Our Board

Mr Mark Orr AM - Board Appointed Director

Mark is the CEO of Flourish Australia, a large specialist mental health community-managed organisation. He has over 30 years’ of experience working in the areas of disability, mental health and LGBTQ health services. Mark has a commitment to working in partnership with people with a lived experience of a mental health issue, and their families and carers, to develop accessible organisations and to co-design programs that deliver outcomes. Mark is a registered psychologist and a qualified and experienced Board Director in human services and health organisations. He is currently undertaking a Doctorate in Public Health at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Sydney focused on digital peer work. Mark was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2019 for significant services to community health through a range of initiatives.

Helen Rowell - Board Appointed Director

Helen is an accomplished executive director/senior executive with significant industry and regulatory expertise in financial services, particularly superannuation, wealth management and insurance. She has extensive experience in governance and risk management, with deep technical and analytical skills. Helen is on the Board of Australian Retirement Trust and is the Chair of the independent panel undertaking a review of the General Insurance Code of Practice. Helen was the Deputy Chair of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) until 30 June 2023, having spent the prior 21 years lifting standards of practice and leading major reforms across the superannuation and insurance industries.

Katrina Armstrong - Elected Director

Katrina is the CEO of Mental Health Carers Australia the national peak body for mental health families, carers and kin which grew out of the grassroots national ARAFMI movement first formed in Sydney in 1975. The movement quickly spread with ARAFMI becoming the primary provider of advocacy and support of families and carers of someone with a mental health challenge in Australia. Katrina aims to ensure that family, carer and kin lived experience expertise and leadership harnessed through the movement is embedded nationally to inform good policy and program design. Katrina also brings a sound understanding of good governance with extensive executive experience across the government and non-government sectors and has also completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors course.

Ms Nicola Ballenden - Elected Director

Nicola is the Executive Director Research, Advocacy & Policy Development at Mind Australia. She has worked in senior leadership roles across policy, research, strategic communications and stakeholder engagement in the not-for-profit sector across health, mental health, welfare and homelessness. She has high level skills in strategy development and implementation and can engage stakeholders around a change agenda.

Nicola has experience working with Boards, most recently leading strategy with the Mind Board and has extensive experience in managing and chairing committees.  She also has experience as a Board member of the Consumer Action Law Centre and a member of the Osteopath’s Registration Board (NSW).  In most of her roles she has led the development and implementation of advocacy and strategic communications to influence new funding and policy change.  Nicola has a Master of Arts (MA) from the University of Melbourne and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of New South Wales.

Rachel Fishlock - Elected Director

Rachel is a proud descendant of the Yuin Nation and is the CEO of Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia, the peak leak leadership body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional well-being, mental health, and suicide prevention. With over a decade of experience in the health sector, Rachel made significant contributions in both the optometry industry and the community-controlled sector and has held key roles at The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and Gayaa Dhuwi. Rachel is co-chair of the Wharerātā Hui, a board member of Suicide Prevention Australia and the Capital Health Network, and deputy co-chair of the Social and Emotional Wellbeing Policy Partnership, where she continues advocating for systemic change. She holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Social Policy) and a Master of Business Management from the University of Wollongong.

Professor Sharon Lawn (Nanai) - Elected Director

Sharon is Chair and Executive Director of Lived Experience Australia Ltd (LEA) and was previously Lead Mental Health Commissioner for South Australia. Sharon’s lived experience as a consumer over several decades and her 20 years as a family carer have given her ‘a good batting arm, and a strong appreciation of life and the small time we all have to make a contribution to it.’ PTSD has taught her that there is no time to waste. Sharon is particularly passionate about addressing stigma and coercion in care (having lost close kin whilst they were receiving inpatient treatment) and improving the person’s and their family’s experiences of seeking and receiving support from services. Sharon is also a Professor at Flinders University and has undertaken a broad range of mental health research for the past 20 years. Prior to this role, Sharon worked in mental health, aged care and disability services. Sharon brings diverse skills and experience to the MHA Board, underpinned by significant lived experience.

Dr Sara Quinn - Elected Director

Dr Sara Quinn is an endorsed clinical psychologist and experienced professional and organisational leader working with individuals, organisations, and communities. She is the current President of the Australian Psychological Society. Her experience is diverse: Board Director (Australian Institute of Company Directors Graduate), company founder and director, owner of a private clinical practice, academic lecturer (undergraduate and postgraduate psychology masters, and PhD programs), researcher, and supervisor, and experience working within Federal government agencies in organisational, clinical, and executive roles (managing psychological services and large multidisciplinary teams across Australia). Her clinical practice is focussed on organisational risk, leadership, and trauma. Her academic research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented internationally. Sara is a clinical supervisor, volunteers her time to mentor women, and has held the clinical role on a local health promotion charity (A Gender Agenda Inc; 2020-2024).

Dr Evelyne Tadros - Elected Director

Dr Evelyne Tadros is the current CEO of the Mental Health Coordinating Council (NSW) a peak member-based organisation for the Mental Health CMO sector which is also a Registered Training Organisation. Evelyne is also a Board Director with St John Ambulance NSW and on the Board Risk Governance and Nominations Committee for St Vincent de Paul (NSW). Evelyne has a Doctorate degree in Health Science (Behavioural and community health) and is committed to supporting individuals and communities to thrive through systemic change and collaborative influence and action. Evelyne is driven to advocate for mental health reform for and with people of lived experience of mental health conditions, along with their carers and in championing the work of community managed organisations.

Associate Prof Melanie Turner - Elected Director

Melanie is a Clinical Associate Professor in Psychiatry at the University of Adelaide and works clinically as a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Melanie holds a range of positions including Deputy Chief Psychiatrist of the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist of South Australia; Board Member of the Medical board of South Australia; Elected Board Director of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and Presiding Member of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board in South Australia. Melanie runs her own multidisciplinary mental health practice seeing children and families and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2023 to try to find an alternative to the emergency department approach to supporting people in suicidal crisis. Melanie is also a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors; In the RANZCP she holds the portfolio of corporate governance and risk and manages this alongside her Director role.

Board Charter

The Board Charter sits under the Constitution and our Governance Manual and sets out the roles, responsibilities, structure and processes of the Board of Mental Health Australia Ltd. It describes expectations of the Board as a whole while the Board Position Description outlines individual competencies expected of Board Directors.