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Foundation board
Ms Karen Inge
Chair, SVI Foundation Board
Ms Inge is an accredited practising dietitian with over 30 years’ experience, specialising in the areas of sports dietetics and nutrition communication. Ms Inge is the founding member and Past President of Sports Dietitians Australia and founding Head of Nutrition at the Victorian Institute of Sport. She has been a Director of the Institute of Health and Fitness, Melbourne since 1989. She is a respected nutrition commentator for media and is heavily involved in community service and philanthropy.
Ms Rhonda Barro
Rhonda Barro is an Executive Director of Barro Group. She has over 43 years of construction materials industry and executive management experience in line and functional areas, and is highly regarded for her skills in maximising the effectiveness of the strategies and structures across the Group. Her breadth of experience also extends to a true insight and appreciation of the issues that face business leaders today. She continues to take a supportive and active role in community involvement. A Fellow of the Williamson Community Leadership Program, Rhonda is also currently a Director, Independent Cement and Lime Pty Ltd, Trustee of the May & Romeo Schiavon Endowment, Director, Co.As.It. Italian Assistance Association, and Chair, Italian Historical Society Strategy Committee.
Ms Kallie Blauhorn
For over fifteen years, Kallie has applied her experience, education and enthusiasm to the social sector through her work with international philanthropic and not-for-profit organisations. Her previous work included roles at: Skoll Foundation (United States), Very Special Kids (Australia), The United Nations Development Programme/ UNAIDS (India) and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (Australia). In 2015, Kallie commenced as the Director of MGA (Monash Gallery of Art) which is the Australian home of photography. In 2017, she became a Trustee of MGA. Kallie is also Vice President of the National Gallery of Victoria Women’s Association.
Ms Jeni Coutts
Prior to starting her own Corporate Affairs consultancy in 2003, Ms Coutts held senior positions in Corporate Affairs with some of Australia’s leading corporations including Transurban, Siemens, Hoechst and CitiPower. Her experience is wide ranging and has covered all facets of corporate affairs from issues, crisis and media management through to Government, Stakeholder, Community and Investor Relations. She holds degrees in Public Relations/Politics and Law.
Mrs Caroline Daniell
Since studying art, Caroline has worked in catering, event planning and as a personal assistant. She is the current past President of the National Gallery Victoria Women’s Association and the current Honorary Treasurer of The Alexandra Club.
Ms Bernadette Dennis
Ms Dennis is the Director of BD Concepts Pty Ltd, a consultancy company, focusing on providing customer service skills, sales training and marketing concepts for the hospitality, tourism and travel industries. Prior to its establishment in March 2007, Ms Dennis was Vice President, Asia Pacific for Marriott International‘s Global Sales Organisation based at the Marriott Asia Pacific Regional Office in Hong Kong. Ms Dennis worked for Marriott International for 22 years and spent 10 years working in hospitality in the US. In addition to the SVI Foundation Board, Bernadette currently sits on the Marriott Vacation Club Asia Pacific Advisory Board and St Joseph’s Outreach Services. She is also involved with other not-for-profits, and participates in TIME, a mentoring programme for the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industries here in Australia.
Mr James Hatzimoisis
Mr Hatzimoisis is a Licensed Estate Agent and Accredited Auctioneer. He is a Director of 8 Offices within the Barry Plant Real Estate Network and has been instrumental in the growth of the Network particularly throughout Melbourne’s Western Suburbs. His primary focus is training, mentoring and skill development of Sales Teams within the group. Outside of work, his interests include conducting many Charity Auction events annually; he has been actively involved with the Bluey Day Foundation, Convoy For Kids, the MS Society and most schools in Melbourne's Western suburbs and is a foundation Shareholder of the Melbourne Victory Football Club.
Mr Phil Huzzard
Phil is Commonwealth Scholarship winner and former broadcaster who left behind a top-rating afternoon spot on FOX FM, a nationally syndicated album show and an in-flight music show to form his first agency in 1987. That agency is now known as DPR&Co and works with prestigious organizations such as Caterpillar, Honda, Regional Development Victoria, Sportsbet, Sabco, 3AW/Magic 693, Ambulance Victoria and RMIT. Phil is a member of the Global Board of AMIN Worldwide, has been an Australia Day Ambassador since 2003 and is a board member of the Victoria Police Blue Ribbon Day Council.
Professor Thomas WH Kay
Professor Kay is Director of SVI. He holds a Professorial appointment within the Department of Medicine, St. Vincent’s Hospital and The University of Melbourne. He also holds the position of Honorary Endocrinologist at St. Vincent’s Hospital.Professor Kay’s research interests are in the area of autoimmunity, particularly of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes.
Margaret Lodge
Margaret’s professional background is as a lawyer, initially as a teacher at Monash University and the University of Melbourne and then, from 1997 to 2009, as a barrister practising mainly in white collar crime at the Victorian Bar. Since then she has been extensively involved in the not-for-profit sector as a director of St Mary’s House of Welcome for 10 years, a member of the Board of the Centre Against Sexual Assault (Footscray) for 3 years and a member of the Advisory Education Board for the Loretto and FCJ Schools and its successor, the FCJ School Board, for 2 more years. She has been a member of the University of Melbourne Behavioural and Social Science Ethics Committee since 2008 and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Ethics Committee since 2012.
Mr Simon Marton
Simon Marton is Chief Executive Officer of Starward Distillery, Australia’s largest premium whisky producer located in Port Melbourne, Victoria. Prior to Starward Simon spent over 20 years with Treasury Wine Estates and the Fosters Group, most recently as Global Chief Marketing Officer for Treasury Wine Estates, the largest publicly listed wine company in the world. Simon has over 25 years’ experience in strategy, marketing, communications, PR, export and the beverage industry and was rated in Australia’s Top 50 CMO’s in 2015, 2016 and 2017 by CMO Magazine. Simon has an MBA from Monash University and joined the SVI Board in November 2019.
Mrs Claire O'Callaghan
Chair, SVI Support GroupA St. Vincent's Hospital trainee, Mrs O’Callaghan returned to part-time nursing once her five children were in full-time education. She has chaired a number of fundraising and educational organisations including the original Noah's Ark Toy Library for Handicapped Children and is currently Chair of the SVI Support Group.
Ms Maria Palazzolo
Maria Palazzolo is the Chief Executive Officer of GS1 Australia, a not for profit global industry body. Her role is to encourage industry leadership and collaboration to enhance supply-chain management and drive the competitiveness and profitability of Australian industry in local and international markets. Her business acumen and leadership skills are highly sought after; she is also an experienced facilitator and sits on several global committees, advisory councils and boards. Maria’s passion for community involvement has seen her represent Boards such as the Starlight Foundation and Visual Independence for the Blind.
“If we hadn’t had the research of the past 20 or 30 or 60 years, we wouldn’t have the treatments and therapies we have today. We wouldn’t be close to cures. Today, we can begin to imagine a world free of the diseases that SVI researchers study.”
Ms Brenda M Shanahan
Ms Shanahan has a research background in finance in Australian and overseas economies and share markets. She is Chair of Challenger Listed Investments and a non-Executive Director of Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd; DMP Asset Management Ltd and Kimberley Foundation of Australia Ltd. She is a former Chairman of St. Vincent’s Health Ltd, former member of the Australian Stock Exchange, and former Executive Director of a stockbroking firm, a fund management company and an actuarial company.
Mrs Christine Tarascio
Co-Vice Chair, SVI FoundationMrs Tarascio's family company is Salta Properties Ltd. She has been a very active fundraiser over a long period of time for various causes, including the Lady Mayoress’ Charitable Fund, the Queen Elizabeth Centre, PMB (raising funds for prostate cancer research), and Pampering Patients. Mrs Tarascio is currently assisting her family company with the redevelopment of the former Mercy Hospital.
