Our Council
Our Council is the governing body for the Association. Each Councillor is committed to providing good governance, effective financial management and creativity as they advocate for older Victorians in need.
Dr Philomena Horsley - Acting President
- Elected to Council 2021
Philomena has been a member of NFP Boards and government advisory committees since the 1980s and is a member of the AICD. She works as a research consultant and workforce trainer. She is a medical anthropologist with particular interests in research ethics; ageing and aged care and disability care systems; gender and health; and family violence. She also holds positions at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Melbourne’s School of Population Health.
Carl Maissan
- Elected to Council 2015
Carl is an experienced non-executive director, CFO, and board adviser. Carl is currently CFO and investor in two early-stage technology companies. Carl is a Chartered Accountant, a graduate and member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and is a former Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he spent 11 years in a variety of consulting and transaction support roles in Australia, Canada and the USA.
Judy Sharp
- Elected to Council 2011
Judy has many years of experience as a social worker and manager of community programs in the aged and disability field and especially in supporting family carers. For many years she managed the Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centre and Carer Links North programs at Merri Community Health Services. More recently Judy has been a trainer and facilitator of workshops for women in business or management. She is an active Rotarian and is currently president of the Rotary Club of Eltham. Currently she is a member of both the Care Committee and Development and Innovation Committee.
Dominique Horne
- Elected to Council 2020
Dominque Horne is a social worker with over 35 years’ experience in aged care, dementia, family violence and disability. Dominique led the establishment of an Elder Abuse Response Service in 2017 and continues to work supporting older people and building elder abuse capacity within health and community services in Victoria.
Peter Slifirski
- Elected to Council 2021
Peter is a registered architect (14780) with 30 years in the architecture, property and construction industry and 25 years in senior leadership roles including 20 years in director roles at Architectus leading strategy and business development and providing professional services on major transport, commercial, urban design and education projects.
Dr Catherine Wilson
- Elected to Council 2022
Cathy is a Physician (Geriatric Medicine) with experience working across inpatient, outpatient, community and residential care settings. Cathy’s focus is on person centred care to support, enable and promote healthy living at any age. Cathy is currently a Geriatrician at Royal Melbourne Hospital and sits on the Clinical Care Committee.
Professor Margaret Abernethy
- Elected to Council 2022
Maggie is an Emerita Professor at the University of Melbourne and continues to be actively involved at the University through her research and mentoring of students. She is an expert in cost accounting, budgeting, performance management, compensation design and other corporate governance issues. Maggie contributed to leadership within the University as Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics for more than eight years and also held several other leadership positions. She has considerable experience in the public sector through her contributions as Commissioner for the Monash City Council, her research in schools and hospitals and as a director on several NFP boards. Maggie has received numerous awards nationally and internationally for her research and contributions to higher education.
Kate Stewart
- Elected to Council 2022
Kate is a business lover and leader. A hospitality, event and experience specialist with over ten years in community building and delivering sustainable, purposeful solutions. Currently founder of consultancy, EBC Advisory (Every Bit Counts), Kate is a GAICD, graduate of the Williamson Community Leadership Program and experienced board member in the NFP sector. Kate studied business at the University of Melbourne and chairs the Faculty of Business & Economics alumni council. A champion for innovation and tackling ageism.
Niraj Bhojani
- Elected to Council 2023
Niraj is a strategic business all-rounder. Currently a senior leader at travel technology scale-up, Rome2Rio, he is a chartered accountant with broad finance, commercial and operations experience. His previous roles were with PwC, NAB, Origin Energy and Lion Dairy & Drinks. Niraj is passionate about building modern, purpose-driven teams that care.
"There is nothing I would change that would make my life any better. I have two loving sons and family and I thank God every day that OCAV took me in when I had nothing," said Jill Dale, Braeside Park resident.
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