Clare Mullen – Executive Director
Clare joined HCC in September 2018. Her background is in change management and communications in the health and social care sector in the UK and Australia. At the WA Department of Health she worked with Health Networks, Activity Based Funding and Management and in the safety and quality team. At the WA Primary Health Alliance she was the Operations Manager for Perth North Primary Health Network. In the UK, she worked on a national frontline leadership program in the National Health Service which brought frontline staff and consumers together to work on improving health services in their local area.
She is passionate about creating opportunities for people who use the health system and people who work in the health system to work together to improve health outcomes. She is trained in change management, project management, facilitation and Gestalt therapy.
Clare leads HCC’s involvement in The WELL Collaborative – a forum which brings together consumers and people with lived experience, with clinicians, academics and policy makers to change and improve how we talk about and manage healthcare for people with overweight and obesity.
Outside of HCC, she Chairs the national Weight Issues Network, a consumer-led advocacy group for people impacted by weight issues, is an Advisor to the national Obesity Collective, is a member of the Reimagining Government Network, is a member of the Baysie Rollers Town Team, and is on the Board of the LJM Memorial Hospice. In her spare time, she loves listening to podcasts, watching British crime dramas, and doodling with thread.
Rebecca Smith – Head of Strategic Projects
Rebecca joined the HCC team January 2023 in an interim role. Rebecca is a familiar face, with four years’ experience on our Management Committee (recently resigned), and a strong background in executive-level roles in the community and health sector.
Aimee Riddell – Corporate Services Lead
Aimee has worked in the not-for-profit health sector since 2006 in a variety of customer service, corporate support, and management roles, and joined the HCC team January 2023. She brings a for-purpose focus to her work and strives to make a positive impact in the community by supporting organisations to deliver on their vision and purpose.
Her interests focus on increasing equity in the health system, reducing barriers to accessing health care and support, and advocating for ongoing psychosocial support to those impacted by cancer (treating the whole person not just the disease).
When Aimee isn’t at work you will find her cooking up a feast, creating the perfect cheese board, or bingecasting Brené Brown podcasts.
Tania Harris – Engagement Manager, Aboriginal and Disability Engagement Lead
Tania is an Aboriginal woman originally from Queensland. Prior to coming to the Health Consumers’ Council, Tania worked on various Aboriginal programs from ear health to parenting support. She has a special interest in the areas of disability and young people, and how their engagement and empowerment in the health system can be supported and encouraged from an early age.
Nadeen Laljee-Curran – Cultural Diversity Engagement Lead
Nadeen initially came to HCC in 2017 as a Master of Public Health student volunteer and she returned as a staff member in 2019. Nadeen holds and Bsc(hons, first class) in Chemistry from Cardiff University and a Master of Public Health from UWA. Nadeen had a corporate career before she decided to pursue her passion for health and what she considered to be a more meaningful career.
Nadeen’s own lived experience with a rare, systemic disease and navigating the health system in that context has made her passionate about patient-centred healthcare, health literacy, and patients understanding and managing (where possible) their own healthcare.
Nadeen is of Indian heritage but grew up in the UK, born to parents who had come there from East Africa. As such she is aware of some of the issues faced by migrants and refugees, and she enjoys to helping people newly arrived from overseas to understand their health rights and how to fully benefit from health services. She is excited by Australia’s growing multiculturalism and is enthusiastic about communities making Australia home, integrating whilst maintaining cultural identity.
Nadeen has a young daughter and enjoys spending time with her family, enjoying the Aussie outdoor lifestyle, and traveling overseas when possible.
Rachel Seeley – Marketing and Communications Lead
Rachel joined the HCC team in2018. Rachel’s background is in both corporate and creative writing, and she has more than 15 years’ experience in media – ranging from journalism and copywriting, to marketing and social media management. Rachel’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Arts (First Class Honours), and a Certificate IV Business – Social Media Mastery. She is always looking for ways to further develop her skills, and has completed several copywriting and creative writing courses in recent years. Rachel believes that sharing stories is one of the most powerful ways to encourage change, and plays an integral role in supporting person-centred healthcare.
Kieran Bindahneem – Engagement Officer
Kieran joined our team in late 2022 in a full-time role, but he’s been a part of the HCC team far longer having helped deliver our Empowering Health Consumers with Disabilities project in 2019, and our Electronic Medical Record Consumer Charter project in 2021. Kieran has a background in facilitation and marketing. He has worked as a facilitator within the social services sector in WA and has been involved in the development of many statewide policies and not-for-profit strategic plans. Kieran enjoys travelling, board games, and is a bit of a ‘green thumb’ in the garden.
Donelle – Administration Officer
Donelle joined as part of the administration and engagement team in July 2022. She has an extensive background in administration roles.
Samantha – Senior Advocate
Sam first came to HCC in February 2019 as a social work student on placement within the advocacy team, and was later offered a permanent position within the team. In late-2021 Sam started as the Acting Senior Advocate, and formally moved into the role in 2022. Previous to Sam’s experience at HCC, she spent nine years working in the disability field as an education assistant and a community support worker. Through Sam’s experience, she recognises the importance of having the consumer at the heart of the situation, and brings with her a strong sense for social justice.
Chrissy – Advocate
Chrissy is passionate about being master of your own health. Ensuring people know their rights and what tools are available in our healthcare system can improve their journey through the WA health system. Chrissy enjoys supporting consumers while they navigate challenges in the health system.
In 2011 Chrissy joined HCC. Before this she was advocating for people with Hepatitis C and drug/alcohol issues, ran a successful natural therapies clinic called Head for Health Natural Therapies for 7 years, completed general nursing training, and assisted people with an intellectual disability to become more independent. She also is a mum and grandmother.
Chrissy believes healthy eating and keeping active is the cornerstone to health. She cycles almost every day, swims, and loves to dance.
Kerrie – Advocate
Kerrie joined HCC in August 2017. After working for 9 years for the medical health industry as a laboratory technician, she gained knowledge of the physical ailments that affect patients in the hospital system. Driven by a passion for helping others, a career change saw her achieve a degree in social science, specialising in counselling. Kerrie is dedicated to supporting people with their health and well-being and has a strong desire to help vulnerable people in the community.
As a member of the advocacy team, Kerrie can use her knowledge of both the medical health industry, and her mental health profession to assist consumers to navigate the healthcare system. Kerrie is passionate about self-care for herself and others. She believes that keeping a healthy balance of eating well, exercise, enjoying the great outdoors, and spending quality time with family and friends is the foundation of her own well-being.
Bronte – Advocate
Bronte first joined the HCC team as a student in 2016 to complete her practical placement for Bachelor of Social Science/ Social Work. Once graduated, Bronte was offered the opportunity to stay on as a full-time employee of the Advocacy team and she has never looked back.
Bronte has a strong interest in justice and equity and how this translates in our health system. Of particular interest is women’s health and how this may be impacted by different social, cultural, and economic factors. Bronte is now studying for her Master of Social Work and is looking forward to bringing the knowledge gained to her Advocacy role.
Helen – Information and Advocacy Officer
Helen is a new addition to the HCC team starting in January 2023. Helen has a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Psychology. Helen has worked in the community sector for many years in Perth, in the North West WA – East Pilbara, and in Queensland. This includes a number of years in Mental Health Advocacy. Helen believes that “knowledge is power” and assisting people to gain relevant knowledge, skills and support will provide greater equity and improve consumers experiences in the health care system.
Jenni – Information and Advocacy Officer
Jenni has worked at Health Consumers’ Council since early 2018. She has taken up a number of different roles in that time including Administration Officer, Information and Advocacy Officer, Administration Coordinator, Corporate Services Coordinator, and in 2023 is moving back into the Information and Advocacy Officer role. Jenni has a passion for advocacy. She comes from 20+ years working for non-profit organisations in roles which have all required some form of social advocacy, including victim support, housing support, DV support worker, paralegal and claims manager. She also has a medico-legal background having worked in medical negligence for 6 years and enjoys utilising her experience in the medico-legal and not for profit sector to help consumers to be empowered to overcome the many barriers they face whilst navigating our health care system.