Our people

Chair

Dr Joanna Wriedt, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, JD (Law) GAICD
Independent Director

Dr 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 Director

Ms 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), B.Med (Hons), FRACGP, SFHEA
Nominee Director

Professor 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.

Dr Sara Barnes, B.App.Sci (Hlth promotion), BN, MBBS (Hons), FRACP, MBA, GAICD
Nominee Director

Dr Sara Barnes is a Nominee Director appointed by the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, a member body of the National Asthma Council Australia.

Sara is Head of the Allergy Department at Monash Health and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Sara holds an MBA from Deakin University, and a Bachelor of Applied Science Health Promotion and Nursing.

Mr Rob Farrier, BPharm, GradDipHlthAdmin
Nominee Director

Mr 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.

Dr Stephen Hughes, BPharm, MPhil, PhD
Independent Director

Dr Stephen Hughes is an independent director of the National Asthma Council Australia.

Stephen is a key contributor of the Australian Asthma Handbook, National Asthma Strategy and other notable National Asthma Council resources. He was the Nominee Director of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. Stephen’s focus is on the public interest, including representing the needs of those impacted by asthma.

Conjoint Professor Peter Wark,  BMed, PhD, FRACP, FThorSoc
Independent Director

Professor Peter Wark is an independent director of the National Asthma Council Australia.

Peter is a foundation member of the Australian Asthma Handbook Guidelines Committee. He sits on the Board of Cystic Fibrosis Australia and is the Chairperson of the Hunter New England Local Hospital respiratory stream.

Peter is a senior staff specialist in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at John Hunter Hospital and a University of Newcastle conjoint Professor.

Rhonda Cleveland
Chief Executive Officer

Rhonda 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.

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.

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.

Revamped and re-named in 2018, 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 nac@nationalasthma.org.au

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.

GPAAG Terms of Reference

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 nac@nationalasthma.org.au

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.

NAAG Terms of Reference

Pharmacists Asthma Advisory Group

Revamped in 2018, 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 nac@nationalasthma.org.au

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.

PAAG Terms of Reference

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 eighth 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

The National Asthma Council Australia is a collaboration of four member bodies, representatives of which comprise the NAC Board alongside our independent director(s).

Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association

APNA is the peak professional body for nurses working in primary health care including general practice. With more than 4000 members, APNA provide 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

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners is the professional organisation that focuses on the safety and quality of general practice.

The College’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

The 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 initial and ongoing 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 clinical immunology and allergy, by promoting education and the highest standard of ethical medical practice. Visit allergy.org.au