Our people
We are able to carry out our important work thanks to the generosity of our board, member organisations, advisory groups and committees and all of our other supporters.
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Our Board
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Chair
Dr Joanna Wriedt BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, JD (Law) GAICD
Independent DirectorDr Joanna Wriedt is an independent director of the National Asthma Council Australia.
Joanna’s professional experience spans the commercial law, government and medical research sectors. Joanna is experienced in governance and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She sits on a number of state and commonwealth regulatory committees, including as chair of the Victorian Government’s Radiation Advisory Committee, a director of Dairy Food Safety Victoria and a member of its audit and finance committee. She has sat on a number of not-for-profit boards and is involved in commercial scale farming in Victoria and Queensland.
Joanna has completed a Juris Doctor in law and a PhD in medical research from the University of Melbourne, her PhD thesis specifically examined the errors in risk estimates and statistical power in environmental epidemiology. She previously worked as a commercial lawyer in the transport and shipping sector dealing with transport incidents and regulatory matters. Joanna’s work in the public sector includes as policy adviser to the federal health minister from 1998 to 2001 and she currently sits on three government regulatory advisory committees.
Directors
Ms Julianne Badenoch RN, RM, BNP, GAICD
Nominee DirectorMs Julianne Badenoch is a nominee director appointed by the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association, a member body of the National Asthma Council Australia.
Julianne sits on the board of Yorke & Northern Local Health Network in South Australia, and has held various senior positions in national nursing and primary health care organisations. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Julianne was a director of the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association for 13 years. She works as a registered nurse and midwife in general practice in rural South Australia.
Professor Amanda Barnard BA (Hons), BMed (Hons), FRACGP, SFHEA
Nominee DirectorProfessor Amanda Barnard is a nominee director appointed by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, a member body of the National Asthma Council Australia.
Amanda was a foundation member of the Australian Asthma Handbook Guidelines Committee until 2021, and a member of the National Monitoring of Asthma and Other Chronic Respiratory Conditions Advisory Group. She also serves on a number of state and national bodies with education, training, rural workforce and health system briefs.
Amanda is the Associate Dean, Rural Clinical School and Indigenous Health at the Australian National University Medical School. She has practiced as a GP in both rural and urban areas, and continues her clinical work in Braidwood, NSW.
Mr Rob Farrier BPharm, GradDipHlthAdmin
Nominee DirectorMr Rob Farrier is a nominee director appointed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), a member body of the National Asthma Council Australia.
Rob is a community pharmacist and PSA branch committee member working with national pharmacies as an ethical buying manager. He has a diverse understanding of the pharmacy industry with experience across medicine policy, pharmaceutical logistics and digital health.
Mr Ben Gargett
Independent DirectorMr Ben Gargett is an independent director of the National Asthma Council Australia.
Ben is a registered company auditor, with 25 years external and internal audit experience at PwC, including more than 12 years as a PwC partner. His skills and career span across all areas of financial reporting, financial stewardship and management, both as an external auditor and having lead PwC’s CFO Advisory practice in Melbourne. He also founded and chairs PwC’s Australia-Africa Practice – a business which supports Australian companies with operations in Africa.
Ben works primarily with companies in the resources and infrastructure industries and has also worked with global and large listed clients, through to smaller companies. As an auditor of ASX listed entities, he actively engages with a diverse range of audit and risk committees and boards.
Ben has a special interest in asthma, having benefited from the care and guidance of health professionals in managing in his own asthma. Ben also has not for profit sector experience in chair and committee roles and is currently a member of the finance, audit and risk committee for the Lutheran Church of Australia.
Dr Roger Sexton AM FAICD, MBA(Adel)MBBS, DRCOG(UK), FAMA, FRACGP, FACRRM
Independent DirectorDr Roger Sexton AM is an independent director of the National Asthma Council Australia.
Roger’s diverse experience as a rural procedural general practitioner for over 35 years included community health education and working closely with pharmacists and district nurses to improve the outcomes of rural patients with asthma and other chronic disease.
He is an experienced medical educator and editor of the AMA (SA) magazine, medicSA. He established the innovative Doctors' Health SA program in 2010 and the national Doctors' Health Alliance in 2023 (of which he is the current chair). On Australia Day 2023, Roger was made a Member of the Order (AM) recognising his work in this field.
Roger is also an experienced board director in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors. He has contributed as a director and/or member of many state and national boards and committees, including medical indemnity insurer MIGA, NPS MedicineWise, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, the Medical Board of South Australia (chair in 2010) and is a current board director at GPEx.
Professor Sheryl van Nunen OAM FRSN
Nominee DirectorProfessor Sheryl van Nunen is a nominee director, appointed by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), a member body of the National Asthma Council Australia.
Sheryl is a clinician and medical educator. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and Clinical Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health (University of Sydney) and the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences (Macquarie University).
Sheryl is a consultant physician in allergic diseases at Northern Beaches Hospital, Visiting Medical Officer at Northern Beaches and North Shore Private Hospitals, as well as Senior Advisor, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Center at Vinmec International Hospital in Vietnam.
Conjoint Professor Peter Wark BMed, PhD, FRACP, FThorSoc
Independent DirectorProfessor Peter Wark is an independent director of the National Asthma Council Australia.
Peter is Director of Cystic Fibrosis and RES2, AIRMED, Alfred Health. He is a conjoint Professor of Medicine at Monash University. He holds an honorary position as a senior staff specialist in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle and is an adjunct Professor with the University of Newcastle and senior affiliate researcher at the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) Immune Health Research program.Peter is the director of the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at Alfred Health that manages the Victorian state-wide cystic fibrosis service. As director of RES2 he also provides support to people with bronchiectasis and chronic suppurative lung disease. He works in the severe asthma clinic and general respiratory clinics at the Alfred with a special interest in complex airways disease.
Since 2009 he has worked within the Commonwealth funded MOICD programme to provide respiratory and sleep outreach support at Narrabri and Moree, working with the Kamillori people.
Peter is a foundation member of the Australian Asthma Handbook Guidelines Committee.
Rhonda Cleveland
Chief Executive OfficerRhonda has been integral to the success of the National Asthma Council, dedicating a significant part of her professional life to the National Asthma Council, having initially joined the organisation in 2005 to develop the NAC’s national health professional education program.
Rhonda brings extensive experience in strategic planning, corporate governance, risk management, team building, project and event management to the position.
Associate Professor Debbie Rigby BPharm, GradDipClinPharm, AdvPracPharm, AACPA, FPS, FSHPA, FACP, FASCP, FAICD
Clinical Executive Lead
Debbie is an Advanced Practice Pharmacist and brings over 40 years’ experience spanning clinical pharmacy practice, interdisciplinary care, policy and advocacy, clinical governance, guidelines development and education.
Debbie has a specific interest in respiratory conditions and is passionate about improving the care and support for people living with asthma through multidisciplinary patient-centred care, shared decision making and evidence-based medicine.
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Committees & Advisory Groups
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Each group consists health professionals with a special interest in asthma. Members come from across Australia and represent a wide range of professional experience and expert knowledge.
We are indebted to the dedicated health professionals who volunteer their time and expertise as members of these groups.
- Finance Committee: Chair, Robert Farrier
- General Practitioners Asthma Advisory Group
- Nurses Asthma Advisory Group
- Pharmacists Asthma Advisory Group
- Guidelines Committee: Chair, Professor Nick Zwar
- Sensitive Choice Product Advisory Panel
General Practitioners Asthma Advisory Group
The General Practitioners’ Asthma Group was formed in the early 1990s, soon after the National Asthma Council was established. From 2008-2016, it also acted as the GP advisory group of the Lung Foundation Australia.
The General Practitioners Asthma Advisory Group (GPAAG) principally aims to provide expertise and advice from the GP perspective to help the NAC meet its objectives. The purpose is to maintain the relevance, accuracy and impact of the NAC’s work and to facilitate engagement between the NAC and key stakeholders in general practice.
GPAAG welcomes expressions of interest and input. Please contact [email protected]
Functions
- To provide strategic policy and advocacy advice on asthma matters from the GP perspective.
- To identify and share current and potential future trends in general practice.
- To identify gaps and opportunities in asthma, and provide advice for addressing these in general practice.
- To offer a practical perspective to guide implementation of asthma policy and research in general practice.
Membership
GPAAG members are GPs with an interest in asthma from around Australia.
Reporting
The GPAAG reports, through its chairperson, to the Board.
Nurses Asthma Advisory Group
Established in 2018, the Nurses Asthma Advisory Group (NAAG) principally aims to provide expertise and advice from the practice nurse perspective to help the NAC meet its objectives. The purpose is to maintain the relevance, accuracy and impact of the NAC’s work and to facilitate engagement between the NAC and practice nurse stakeholders.
NAAG welcomes expressions of interest and input. Please contact [email protected]
Functions
- To provide strategic policy and advocacy advice on asthma matters from the practice nurse perspective.
- To identify and share current and potential future trends in practice nursing.
- To identify gaps and opportunities in asthma, and provide advice for addressing these within the scope of practice nursing.
- To offer a practical perspective to guide implementation of asthma policy and research in practice nursing.
Membership
NAAG members are practice nurses from around Australia with an interest in asthma.
Reporting
The NAAG reports, through its chairperson, to the Board.
Pharmacists Asthma Advisory Group
The Pharmacists Asthma Advisory Group (PAAG) principally aims to provide expertise and advice from the pharmacy perspective to help the NAC meet its objectives. The purpose is to maintain the relevance, accuracy and impact of the NAC’s work and to facilitate engagement between the NAC and key stakeholders in community pharmacy.
PAAG welcomes expressions of interest and input. Please contact [email protected].
Functions
- To provide strategic policy and advocacy advice on asthma matters from the pharmacist perspective.
- To identify and share current and potential future trends in community pharmacy.
- To identify gaps and opportunities in asthma, and provide advice for addressing these in community pharmacy.
- To offer a practical perspective to guide implementation of asthma policy and research in pharmacy.
Membership
PAAG members are community pharmacists from around Australia with an interest in asthma, including representation from the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia.
Reporting
The PAAG reports, through its chairperson, to the Board.
Guidelines Committee
The Guidelines Committee oversees development of the Australian Asthma Handbook, Australia's national guidelines for asthma management. It has recently finished working on a minor update to the current edition of the Australian Asthma Handbook. The current update, version 2.2, was published in April 2022.
First published in 1989 and now in its 13th edition, the National Asthma Council Australia's Australian Asthma Handbook continues to set the standard for evidence-based, practical advice for asthma management in primary care.
A collaborative, multidisciplinary effort, development of the Handbook involved more than 100 leading health professionals dedicated to asthma. The Guidelines Committee is a small, multidisciplinary group chaired by a general practitioner.
Visit the Australian Asthma Handbook website.
Sensitive Choice Product Advisory Panel
Our Sensitive Choice Product Advisory Panel reviews and approves products and services to be able to carry the Sensitive Choice blue butterfly. This independent expert panel determines the potential benefit of the product or service to people with asthma and allergies. Only products that go through this rigorous process conducted by the panel can be Sensitive Choice approved.
Learn more about Sensitive Choice.
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Member Organisations
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The National Asthma Council Australia is a collaboration of four member organisations, representatives of which comprise the NAC Board alongside our independent director(s).
Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association
APNA is the peak body and professional membership association for all nurses working outside of a hospital setting in Australia. APNA provides primary health care nurses with a voice, access to quality continuing professional development, educational resources, support and networking opportunities. APNA continually strives to increase awareness of the role of the primary health care nurse, and to be a dynamic and vibrant organisation for its members.
Primary health care nursing is wide ranging and covers many specialist areas including general practice, Aboriginal health, aged care, occupational health and safety, telephone triage, palliative care, sexual health, drug and alcohol issues, women’s health, men’s health, infection control, chronic disease management, cardiovascular care, immunisation, cancer, asthma, COPD, mental health, maternal and child health, health promotion, care plans, population health, diabetes, wound management and much more. Visit apna.asn.au.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is the professional organisation that focuses on the safety and quality of general practice.
The RACGP's mission is to improve health and wellbeing for all Australians by supporting general practitioners, registrars and medical students by assessing doctors skills and knowledge, supplying ongoing professional development activities, developing resources and guidelines, helping general practitioners with issues that affect their practice and development standards that general practices use as part of the accreditation processes. Visit racgp.org.au.
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) is the peak national professional pharmacy organisation representing approximately 75 per cent of pharmacists across Australia.
PSA has a dual function, supporting pharmacists’ commitment to high standards of patient care and continuing professional education, and representing their role as frontline health professionals. PSA’s primary role is to provide lifelong professional development, education, training and practice support for pharmacists and pharmacy staff. Visit psa.org.au.
Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy
The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) is a professional medical organisation, comprised predominantly of clinical immunologists, allergy specialists and immunology scientists.
The mission of ASCIA is to advance the science and practice of allergy and clinical immunology. This is achieved by promoting the highest standard of medical practice, training, education and research, to improve the quality of life and health of people with immune system disorders. Visit allergy.org.au.
Last reviewed Jul 2024
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