WANADA Board and Staff

Neil has extensive leadership experience in a range of Board, executive and CEO roles in public and highly competitive private sector and not-for-profit environments.

Emma is the Chief Executive Officer of Palmerston Association, a Board Director of the Western Australian Association for Mental Health (WAAMH) and former Vice Chair of the WA AIDS Council.

Emma is experienced with governance, strategy, risk, and clinical and organisational development. Emma has 20 years experience in the non government, and government sectors. Emma is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has a Masters in Applied Social Studies, a Post-Graduate Diploma and a Post Qualifying Award in Social Work, a Bachelors with Hons in Theology, and a Certificate IV in Coaching.

Lorraine Keane is the Chief Executive Officer at Holyoake and Non-Executive Director at Community Arts Network.

Holyoake provides evidence-based programs to support those who are affected by alcohol, other drugs, and mental health issues. Holyoake operates in Victoria Park, Midland and the Wheatbelt.

Lorraine has over 20 years of commercial and not-for-profit experience, having worked across a range of industries such as aged care, disabilities, arts, and mental health. She has held many executive roles over the years that have most recently included Chief Financial Officer at Screenwest and General Manager Corporate Services at Holyoake. Her areas of expertise are strategy, leadership, governance, and finance.

Lorraine is passionate about connection and believes as humans we are all hard wired for connection. Her work at Holyoake enables her to realise her passion as the team experiences connection daily through the delivery of its services. 

Merinda is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with extensive management history within the hospital, health, community and not-for-profit sectors. Merinda has strong leadership skills with a passion for collective leadership and social impact.

Merinda’s previous roles and experience include Chief Executive Officer at Coolibah Care, Executive Manager Strategic Development at 360 Health + Community and General Manager Health Services, 360 Health + Community. Merinda holds a Bachelor of Applied Psychology and a Bachelor of Counselling from the University of Notre Dame, Australia.

Andrew is Chief Executive Officer of Milliya Rumurra Aboriginal Corporation. Milliya Rumurra is an alcohol and drug service based in Broome. Programs provided include residential rehabilitation, a sobering-up shelter, community based prevention and treatment. 

Milliya Rumurra primarily offers treatment services for Indigenous residents, however, non-Indigenous people are also eligible to access services.

Michael has nearly three decades of experience managing alcohol and other drug services and other social programs across three countries.

He proactively works for societal change, having served on several advisory and governance bodies including the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association (VAADA) and community organisations in Taiwan, Western Australia, and Victoria. He campaigned for the adoption of Victoria’s first safe injecting centre and, whilst national leader of The Salvation Army in Taiwan, campaigned against the institutionalised discrimination of homeless persons in that country.

In Australia, he headed up The Salvation Army’s alcohol and other drug services across five states and territories and led that organisation’s large and diverse range of social programs across the state of Victoria.

Michael highly values and promotes good management practice and skilling-up leaders for the NGO sector. He has judged the Institute of Managers and Leaders (IML) excellence awards and been a mentor to emerging leaders through the IML Mentor Programme.

Paul Dessauer is the CEO of Peer Based Harm Reduction WA (PBHRWA), a not-for-profit non-government organisation and the state’s only peer-based alcohol and other drug service delivery agency. PBHRWA provides non-judgmental peer-based services including needle and syringe exchange programs, overdose prevention programs, peer education programs, testing and treatment for blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections, and a range of health and harm reduction services aimed at reducing the transmission of infections and reducing the incidence of other harms associated with drug use in communities throughout Western Australia.

Paul has worked at PBHRWA for more than 23 years, with his previous roles involving delivering and coordinating outreach health and harm reduction services, overdose prevention, take-home-naloxone, and peer education projects, and providing consultancy, training, and workforce development for other agencies. Paul has also worked as a Drug and Alcohol Officer for the State-wide Specialist Aboriginal Mental Health Service; as an educator and consultant for the Transnational Institute (in China and Myanmar); and as a trainer for the Burnet Institute for Public Health. In 2002 Paul was awarded an Alcohol & Drug Council of Australia (ADCA) Australia Day Medal. 

Kim Gates is the Executive Manager Public Health and Continuous Quality Improvement at the Aboriginal Health Council of WA. She has held this position since October 2021. Kim returned to Perth Western Australia in 2020 after a thirty-year career in Indigenous Health in the Kimberley, the Northern Territory and South Australia. Much of that has been spent in the Alcohol and Other Drug Sector. She has cultural connections to the Nukuna people in South Australia. Kim holds a Masters in Indigenous Health – Substance Use and a Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health – Substance Use from Sydney University.

Kim has held senior positions in several not for profit organisation’s including Ngnowar Aerwah in Wyndham, the Council for Aboriginal Alcohol Program Services (CAAPS) Inc. in Darwin, the Northern Territory AIDS & Hepatitis Council and Nganampa Health Council.

Kim has also sat on a number of Boards and advisory committees at local, state and national level. This includes the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD), and the National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee (NIDAC). She is currently a Board member of Hepatitis WA and has had strong connections with harm reduction needle and syringe programs in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

These experiences along with her experiences working in the Commonwealth Government and state governments as well as tertiary institutions has provided her with a wide range of knowledge and skills.

Alex is the Development Coordinator for the Alcohol and Other Drug Consumer and Community Coalition (AODCCC), the peak body for consumer systemic advocacy in Western Australia. The AODCCC seeks to promote the interests, education, and welfare of those affected by alcohol and other drug use and amplify the lived and living experience of its members, to inform change and address stigma.

Alex has 23 years’ experience in front line alcohol and other drug service delivery, specifically in the areas of Youth Withdrawal, Rehabilitation, Counselling, Case Management, Staff Leadership and Service Management. Alex is also a qualified Trainer and Assessor currently delivering Diploma of Community Services.

Alex is passionate about empowering the community to engage and inform the systems that are there to serve them. To provide a space to share a diversity of views, to build personal insight and resilience to facilitate difficult conversations, in the pursuit of health, social wellbeing and fulfilment.

Dr Greg Dear has 35 years’ experience as a clinical and forensic psychologist, including 22 years in academia where he supervised honours, masters, and PhD research, and conducted research in mental health, psychological assessment, suicide prevention, and program evaluation.

Jill has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Western Australian Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (WANADA) since 2000. Jill is passionate about supporting sector quality, strategies that promote equitable access to services by marginalised peoples, and enabling the translation of evidence into policy and practice. Jill's work involves advocacy for systems reform that promotes alcohol and other drug use as a health issue. 

Jill graduated from the University of Western Australia with first class honours in Anthropology with a thesis on women and drug use. She developed the WA AOD Sector Quality Framework in 2004. This has now been developed by WANADA into an international accreditation standard for the alcohol and other drug service sector.

Susan has a strong background in projects and administration across the private and not-for-profit sectors and was previously at WANADA from 2004-2008. Most recently she was engaged at ConnectGroups in a sector capacity building role running a small grants pilot program for the community sector.

At WANADA, Susan works to scope and develop systems that support the communication, coordination, data and reporting needs of the alcohol and other drug sector.

Rochelle has recently returned to the alcohol and other drug sector, following a career that has focused on strategic and organisational transformation spanning multiple human service sectors. Rochelle has worked to improve outcomes for vulnerable people through systemic change, and organisation, function, and program re-design and development. Building effective and trusted relationships with key stakeholders is pivotal to Rochelle’s approach and is essential in her new role at WANADA, focusing on supporting sector quality and expanding access to AOD services with the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector.

Rochelle graduated with Honours in Psychology and Politics and is passionate about working strategically and in partnership to improve outcomes for WA’s most vulnerable people.

Originally from Austria, Stefanie moved to Perth in 2016. She has a background in management consulting and employment law. Through her collaboration with stakeholders and customers across the world, Stefanie has developed a sound understanding of economic relations and organisational coherence. With a keen interest in the human service sector, Stefanie is well-placed to support WANADA's ongoing development.

After taking a year off to travel Australia, Charli returned to WANADA in July 2022. She has six years’ experience working in administration for the alcohol and other drug sector whilst completing a Bachelor of Science and Master of Strategic Communication at UWA, from which she graduated in 2019. Prior to joining the WANADA team, Charli worked in journalism as a Content Coordinator at a boutique media firm. She is particularly interested in policy and public perception of alcohol and other drug use and is keen to expand her knowledge and apply her skills in this new role.

Deanne is from the south west of WA and came to the city to study and later to work. Deanne has maintained a keen interest in not-for-profit communications since finishing her studies at Murdoch University, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Communication Studies and a Graduate Diploma in Journalism. She enjoys working with the diversity of people in the alcohol and other drug sector and sharing the needs, concerns and successes of agencies and consumers with the wider community.

Matt holds a Bachelor of Arts and Science degree in Behavioural Science. He has recently worked in various roles at community- and prison-based residential AOD therapeutic communities and has volunteered his time to contribute to the development of a peak alcohol and other drug consumer-led organisation. He is eager to apply his skillset and support the sector to implement policies that provide principles of self-determination, promoting the voice of consumers to influence effective service planning and delivery.

Paola is a hard-working and passionate person with over six years' experience as an Occupational Health and Safety advisor and 10 years’ experience in customer service and administrative duties. Paola is skilled at working to intense deadlines, while providing work and services of a high quality. Paola excels when working in a team, using her communication skills, and is also adept at working independently.

Paola considers her work at WANADA to be a great opportunity to use her experience and knowledge. Paola believes that WANADA’s commitment and support is of value to the whole community, which makes every human being who loves to serve others want to be part of its work team.