Dr John Davis, Chair
Born and raised in South Australia, John is based in northeast Victoria. His background is as a teacher, historian, author, builder of community and Anglican priest for 45 years. He is a strong advocate in the areas of palliative and aged care, and for LGBTIQ+ communities. He has academic qualifications in Arts, Education and Theology, with a doctorate in Church History. John is an experienced Chair and public communicator, and he has served and held positions of leadership on boards, councils and representative bodies across multiple fields.
Currently John serves on the Aged Care Council of Elders within the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Regionally he is co-chair of one of five local government area Social Inclusion Action Groups across Victoria, funded by the Victorian Department of Health.
John is strongly grounded and connected at his local community level. He now contributes out of his lived experience of navigating the health and aged care systems, both as an older person in regional Australia and also as carer for his late partner.
John is driven by working hard for the improvement of care and service provision for older Australians, compassion for those who are vulnerable and in need, and working towards better health and wellbeing outcomes for those outside the major cities.
Ros Bauer has had a varied career in health and aged care. Commencing her career as a physiotherapist working in a number of different roles including hospital settings, private practice, aged care and tertiary rehabilitation. Ros then transitioned to leadership roles in rural NSW Health covering the lower third of NSW where she had carriage for a number of community health service delivery functions, including allied health and palliative care. After more than10 years, Ros moved to the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care where she held policy positions in the health workforce, moving to the aged care Directorate at the commencement of the Royal Commission into Quality and Safety in Aged Care. Ros has also experienced the aged care sector through a personal lens, having caring responsibility for two family members and is committed to continuing to improve the system for both the aged care workforce- and importantly, the quality of life of older people.
Kasy Chambers currently serves as Executive Director of Anglicare Australia, a large network offering services to one in every 19 Australians, driving innovation in those services through collaboration. She brings extensive national experience in government and community sectors across both Britain and Australia, with expertise in policy, advocacy, service provision, and corporate governance.
Agnieszka Chudecka, has served as an educator at Multicultural Aged Care for over fourteen years. As a part of the Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care (PICAC) SA team and the lead contact for the national PICAC Alliance, she advocates for culturally and linguistically diverse older populations. Currently pursuing her PhD at Flinders University, she researches stakeholders' perceptions of care needs for people from diverse backgrounds living with communication difficulties and language reversion.
Sandra Glaister is a distinguished leader in aged care, community services, and retirement living with more than 25 years of senior management experience. Currently she is Chief of Governance, Risk and Research at Southern Cross Care Queensland. Her extensive experience includes executive roles as General Manager Retirement Living at Bolton Clarke, where she managed a retirement village portfolio serving over 2,300 residents across Queensland and NSW; General Manager Operations at Aveo, leading a team of more than 800 staff across 27 villages; and Manager Residential Care at Leading Age Services Australia-Queensland, providing high-level industry guidance on legislation and accreditation requirements. Sandra's governance expertise is further evidenced by her board memberships at North West Remote Health (NWRH) and Catholic Care Central Queensland. She brings exceptional expertise in governance, healthcare compliance, strategic planning, and organizational management, combining strategic leadership and communication with a deep understanding of legislative applications to operational performance.
Michelle Hogan is a Registered Nurse and Credentialled Diabetes Educator with extensive experience across residential and home aged care services in clinical care, management, education, and research. As Senior Clinical Director at the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, she has published extensively on elder care topics and serves on multiple advisory committees while maintaining academic roles at Flinders University.
Anita Francis is the Senior Director of the Chief Clinical Advisory Division of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Anita is Registered Nurse, with experience in the Aged Care sector and tertiary education. Anita has a Masters of Nursing and has previously undertaken research in relation to continence management and the older person living with Dementia.
Veronica Jamison is Chief Executive Officer at Shepparton Retirement Villages and has extensive public health, aged care, and primary health experience. She successfully brings private sector thinking to organisations with public sector values while driving change agendas. Veronica sits on the ARIIA Board of Directors.
Merlin Kong is the Founder and Principal Coach at Youtopient, where he helps age services change-makers cut through complexity and lead with confidence in a sector defined by rapid reform. A recognised leader in innovation and digital transformation, Merlin founded Ageing Australia’s innovAGEING in 2017—Australia’s national innovation network for the age services sector—growing it into a 4,000-strong community recognised in the AFR’s Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in Australia and New Zealand. He was also named an Association Influencer by the Australasian Society of Association Executives for his impact on the sector. Merlin’s career spans executive roles at Community Services #1, the Property Council of Australia, and the ACT Legislative Assembly. He holds an MBA from the Australian National University, and has completed executive studies at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford.
Ben Lancken is the Chief Improvement Officer at Opal HealthCare, where he leads the organisation’s technology, innovation, and improvement strategy. Ben and his team focus on building the technology and infrastructure that supports over 13,000 residents to live well in care, and empowers team members to bring joy to those they support. As Australians live longer, Ben is passionate about making sure we also live better - by building critical care infrastructure and leveraging technology and data to support quality of life in later years. Ben also serves on the Department of Health and Aged Care’s Quality Sector Reference Group. Before joining Opal HealthCare in 2019, Ben held senior roles in the hotel industry in Australia and Europe. He holds a Commerce degree, a Strategic Management certification from Cornell University, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Professor Judy Lowthian most recently served as Head of Research and Principal Research Fellow at Bolton Clarke. Judy holds an adjunct professorship with Monash University, and is Chair and Board Director of Maryborough District Health Service in regional Victoria. Following a career in speech pathology and health service management, she has led multidisciplinary gerontological health services research focusing on epidemiology, emergency care, frailty and holistic wellbeing, hospital-to-home transitions, and codesign, implementation and evaluation of new care models.
Associate Professor Katrina Radford’s research interests focus on the intersection of work and age in three key areas: 1) How can we better create, and plan for, inclusive workplaces? 2) How can we better recruit, retain and support employees within the aged care sector? and 3) How can we build better systems or programs that provide quality care for an ageing population? Her expertise also extends to trialling new innovative systems and approaches to address ageing and ageism, such as intergenerational practices and hybrid care workforces or innovative workplace trials to re-engage an older population to create the workforce of the future. Over the past 14 years, she has published over 50 articles, attracted over $6.4 million in research funding and authored a children's book focused on normalising intergenerational language for children aged 3-4 years. This book is now a staple resource in over 200 childcare centres across Australia.
Alan Shackleton is an experienced Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Director at Wound Innovations, with over 20 years’ experience in nursing and leadership across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Specialising in wound management and clinical governance, he has led national service innovations, supported workforce development, and contributed to sector-wide projects with organisations like Wounds Australia and PHARMAC. His work is grounded in evidence-based practice, and he plays a key role in shaping clinical policy, mentoring clinicians, and advancing safe, equitable wound care delivery.
David Sharpham leads the development of Bethanie Group’s internal capabilities, processes, and management systems to adapt to changing customer needs and the evolving aged care industry. He has extensive experience in business transformation and cultural change, having held senior leadership roles in information technology, financial services, government administration, and healthcare. David holds an Economics degree from Macquarie University, a Master of Business Administration from Curtin University and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Dr. Scott Winch, a proud Wiradjuri man, brings nearly 30 years' experience in Indigenous affairs at local, state, and national levels. He is currently Head of Aboriginal Health at the SAX Institute and has held leadership roles with the NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations, World Vision Australia, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, and the University of Wollongong.
