Who We Are

Jillian Skinner was notably the Deputy Leader of the NSW Parliamentary Liberal Party, Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research. She retired from state politics in 2017 after 20 years, famously having held more experience in the health field than any other politician in Australia.

Ms Skinner began her career as a journalist and in addition to her honourable political career, she has also run her own business, worked in the public sector and served on many community and advisory boards including the NSW Women’s Advisory Council and the NSW Youth Advisory Council.

Since leaving politics, Ms Skinner has continued to make instrumental contributions to health-related matters and her experience, drawn from not only her decorated political career, but also her experiences as a mother and through her passion and support for areas of health and research makes Ms Skinner the ideal Patron for Karitane.

“I am proud to join Karitane as Patron. I have long held Karitane in high regard and know well the tremendous benefit the organisation has brought to so many families, in particular, the innovative expansion of its evidence-based services through use of digital platforms, expanded partnerships and focus on new models of care – with particular attention to Perinatal Infant Mental Health Services. Karitane genuinely transforms the lives of so many Australian families and I look forward to supporting the great work that they do.”

Laura Jayes is Political Reporter at Sky News Australia and anchor of morning political program AM Agenda, weekdays at 9am. Each weekday morning, Laura Jayes delivers unrivalled breaking political news, the day’s top stories and national affairs coverage to Sky News viewers across the country. A leading political journalist, Laura has covered the 2012 and 2013 Labor Leader leadership challenges, 2015 Liberal leadership challenge, the 2018 Liberal leadership spill and three Federal Elections. She has also reported on Brexit live from London, the Queensland floods, the war in Afghanistan from Kabul, Kandahar and Tarin Kowt and Donald Trumps’ election win and inauguration in Washington. She is one of the only journalists to be granted access to Nauru to report on the fate of asylum seekers.

In 2016 Laura was the recipient of a team Walkley Award and Logie Award for the 2016 Sky News Federal Election coverage. In 2018, Laura was also part of the Sky News political team entry that won an AACTA Award for the coverage of the 2018 Liberal leadership spill, in the subscription television award category for best live event production. Laura has a Bachelor of Media and Communications.

Laura is mum to Billy and Sophie whom she shares with her husband, Alex Hart. Laura loves the joy that her children bring — continuously inspiring her to be more ambitious and eager to succeed.

Lee joined Karitane in 2018 as a Non-Executive Director. Lee has almost 30 years of human services experience gained in health and disability services. For the last 10 years, Lee worked for Northcott, one of Australia’s leading Disability Service Providers, before transitioning into his current position of CEO at Unisson Disability. Lee was previously the Finance and Performance Manager for St.Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney for seven years, and prior to that held a number of financial roles in Australia and the UK.

Elyse has 18 years’ legal experience specialising predominantly in health and aged care. Elyse worked for 8 years as Director of Legal and Risk for St Vincent’s Health Network, St Vincent’s Private Hospital Sydney and the Mater Hospital at North Sydney. Elyse’s experience includes advising private and public hospitals (including affiliated health organisations) and not for profit organisations. Elyse is currently employed as Legal Director and Company Secretary, St Vincent de Paul Society, and prior to this Elyse was Chief Legal and Risk Officer and member of the Executive for the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust (a Commonwealth Corporate entity) and company secretary for Sydney Harbour Foundation Management Ltd.

Jean-Baptiste (JB) Naudet joined the Karitane Board in March 2024 as Non-Executive Director and Treasurer. JB is the proud CFO of the Australian Red Cross and also recently worked in another Not for Profit organisation as the CFO and Executive Director of Enabling Services of St Vincent de Paul NSW. Previously JB worked for Johnson & Johnson (J&J) for 10 years as Financial Controller of the Medical Device Division and then CFO of the Consumer Health Division. JB worked also for the Pharmaceutical division as the APAC Commercial Director for Business Intelligence, New Business Development and Strategic Marketing. Prior to J&J, JB worked at Coca-Cola Amatil, Flight Centre, and Thales. He has been recognised throughout his career for the ability to build and enhance strong team cultures and increase engagement outcomes. JB was born and educated in France but has been living in Australia for 25 years. He is a Chartered Accountant and a Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors.

“I am honoured and humbled to join Karitane. An organisation who has done so much, over 100 years, for parents during the critical first 2,000 days of their baby’s life”.

Paul brings pivotal cyber expertise in an increasingly digital landscape. With over twenty years in healthcare and human services and backed by a PhD in Physiology, Paul’s career reflects a commitment to technological advancement and strategic leadership. Having progressed from an educator in computing to key IT roles, he has notably enhanced hospital billing systems and led sustainability drives. His recent role as COO at Unisson Disability, overseeing corporate services including IT, underscores his capability in essential operational areas. With cybersecurity becoming a critical boardroom issue, Paul’s skill set is especially relevant. His expertise will be instrumental in ensuring Karitane stays ahead of cyber threats, safeguarding our digital integrity.

Hediyeh has over 25 years of experience in the health sector, nationally across public and private sectors. Her career trajectory is marked by roles across departmental, facility, district, and state health tiers, reflecting a blend of strategic acumen and operational excellence. As the CEO of Linéaire Projects, Hediyeh leads an organisation delivering multifaceted services spanning policy development, strategic and service planning, infrastructure design and delivery, digital transformation, and project management, with a pronounced emphasis on the health sector. As a practicing senior clinician and an academic affiliated with both the University of Sydney and University of NSW, Hediyeh exemplifies her unwavering commitment to contemporary clinical practice, academic rigor, and research-driven service delivery.

Kathy Jones has more than 30 years’ experience as a senior strategic adviser in both private industry and the public sector.

She founded KJA in 2001 to deliver targeted stakeholder engagement and strategic communications for a broad range of high-level clients. Under her ownership, the company grew to over 70 staff and was sold to global sustainability giant ERM in late 2018.

Kathy is currently working on precinct development and origination for clients in the education, technology and property development sectors. She has well-established relationships with government and industry across these sectors and has helped her clients deliver some of Australia’s most significant and complex infrastructure and development projects and policy changes.

“It is important to me that I make a contribution to organisations that share my commitment and values and Karitane does just that. I am delighted to be part of the exciting future for Karitane – together we can all make a difference.”

Lesley is a senior executive with substantial experience gained predominantly in the government and not for profit health, community, aged care and human service sectors. Since 2013 Lesley has worked as an interim executive supporting various organisations in the areas of strategy, leadership, management, governance, quality and risk management.

Lesley joined Karitane in 2019 as a Non-Executive Director, and is currently Chair of the Clinical Governance Board Subcommittee.

Marion joined Karitane in 2018 as Non-Executive Director and has over 25+ years management and consulting experience in the UK, Asia Pacific and Australia. She has held numerous senior management positions in healthcare over the last 10 years including Practice Leader, International Director for Booz Allen and VP Marketing for Asia Pacific for KCI Medical. Marion is an experienced strategist, strategic marketeer, business transformer and has advised non for profit organisations on their growth strategies.

Paul is an experienced healthcare management consultant and executive with a deep understanding of the challenges in the industry, based upon 20 years of managing teams to deliver high quality outputs to clients in Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and the UK. Paul is experienced in health system planning and brings a wealth of knowledge of different operating models, pricing, and funding frameworks across healthcare. His style is to work collaboratively with senior managers and his operational experience is centred on ensuring good governance and appropriate strategic decision making all backed up by a detailed understanding of data and evidence. Paul completed a physical science degree at Oxford University in the UK, is a Fellow of Australasian College of Health Service Management and a Certified Health Executive. He is currently the Managing Director of Sydney based New High Consulting Pty Ltd.

Grainne has over 27 years experience in the public healthcare sectors in the UK and Australia. She has held a variety of senior health executive roles and has extensive strategic and operational management experience in acute, sub-acute and not-for-profit healthcare settings. She completed her Masters of Business Administration in 2011. She is currently President of the NSW Health Services Association (HSA), and a Director on the Australasian Association of Parenting and Child Health, and the National Ability Roundtable.

Peter started his career in the professional accounting and finance field with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has then worked in various industries such as trading, manufacturing and healthcare within Australia and in the Asia-Pacific region. Peter spent the last 25 years working in the healthcare and human services sector for organizations such as the Sydney Adventist Hospital, Medibank Health Solutions and Johnson & Johnson Medical in roles such as Commercial Manager, Financial Controller and Director of Finance. Peter enjoyed reading, soccer and badminton in his leisure time.

After graduating from Sydney University, Angela commenced her nursing career in 1989 at Liverpool Hospital where she worked for 8years in the Emergency Department. Completing her studies on Child and Family Health in 2001, Angela then commenced employment at Karitane. Angela brings a long career history and commitment to Karitane with over 25 years of professional experience as a Registered Nurse, having performed in roles such as the inaugural Nursing Unit Manager at Camden Residential Unit and Nurse Manager CCCI (Camden, Carramar, Care line and Intake.) Angela is an Accredited Nurse Immuniser – NSW College of Education and holds qualifications in Group Clinical Supervision for Health Professionals. During her time as a Child & Family Health Nurse, CNS and Nurse Unit Manager, Angela has played a key role in ensuring that Karitane clinicians are working within the guidelines of the Professional Practice Framework and brings expertise in clinical practice models – Family Partnership, Family Functioning & Safe Start. Angela is currently completing the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Redesign through the ACI Centre for Healthcare Redesign and the University of Tasmania (UTAS).

Sharlene leads various projects and initiatives within the service, including managing the Department of Social Services partnerships with Mission Australia, The Smith Family, Benevolent Society and oversees the delivery of the Targeted Early Intervention programs in South West Sydney. Sharlene is the executive manager for Village Connect and Karitane Young Parent Program- a partnership with Department of Communities and Justice.

Sharlene leads the internal and external professional development portfolio ensuring the delivery of quality education to multidisciplinary professional workforce. Sharlene is an Adjunct Lecturer with WSU Masters of Child and Family Health and provides advice, and has led many unique projects in partnership with the University including the development of the Child and Family Health New Graduate Nurse Program- the first of its kind for child and family health.

Sharlene is a trained facilitator in Family Partnership Training and is accredited to train Facilitators in NSW. Sharlene is also a facilitator for Circle of Security, Tuning into Kids and has completed the Partnership Brokerage Training.

Masters Genetic Counselling, Member Institute of Community Directors Australia, Affiliated Member Governance Institute of Australia, Adept Level Clinical Excellence Commission Applied Safety & Quality Program (South Western Sydney Local Health District)

Dinethra Nandakoban holds a senior executive leadership role at Karitane, while dually serving as Company Secretary. She has a strong background in clinical and corporate governance, working in private and public health services, and a wealth of experience in leadership, safety and risk management, compliance frameworks, Board activities and stakeholder engagement.

She has worked for over 20 years in the health industry, including the Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) services in the disability sector. Dinethra is also a champion of digital transformation in health systems, and is currently leading over a dozen enterprise projects including a new hybrid digital hub at the newly built Fairfield Integrated Child & Family Hub in NSW, new Human Resources Information System, and access to clinical data using NSW Ministry of Health systems for patient records.

Other activities include Western Sydney University School of Medicine Interviewer, clinical and health content writer, and Cochrane Citizen Scientist.