Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors manage the business of Merri Health, through a governing approach and expert advice.
Composition
There is a maximum of ten (10) Directors on the board of Merri Health.
- Six (6) Directors elected by the Members in accordance with the Merri constitution
- Up to four (4) co-opted Directors are appointed by the Board
The Directors may appoint a person to fill a Co-opted Director position. On selecting suitable applicants for the position of Co-opted Director, the Directors must strive to ensure that the Board has:
(a) the essential and desired generalist skills, specialist skills, qualifications, experience and expertise set out in a skills matrix previously approved by the Directors in respect of:
- each individual Co-opted Director; and
- the overall composition of the Board as a whole
(b) regard to representation from the geographical regions served by Merri Health
(c) diversity of gender and cultural representation.
Operation
The Board operates under Governance principles, which means that Merri Health has an effective controlled environment, in which business risks are properly identified and managed. This gives a clear operational framework through which the organisation will achieve its stated goals.
The Board appoints and delegates all operational responsibilities to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), as the governance role focuses on the development and monitoring of policies. The CEO’s main responsibility is to implement operational responsibilities through the establishment of appropriate programs and services.
Board members
Anne Jungwirth
Board Chair
Anne Jungwirth is a keen advocate for high quality, accessible community-based health services. She has worked in health education and health services for over 30 years including in policy development, primary care systems improvement and as CEO of a rural community health service.
She was Executive Officer of a Primary Care Partnership (ISEPICH) and Director of the Centre for Social Health.
She has Graduate Diplomas in Social Psychology and Librarianship, a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma of Education.
Anne is a local resident and joined the Merri Health Board in November 2021. She was a Board Director at DPV Health (formerly Dianella) for 9 years and is currently a Board member of Ralac, a community-based provider of affordable housing and aged care.
Benjamin Maxfield
Board Member
Benjamin Maxfield is the Government Relations adviser for Victoria’s $11 billion Metro Tunnel project; Victoria’s biggest ever public transport project. Prior to joining the metro tunnel project Benjamin worked as a senior adviser in both the Gillard Government and then Shorten Opposition. Following his stint in federal politics he joined the Australian Council of Trade Union’s where he led their national health and safety campaigns.
Benjamin has a keen interest in defence and foreign policy. In recent times Benjamin has worked with Social Democratic Parties and organisations around the world to improve their electoral standing and human rights record. He is the founding director of the Australia Israel Labor Dialogue that seeks to promote and foster dialogue and fraternal links between the Australian and Israeli Labor Parties.
Joseph Caputo
Board Member
Joe lives and is active in Melbourne’s Northern Suburb and was elected Board member of Merri Health in October 2017.
Joe has been involved in advocacy for the rights of minorities throughout all of his adult life. During the 1970s and 80s he was involved in promoting the rights of migrant workers. From 2001 to 2011, Joe was a member of the Victorian Multicultural Commission.
Joe has also served as Councillor and Mayor in the former City of Brunswick and as Councillor and Mayor in the City of Moreland. Joe is a founding member of the Moreland/Hume/Aileu (Timor Leste) Friendship Committee, is an expert in industrial relations and holds a Master of Business from RMIT.
Joe is currently the Chairperson of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia and served as Chair of the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria between 2011-2013. He is still serving as a member of the Executive of the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria in the capacity of immediate past Chair. Joe is also the Secretary of the Brunswick-based 3ZZZ, the multilingual community radio station.
Ann Taylor
Board Member
Ann is an active member of the community and has been a resident of Moreland for more than 40 years.
With an extensive background in public education, Ann has worked as a teacher, policy officer for the Education Department, and assistant principal and deputy president of the Australian Education Union, during which she fought for public services for working families.
A Trades Hall and Australian Council of Trade Unions Executive, Ann has worked with other public sector unions to campaign for all public services, including health.
Now retired, Ann hopes to continue to improve the lives of community members through her work at Merri Health.
Seide Raffoul
Board Member
Seide has lived in Moreland for most of her life and has been actively involved within the Moreland community.
Coming from a business minded family, Seide has owned traditional businesses in Melbourne’s northern suburbs for the last nine years. Alongside her business, she fulfilled her dream to become a real estate agent and has been in the sector for the last three years.
With an extensive background in early childhood education and care, Seide also currently sits on the Victorian Multicultural Commission as a regional advisory for the north and west metropolitan region.
Seide is fluent in English and Arabic and through her work at Merri Health, has a vision to improve the lives of young people and the wider community.
Sam Garrasi
Board Member
CPA GAICD
Sam is the Chief Financial Officer at the Royal Women’s Hospital and has over 20 years experience in a range of senior management and executive roles in the acute public health sector, having also worked in local government and telecommunications.
With a strong interest in public health, financial governance, and risk management, Sam is currently a committee member on Merri’s Finance and Audit Risk Management Committee and Recommissioning Committee.
Michael de Bruyn
Board Member
Michael de Bruyn currently works as a Government Relations consultant with over a decade of previous experience in the government sector including working as a Chief of Staff in the Victorian Government, as well as acting as a senior adviser to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.
Michael has lived in Melbourne’s northern suburbs for over 25 years and is now living in Coburg with his wife and two young children. Michael also volunteers in the role of Treasurer on the committee of his local kindergarten and childcare centre.
Kenneth Cheng
Board Member
Kenneth Cheng is the Manager of Client Services at the Centre for Victorian Data Linkage, a specialist data integration infrastructure based in the Department of Health (Vic).
Prior to joining the Victorian Government in 2014, Kenneth had over 15 years commercial sector experience in a variety of business development and management roles in the information technology sector.
As a public servant, Kenneth has experience in a wide variety of health and human service areas.
Kenneth is a lawyer and holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons), Juris Doctor and Masters of Business Administration (Exec).
He is also a Board Member of Inner Melbourne Community Legal.
Dr. Danielle Panaccio
Board Member
Danielle is a specialist general physician working in North East Melbourne who is passionate about improving health outcomes through ensuring the delivery of safe and high-quality care.
She has a law degree from Monash University and was admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2016.
Through her work in the public health service Danielle has contributed to quality improvement and service redesign projects.
She is an experienced medical educator and teaches medical students and supervises physician trainees. She is a member of the Australasian Institute for Clinical Governance and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.