Tom Symondson is a respected voice for aged care as the inaugural CEO of the Aged & Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA), which represents over 1,100 aged care organisations providing care and housing for older Australians.

A leader in the $23.6 billion aged care sector representing residential aged care, home and community care, and retirement living, Tom joined ACCPA in 2022 to help shape and advocate for a high performing, trusted and sustainable aged care sector.

In June 2023 he was appointed to represent ACCPA and its members on the Aged Care Taskforce, tasked by the Federal Government with examining the sustainability of Australia’s aged care system.

Tom’s experience on matters relating to advocacy, government and aged care policy and strategy contribute to supporting an aged care system that improves the lives of over 1.5 million older Australians in care.

With diverse expertise in the local government, public health and aged care sectors, Tom has been at the fore of policy reform, through driving thoughtful and effective advocacy, for two decades in both Australia and the UK.
Before joining ACCPA, Tom led the Victorian Healthcare Association as CEO, and prior to that he held senior policy positions in one of the United Kingdom’s largest local councils before moving to Australia in 2011.

Tom has also served on the Board of one of the largest superannuation funds in Australia, Aware Super, as well as a range of government boards and taskforces.

Charles joined BaptistCare in 2020 as the CEO. He has significant experience in property, planning and development, having previously worked for Sydney Olympic Park Authority and Property NSW on large scale developments. Charles is married to Jane and together they have three daughters. He is a keen cyclist and spends early mornings and weekends on the road enjoying the company of other riders and the amazing national parks that surround Sydney.

Jason Kara has a strong commitment to the social justice mission of our Catholic health and aged care providers, building on his considerable experience in the public and not-for-profit sectors over the past 20 years.

Jason has worked as a senior executive in the public service focusing on housing and homelessness outcomes; has volunteered as an advisor building capacity in the disability sector in Vanuatu; and has served as a senior advisor in the Office of the NSW Premier. He has also served as a Board Director for the Community Restorative Centre, which aims to break entrenched cycles of disadvantage, offending and imprisonment.

Since joining Catholic Health Australia as the Director Aged Care, he has built strong relationships across the CHA membership while advocating for a quality and sustainable aged care system.

As CEO, he brings his compassionate advocacy to the broader health, aged and community care portfolios, and will continue to support our members nationally to make a real difference to the lives of all in the community, but especially the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised.

Mary joined Uniting in March 2019 and was previously Chief Quality and Risk Officer at Estia Health, an ASX-listed company with 68 residential aged care facilities around Australia. Prior to joining Estia, Mary worked at Allity Aged Care and Bupa, where she managed a range of risk, compliance, and operational responsibilities, including customer experience and service acquisitions. Mary has also had experience working with the Department of Health and Ageing as an investigation manager. Mary started her career as a registered nurse, working in the acute and sub-acute health sector, and has since studied towards a law degree. She is currently undertaking a postgraduate degree course in risk management and corporate governance at the Governance Institute of Australia.

Lisa Orcher is a proud Murruwarri woman from far western NSW and grew up in a small remote community called Goodooga.

Previously, she was CEO at Biripi Aboriginal Corporation Medical Service in Taree, NSW which includes aged care services.

Before that she was CEO at Tobwabba Community Controlled Health Service and Manager for Aboriginal Health at Hunter New England District Health for 6 years. She has also held a director position on the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council board and been Chairperson of the NSW/ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Training Committee since 2015, reporting to the Board of GP Synergy

Jody has more than 20 years’ of experience in health and human services delivery, and is an advocate for improving service accessibility to vulnerable communities.

A Mununjahli Yugambeh woman, Jody has extensive experience working with vulnerable families in the aged care, health and early childhood sectors to improve outcomes in the community. She was most recently Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service (ATSICHS) Brisbane, and established ATSICHS Brisbane as a Nationally Registered Early Childhood Education provider, a Nationally Registered Housing Provider, and a Registered National Disability Insurance Scheme Provider.

Jody was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Birthing in Our Community (BiOC) Program, which resulted in improved outcomes in antenatal care attendance, pre-term births and breastfeeding on discharge.

Jody is also a member of the National Aged Care Advisory Council, an organisation with the goal of ensuring advice to Government reflects the need and expectations of Senior Australians, their families and carers. Jody is an experienced Company Director with demonstrated business acumen across many varying portfolios.

Maree is the Chief Executive Officer of Dementia Australia and a member of the organisation’s Board. In February 2017, Maree was appointed to the role of Alzheimer’s Australia National CEO and led the unification process from the federation of Alzheimer’s Australia to the unified, national organisation, Dementia Australia, established in October 2017. Within the federation Maree served as CEO Alzheimer’s Australia Vic from October 2010 to August 2016. A recognised leader in the health and aged care sector Maree brings more than twenty years’ experience across the health, mental health and aged care sectors to her current role.

Maree’s career accomplishments include Executive Operations for TLC Aged Care, Director of Clinical Resources at The Melbourne Clinic, and General Manager of Hospitals for St John of God Healthcare and Surveyor for the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards. Maree has a Post Graduate Diploma in Mental Health Nursing, a Master of Business Administration and is a graduate of the Oxford University Leadership Program and of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Maree is a director of Dementia Australia Limited, Dementia Australia Research Foundation (since 2018) and Dementia Australia Research Foundation – Victoria (since 2018). She is a member of the board for the National Ageing Research Institute and a member of the Aged Care Sector Committee which provides advice to the Federal Government on aged care policy development and implementation. Maree is also a member of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare and is on the Executive Committee of the Cognitive Decline Partnership Committee. Internationally Maree represents Dementia Australia as a member of Alzheimer’s Disease International and is a member of the ADI Asia Pacific Regional Committee.

Craig Gear OAM was appointed CEO of the Older Persons Advocacy Network in 2018, after serving as its chairperson. Craig has extensive experience in health service management and health consulting, previously serving as Board Chair at Seniors Rights Service and working in health care advisory practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. His background is in nursing, and he is passionate about connecting and improving the health system for all Australians.

Lynda Henderson is a semi-retired consultant, focusing on workforce development. Her background is in adult migrant education, access & equity policy, vocational education & training (VET) accreditation and program design, and professional development.  She is the care partner/advocate for someone living with a rare form of Younger Onset Dementia (YOD) who now lives in a Residential Care facility. Lynda lives with disability and receives support from the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP). 

She is a member of the OPAN National Reference Group and of its sub-group that focuses on Self Managed Home Care.   She’s a member of People With Disability Australia (PWDA), an Advocate for Dementia Australia, a founding member of the Kiama Dementia Friendly (Inclusive) Community project and is on the editorial board of the Australian Journal of Dementia Care. She is actively involved in research and continues her 3 decades of work alongside the Community Services, Disability, Health and Aged Care sectors.