Foundation board

Ms Karen Inge

Chair, SVI Foundation Board
Ms Inge is one of Australia's most established and recognised leaders in the fields of sports nutrition and dietetics. She is a respected nutrition commentator for media and is actively involved in community service and philanthropy. She is the founding board member and Past President of Sports Dietitians Australia, founding Head of Nutrition at the Victorian Institute of Sport and Founder of the healthy food company Dineamic. Ms Inge is a Director of the Zig Inge Group, a Director of the Zig Inge Foundation and the Janko/Inge Foundation, and an Ambassador for Fareshare. In 2015, Karen was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of Monash University for her work in sports nutrition and in 2018 was named Deakin University Alumna of the Year.

Ms Rhonda Barro

Rhonda Barro is an Executive Director of Barro Group and has over 45 years’ experience in the construction materials industry and executive management in line and functional areas. She has significant expertise and insights in customer and stakeholder relations. Rhonda is a non-executive director of Adbri Ltd and Independent Cement & Lime Pty Ltd and has held numerous leadership roles in community organisations. She is a Director of the Italian Australian Foundation and a Fellow of the Williamson Leadership Program.

 

 

Ms Kallie Blauhorn

For over 20 years, Kallie has applied her experience and enthusiasm to the social sector through her work with international and Australian not-for-profit organisations. Her previous work includes roles at: Very Special Kids (Australia), The United Nations Development Programme/ UNAIDS (India) and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (Australia). In 2015, Kallie commenced as Director of MGA (Monash Gallery of Art) which is the Australian home of photography. In 2017, she became Chair of MGA Foundation. Kallie is also a board member of Melbourne Fashion Festival and 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 boards with the Marriott Vacation Club Asia Pacific Advisory, St Joseph’s Outreach Services and The Friends of The Johnston Collection. She is also involved with other not-for-profits and industry associations, plus she participates as a mentor in TIME, a mentoring programme for the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industries here in Australia.

 

 

Mr Phil Huzzard

Phil is a 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 single malt 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 CMOs 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 OAM

Chair, SVI Support Group
A 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.

 

 

Mrs Christine Tarascio AM

Co-Vice Chair, SVI Foundation
Mrs 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.

 

 

Ms Yan Li Wang

Ms Wang is a Partner of HWL Ebsworth Lawyers, a major Australian legal firm, practising primarily in tax and commercial law. For the past 10 years, she has been an advisory committee member and Australian representative of 3 private charitable foundations with a global reach in more than 40 countries, working with NGOs both in Australia and overseas on projects in medical research, education, Microfinance, social enterprises and post disaster reconstruction. She has been a member of the Melbourne Leadership Council of Social Ventures Australia, and is a current member of the assessment panel appointed by the City of Melbourne to evaluate applications for social enterprise and micro business grants.