group (MH-CoPES TWG) for Stage 1 of the MH-CoPES Project.
In 2004 she became a committee member for the ‘NSW Institute of Psychiatry (NSW IOP) Consumer Advocacy Course Committee', and has been teaching for the NSW IOP in the Consumer Advocacy Course.
In 2004 she became involved in establishing a forensic consumer group at Morisset Hospital.
She was Chairperson of ‘The Greater Newcastle Community Forum on Health' for its inaugural year 2006.
At the end of 2006 she became a member of the Consumer Workers Forum (CWF) Committee.
She has joined the board of NSW CAG to continue her advocacy work, to ensure that there is a body that is an advisory group for NSW Consumers and Consumer workers.
Her vision for NSW CAG is: not only to be a group that will be a voice on behalf of consumers, but also to advise other Government and Non Government organisations about issues concerning mental health consumers; and to encourage other groups within the consumer movement to work together as one voice, in the same direction, with each of the groups covering their particular area of expertise.
In working together it may be possible to see the NSW Consumer Movement in the forefront in instigating change within the mental health system in our state.
By making care for mental health consumers a more pleasant and accessible system that truly caters for our needs, it could be possible to show the way to the rest of Australia, for the good of all mental health consumers.
Deputy 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.
Secretary - Jenny MacKellin
Appointment Date: 27th October 2009 (second term)
Jenny has been a carer for over 20 years. She has been a NSW CAG board member since 2003. Jenny is keen to reduce the stigma of mental health in the community. She is an instructor for Mental Health First Aid which educates the community on mental health issues.
Jenny is passionate to see improved mental health services and access to services throughout the state, and improved participation of consumer and carers in all levels of the mental health services.
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 - Tim Heffernan (consumer)
Appointment Date: 27th October 2009 (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 - 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 - Mark Sonneveld (consumer)
Appointment Date: 31 October 2011 (first term)
Profile coming soon