Governance

Board

Debra Barnes (she/her)
Debra Barnes (she/her) Chairperson

Debra Barnes is the CEO of Sexual Health Quarters. Debra has extensive experience in CEO, senior executive and board director roles across both corporate and for-purpose sectors and has a demonstrated track record in delivering strategic leadership, transformational change and operational growth.

Prior to joining Sexual health Quarters, Debra was the Deputy CEO of VisAbility Ltd. Prior to VisAbility, Debra was the CEO of the WA General Practice Network and founding CEO of Primary Care WA.

Debra believes that diversity, inclusion and equality drives creativity and innovation. She is a strong advocate for freedom of choice, access to timely, quality healthcare, and for the sexual rights of everyone to be respected, protected and fulfilled.

Debra originally trained as a Registered General and Registered Sick Children’s Nurse. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management WA, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and she has a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia.

Karen Struthers (she/her)
Karen Struthers (she/her) Director

Karen is the CEO of True Relationships and Reproductive Health, Queensland. 

 Karen’s career spans leadership roles as a Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister, community services leader, advocate, policy manager and researcher in the NGO, university and government sectors. Her career and life features action to advance the economic security, safety and well-being of women and girls, and equality more broadly.

Karen has wide-ranging skills in systems change, industry and community engagement, gender quality, primary health and public health promotion. Experience in participatory research, evaluation and impact frameworks. A recognised collaborative leader, policy expert and advocate.

Caroline Mulcahy (she/her)
Caroline Mulcahy (she/her) Director

Caroline is the CEO of Sexual Health Victoria. Caroline has almost 40 years of health experience in clinical care, service development, operational and strategic planning and senior management roles, and in recent years has helped organisations implement new governance and business development structures and processes.

Prior to joining Sexual Health Victoria, Caroline has held several CEO positions, at the Skin Health Institute (2019-2022), Carers Victoria (2010-2017) and at Melbourne IVF (2004-2009). She has led organisations through substantial growth and change, including the transformation and transition of the federated Heart Foundation into one, unified and national organisation in 2019. Caroline originally trained as a Registered Nurse, specialising in Neonatal Intensive Care, has a Master of Science (majoring in Research Methods) and is a graduate and member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Caroline has worked closely with both the Australian and Victorian Governments, advocated for systemic and local change, new services and represented organisations and communities on the development of new policy at the Law Reform and Productivity Commissions and at Senate Enquiries for example changes to legislation, aged care reforms and the NDIS.  She has held several Victorian Ministerial appointments and Board positions and is currently a Director at Dragon Boating Victoria and Dragons Abreast Melbourne. In her spare time, Caroline is a proud pink (breast cancer survivor) dragon boat paddler.  

Holley Skene (she/her)
Holley Skene (she/her) Director
Holley is the CEO of SHINE SA. Holley has more than 12 years of experience working in the sexual health sector in government and non-government roles in South Australia and has positive and long-term relationships with key stakeholders in the sector locally and nationally. Along with a Bachelor of Social Science and Psychology, Masters in Public Health and Graduate Diploma in Community and Not-for-Profit Management, Holley is skilled and qualified in not-for-profit governance as a graduate of the Company Director’s Course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors and having served for eight years on not-for-profit Boards, including the South Australian Rainbow Advocacy Alliance and Adelaide’s LGBTIQA+ Feast Festival. An adaptive leader and 2022 graduate of the Governor’s Leadership Foundation, Holley also has a deep personal and professional commitment to diversity, access and inclusion.
Tim Bavinton (he/him, they/them)
Tim Bavinton (he/him, they/them) Director

Tim is the Executive Director of Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT (SHFPACT) in Canberra. Tim is graduate of the Australian National University, University of Canberra, and University of Technology Sydney, holding qualifications in secondary education, vocational education and training, youth work, community development, and non-profit management.

Tim has a broad ranging governance experience in the non-profit community services sector over 20 years, and completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course in 2015. Tim’s professional life has focused on young people’s health and wellbeing in various positions in education, health promotion, violence prevention, and victim support services.

 Robyn Wardle (she/her)
Robyn Wardle (she/her) Director

Robyn is the CEO at Family Planning Welfare Northern Territory. Robyn is a registered nurse and midwife with qualifications in reproductive and sexual health, human resources, teaching and assessment in the workplace. Robyn has a long-standing interest in reproductive sexual health having worked within the family planning and sexual and reproductive health sector for more than 25 years.

Robyn first arrived in the Northern Territory in 1980 and fell in love with the culture and environment. Facing the NT’s unique challenge of its high burden of diseases and a constant moving workforce, Robyn has maintained commitment and enthusiasm in the sector.

 Lalla Mackenzie (she/her)
Lalla Mackenzie (she/her) Director

Lalla is the CEO of Family Planning Tasmania. Lalla has over 20 years of experience in community and stakeholder engagement, partnerships, building teams, project management, training & development and governance.  

The majority of Lalla’s career has been in Telecommunications building meaningful partnerships across all levels of government, community groups and industry. An accomplished communications professional with extensive experience in leading and delivering strategic initiatives, Lalla is also a Certified Project Director.  

Mikayla Wolfe (she/her)
Mikayla Wolfe (she/her) Director (Youth)
Mikayla is a dedicated and passionate advocate for sexual and reproductive health, inclusion, diversity, and culturally safe practice. She is specifically interested in equitable accessibility to safe and quality health services, and the upkeep of human rights and social justice. Mikayla is a current student at the University of Melbourne. She is in her final year of a Master of Public Health degree, specialising in sexual and reproductive health. She completed her Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Scholars) at Monash University in 2020, during which she gained research, academic, and clinical experience in Melbourne and the Philippines. Throughout the end of 2020, beginning of 2021, Mikayla volunteered and worked for a registered charity called Halad to Health (HTH). During this time, she learnt from and created health-based materials with academics and health professionals from a rural town in the Philippines. These materials were developed to be used in high schools and hospitals. The materials informed patients of vaccines, diet, and local infectious diseases amongst other topics. Mikayla co-hosted seminars on teenage pregnancy to both an Australian and Filipino audience, and created revision materials and ran revision sessions for biomedical students in Australia. These sessions were used to fund medical donations to hospitals in Australia and the Philippines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, during her time with HTH, the charity opened a shared safe space in a rural town in the Philippines to ensure youth the opportunity to engage with health professionals free of charge. Mikayla continues her work in advocating for improving equitable access to health services/programs and gender equality through her research at the University of Melbourne. Her acceptance into the Women Deliver 2023 Virtual Scholarship Program is a testament to Mikayla’s dedication to gender equality and the health and rights of everyone across the gender spectrum.
Jenny Cao (she/her)
Jenny Cao (she/her) Director (IPPF Youth)

Jenny is a public health professional with a broad background in health promotion, project management, research and advocacy across the government, research and not-for profit sectors. She is committed to social justice, intersectional feminism and work which addresses health inequities for women and girls, particularly those from systemically marginalised communities in Australia and globally.

At the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, her role is as an International Health Project Officer where Jenny conducts research on global maternal health, newborn health and sexual and reproductive health. She has worked and volunteered extensively with migrant and refugee communities and young people. She is currently serving on the Board of the Dual Identity Leadership Program and has previously worked at the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health on violence prevention projects and advocacy to address inequities. Jenny is completing her Master of Public Health degree, specialising in Gender and Women’s Health and Global Health, and holds a Bachelor of Biomedicine degree, both from The University of Melbourne.