Board & Governance
OzHelp Foundation Limited (OzHelp) is a public company limited by guarantee incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001. The organisation has a Board of ten directors comprising lawyers, accountants, senior public servants and individuals with operational and academic experience related to suicide prevention. The Board meet on a regular basis to ensure there is effective stewardship of the organisation, its strategic and business plans are being implemented and there is adequate review of the financial management, operations and risks for the organisation.
Peter Howman
Chair

Peter is an Executive Director and Chair, Non-Executive Director, National CEO of the Year, and Committee Member with over a decade of board level experience across the public, commercial and not for profit sectors.
Peter brings experience in all major disciplines including accounting, audit, finance, governance, high technology, legal, policy, strategy and property.
Peter has spent more than 20 years in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Post his ADF service, he was a senior executive in several multi-national companies delivering complex and leading-edge high technology solutions to the Commonwealth and State Governments. Peter is a Fellow of the AICD.
Lyn O’Connell
Deputy Chair

Lyn is the Deputy Secretary of the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Lyn was previously a Deputy Secretary at the Department of Infrastructure and Transport. Lyn is also a member of the Institute of Public Administration Australia and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Lyn has a Bachelor of Science degree from ANU and lives in Canberra.
Robert Johnson
Finance Director

Robert has been a partner of Hardwickes Chartered Accountants since 1987. Robert is a registered company auditor, tax agent and financial planner. Robert is also a member of the Catholic Education Committee and Financial Committee, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Ian Carter
Board Director

Ian is the Executive Chairman of PBS Property Group. Ian has overseen the growth of the company from Prestige Building Services in the late 1980s to an integrated property business. Ian is actively involved in a number of national industry bodies that support community and skills training initiatives and is also a Director of the Master Builders Australia Skills Trust.
David Cosgrave
Board Director

David consults on risk management, most recently to Health Canada and the EU Project Bank. His other board roles include chair at Steinberg Law and non-executive director of the Darling Downs and West Morton Primary Health Network. He holds postgraduate qualifications in law and management and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Michael Hopkins
Board Director

Michael is CEO of Master Builders ACT, Civil Contractors Federation ACT and MBA Group Training Ltd. Michael’s background combines local government and industry experience, most notably leading large-scale projects throughout Australia. Michael is also the Director of Master Builders Australia Insurance Brokers.
Nicole Sadler AM CSC
Board Director and Clinical Advisory Committee Chair

Nicole is the Head of Policy and Practice, Phoenix Australia and an Enterprise Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne. She is a Clinical Psychologist who specialises in evidence-based systems and services to support individuals working in high-risk organisations, including military, police and emergency services.
Hamish Thomson
Board Director

Hamish is a strategic consultant, published leadership author, speaker, and investor. He has been a successful CEO/Regional President and Global Brand head for Mars Incorporated (UK, Australia, and Chicago), a senior marketing and sales lead for Reebok International (England and the Netherlands), and an account executive in the London advertising scene. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a bachelor degree in marketing and commercial law.
Caroline Walsh
Board Director

Caroline is the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Public Administration Australia – ACT. Caroline has significant experience in policy, regulation, and program management covering service delivery, workforce capability, diversity and inclusion, workers’ compensation, safety, mental health, and wellbeing. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds qualifications in Law and Government.
Leanne Wells
Board Director

Leanne is CEO of the Consumers Health Forum of Australia and a committed health advocate with executive experience across Australian government and non-government organisations. Leanne is a board director of Coordinare South East New South Wales PHN and the Population Health Research Network. She is an expert in consumer and community engagement and is adviser on health consumer affairs issues to several government taskforces and committees. Leanne is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Australian Institute of Management and Leadership. She has qualifications in communications and business.
Donna Hodgson
Clinical Advisory Committee Member

Donna Hodgson is a Registered Nurse who holds a Credential for Practice with the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses. Donna is passionate about professional development activities, and ensuring a connection exists between evidence-based theory and the practice of mental health nursing. Donna has a long history of educating and mentoring undergraduate and postgraduate nurses in the field of mental health.
Since commencing work in the mental health setting in 1991 with the ACT Health Directorate, Donna has worked in numerous roles, and holds the honour of being the first Nurse in Australia to be appointed as a Clozapine Co-ordinator under the First National Mental Health Plan. Additionally, Donna worked for several years as the Clinical Nurse Consultant in the acute adult inpatient unit, and as a clinical manager in the community. In recent years, Donna has enjoyed participating with like-minded colleagues on research and practice projects, and is the co-author of a successful Australian text, targeted at undergraduate health professionals.
Donna has worked as the Co-ordinator of Mental Health Nursing Education Programs for the past twenty years. She has additionally spent one year as an academic teaching Mental Health Units at the University of Canberra.
Alan Woodward
Clinical Advisory Committee Member

Alan Woodward has worked in the fields of mental health, crisis support and suicide prevention for 20 years as an executive leader, a service and program developer, an evaluator and researcher. He has also acted as an expert advisor to governments and peak bodies.
Alan has contributed to suicide prevention policy and program development nationally as a Board Director for nine years, and more recently as a strategic advisor on quality and innovation with Suicide Prevention Australia. Mr Woodward worked for Lifeline Australia in various executive roles for 14 years until 2018, including the Lifeline Research Foundation. Mr Woodward holds a Master’s Degree in Social Science and Policy, a Business Degree in Public Administration and a Diploma in Arts/Communication. He is a Fellow of the Australian Evaluation Society.
Darren Black
Chief Executive Officer

Darren is a former army officer and UN Peacekeeper who, since leaving the military, has transitioned to community sector leadership. Darren has been the CEO of National and State community organisations for more than a decade, including the CEO of Outward Bound Australia and the NSW Police Citizens Youth Club. Darren has an MBA from Melbourne Business School and is a graduate of the Harvard Strategic Perspectives in NFP Management Program.
Bruce Papps
Chief Operating Officer

Bruce came to Ozhelp following over 4 years as Chief Executive Officer of Northside Community Service which provided a range of education, aged care, and support services to the community. Prior to that he was a partner of WalterTurnbull in Canberra before becoming a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers and has over 30 years of experience in providing and leading professional assurance, financial management, consulting, governance, and risk management services.
Bruce is on a number of Boards and Committees and he holds a Bachelor of Business, is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and is a qualified Chartered Account.
Carolyn Parish
Director of Workplace Wellbeing – Planning and Advisory Services

Carolyn joins the team with an extensive career in driving improvements in the health and wellbeing sector, particularly in mining. Her experience includes 10 years working for Rio Tinto, Yancoal, and Glencore in Occupational Health and the last 2 years at Ampcontrol as their Health and Wellbeing Specialist.
Carolyn holds qualifications in Occupational Health & Safety, Mental Health Intervention, Incident Investigation, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Health & Safety. She is also a current finalist in the 2020 Hunter Safety Awards for WHS Champion of the Year and Best Health & Wellbeing Program.
Her extensive 17-year career within male-dominated high-risk industries has seen her become a leader in contributing to the increasing importance and focus of workplace wellbeing.
Emily Brown
Clinical Director

Emily Brown is a Clinical Psychologist with over a decade of experience working in acute mental health and hard-to-engage population groups, including complex trauma in children, forensic mental health, and veterans. Emily has spent time working in the Northern Territory with young people in the out-of-home care sector and remote communities and has a strong research interest in Aboriginal mental health. Emily’s passion for working with people in regional and remote areas stems from her early experience of growing up in a small farming town in Tasmania.
Liza Davis
Government Relations Manager

Liza has over 15 years in the government sector, including local, state and federal government. Liza was formerly the Director of Strategic Communications and Government Relations at ReachOut a frontline youth and parent service accessed by more than 2 million people each year. Liza was also an Adviser to the Federal Minister for Health, the Hon. Sussan Ley MP, in the areas of mental health, medicinal cannabis and women’s policy. Liza worked in the fraud and corruption risk management area for Deloitte (Sydney) and with the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption. Liza has a Bachelor of Arts (Politics) and Graduate Diploma of Public Policy.