Leadership & Governance

PhD MA GDipEdCouns BA FAPS MACE

Dr Coral Brown is the former Assistant Director at Cairnmillar, where she worked for many years in management and as a clinician. She was instrumental in establishing the Institute as a Higher Education Provider and now plays an active role as a Member of the Council, the Academic Board, and The Human Research Ethics Committee. Dr Brown is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and has lectured on brief therapy in Australia, the U.S.A. and Turkey. She currently consults, provides professional and thesis supervision, and writes.

MPsych (Clin), Diploma Project Management, Grad Dip Psych, BCom

Adjunct Professor George Habib is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist. He is the Director of Wellbeing Services at the University of Melbourne leading student health and welfare programs and the project sponsor of several large-scale service improvement projects including the university’s student equity program. He has worked in public health, NGOs, private practice, and government.

MA MSc MB BChir DM DCH FFPH FRCP FAFPHM FIPAA FAICD

Professor Emeritus John Catford has specialist medical qualifications in paediatrics and public health.  He has been a Professor of Public Health for over thirty years and has held senior academic and health service management positions in Australia and the UK, and with the World Health Organisation. He is a former Chief Health/Medical Officer, and he led the establishment of the Deakin Medical School that opened in Geelong in 2002  Professor Catford has been the Chair of Boards including the Postgraduate Medical Council of Victoria; VicHealth/Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and the Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS) which includes FebFast. 

BCom CA

Ms Lisa Cusano is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal (“A&M”) tax in Melbourne. Lisa’s primary areas of specialisation include tax advisory and tax compliance services to clients across the financial services industry, specialising in banking and wealth and asset management. Prior to joining A&M, Lisa spent 17 years with EY, serving most recently as a Partner in the Financial Services practice. Lisa earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of South Australia. She is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Certificate of Public Practice with Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

BA LLB (Hons)

Mr Luke Smith has more than two decades of experience as a commercial legal counsel.  He has worked with and led legal teams in the information technology and services sector and has extensive experience as a member of cross-functional management teams. Currently he is Senior Managing Associate General Counsel for Verizon. Luke is passionate about social justice issues, especially matters relating to vulnerable young people. He has longstanding experience as a NFP Board member and was a Director of YSAS 2011-2020, Chair of the Risk and Audit Committee and Acting Chair of the Board 2019-2020.

PhD, MPsych, BBSc, DipEd, BSc

Prof Lyn Littlefield has been Executive Director of the Australian Psychological Society, inaugural CEO of the Victorian Parenting Centre, and Head of the School of Psychological Science at La Trobe University. For the past 30 years Prof Littlefield has also been the Clinical Practice Director of the Exploring Together Program, a short-term, group intervention program for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioural problems, their parents and teachers. Prof Littlefield is a clinical psychologist specialising in couple, child, family and group therapy, as well as conflict resolution. She has a long history of providing advice to government about policy, standards, service development, implementation and evaluation of major national initiatives. She has been a member of many Federal Government Ministerial and Departmental Groups concerned with health and mental health policy, and service delivery.

PhD FAPS FCCLP FCHP

Professor Marita McCabe is a Research Professor in Psychological Sciences at Swinburne University. She is a highly regarded academic who conducts theoretical and applied research in the areas of ageing, body image disorders, depression and sexual health. Professor McCabe has a significant publication record, with more than 400 refereed articles in these areas. In the last 10 years, her research has attracted more than $12 million in Category One funding. She is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and a member of the Clinical and Health Colleges of the APS.

BBus, BA, GCBA 

Ms Monika Turner is an experienced marketing and communications leader with a strong commitment to education, strategic engagement and purpose driven impact. Her career spans the higher education sector across Swinburne, Deakin and Monash, where she shaped student centred communications and strengthened institutional brand presence. Her early work with the Australian Red Cross grounded her practice in social impact and community outcomes. At the Australian Physiotherapy Association, Monika played a pivotal role in positioning physiotherapy as a leader in contemporary healthcare. She later joined No. 1 Fertility, where she led high level strategies across marketing, communications, events, public relations and business development for the organisation and its affiliated brands. As General Manager – Marketing and Communications at the Australian Institute of Digital Health, Monika elevated the national profile of Australia’s peak body for digital health delivered major national campaigns that advanced the digital health agenda. Monika is currently Head of Marketing at Sognos Solutions, leading marketing across Australia and New Zealand. She is responsible for brand strategy, market positioning and go to market execution, working closely with sales, product and delivery teams to support growth and champion customer centred approach across the healthcare and social care community services sectors.

MBA BSocScPsych

Ms Robyn Seymour is the CEO of the Surf Coast Shire Council; previously she was the Deputy Secretary Network Planning and Head of Road Safety Victoria in the Victorian Department of Transport, and the CEO of VicRoads.

BCom, MAICD

Ms Shiranthi Sivarajah is a senior executive and finance leader with more than 20 years’ experience across private and community sectors. As Chief Business and Financial Officer and Company Secretary at Relationships Australia Victoria, she leads financial stewardship, corporate governance and organisational sustainability, with oversight of finance, technology, digital and cyber security, property and compliance. She also drives strategic growth through management of an independent revenue-generating business unit. Shiranthi holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Business Law) from the University of Southern Queensland and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

PhD, MSc, Grad Dip Bus, BSc, BBSc (Hons)

Prof Simon Crowe is the Chair of Academic Board in addition to his role on the Cairnmillar Council. Prior to joining Cairnmillar, Prof Crowe served for 30 years at La Trobe University in various academic roles including Head of the School of Psychological Science. Other key roles include Chair of the Asia Pacific Psychology Alliance (2019 – present), past President and current Board Member of the Australian Psychological Society, and President Elect of the International Congress of Psychology meeting in Melbourne in 2028. Prof Crowe maintains strong research programs into the neuropsychology of neuropsychiatric disorders and a variety of neuropsychological assessment issues. He has published three monographs, more than 140 refereed journal articles and numerous book chapters, conference presentations, notes, and commentaries. He also works in private practice in clinical neuropsychology focusing on medico-legal aspects of acquired brain injury and the neuropsychology of psychiatric disorders.