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Our Board of Directors

Achieve Australia’s board members are representatives from a range of sectors and professional backgrounds who are passionate about social inclusion for people with disability. They all have a deep understanding of how their experience and expertise can be translated into the disability sector.

Our Board of Directors provide strategic guidance, expert advice and diligent governance. They are an invaluable resource in our work for people with disability.

Kerry Stubbs

Chair

Kerry became Chair of Achieve's board in October 2022. She has extensive experience in the disability sector and has served as a Director on several government and not for profit boards.

Kerry’s career includes being Managing Director and CEO of The Northcott Society from 2008 to 2020, where she led the organisation through a period of enormous change and growth.

She is the Chair of Northcott Innovation, a Director of Healthy North Coast Ltd and a member of the Board of Trustees of Western Sydney University where she chairs the Finance and Investment Committee

Kerry has extensive human resources, research, and teaching expertise in the areas of anti-discrimination, equal employment opportunity and social justice.

Her working life has moved through a range of industries and roles, largely with organisations that are focused on service to the community. Early in her career, she worked as a junior lecturer at Sydney University, and then in the NSW Parliament as a researcher.

Kerry moved from there to take up roles in Equal Employment Opportunity and Human Resources for Sydney Water, and then into operational management in Sydney Water and Australian Water Technology P/L. Kerry then joined St Vincent’s and Mater Health Australia, first as Group Human Resources Manager, and then as Executive Director of St Vincent’s Hospital and Sacred Heart.

In academia, Kerry was appointed to the College of Adjuncts at Western Sydney University. And she has worked as an academic at both Sydney University and the University of Technology. Kerry has undergraduate and postgraduate honours degrees in Government and Public Administration.

Kerry is deeply interested in using design thinking to foster innovation and better co-design of services and systems for the people who use them, particularly disadvantaged and minority communities. In 2015 Kerry was voted among the top 25 Australians in Pro Bono Australia’s Impact List and in 2007 she was chosen as the NSW Telstra Businesswoman of the year in the Community and Government sector.

She is also a member of the Advisory Council to the AHPPC on disability pandemic planning, after first being appointed during the height of COVID-19 in Australia. Kerry was also appointed to the NSW Domestic and Family Violence and Sexual Assault Council. And Kerry is a general member of the NSW Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal after first being appointed in 2021.

Dr Scott Avery

Director

Dr Scott Avery joined the Achieve Australia Board in October 2022. A descendant of the Worimi people, Scott is an academic, disability researcher and Aboriginal scholar.

Scott is Professor of Indigenous Disability Health and Wellbeing at University of Technology Sydney in the School of Public Health.

Prior to this role, Scott was a Senior Lecturer in Indigenous and disability studies at the University of Western Sydney. He is also actively engaged with the First Peoples Disability Network Australia undertaking extensive community research. He is the author of ‘Culture is inclusion: a narrative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability’, which was published by the First Peoples Disability Network Australia in 2018.

Scott has extensive experience presenting on behalf of the First Peoples disability community to government and the United Nations. He serves on the advisory committees at the Lowitja Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research, and the National Disability Research Partnership. Scott also serves on several expert advisory groups at the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the National Disability Data Asset for the collection and use of data affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with disability.

Scott brings a wealth of experience to Achieve Australia across disability, health, government relations, and achieving social equity through policies and services. He has extensive knowledge of the systems that support people with disability and experience in social policy research.

Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy - PhD on social inclusion and disability in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, University of Technology Sydney
Master of Business Law, University of Sydney
MAppSci, Health Information Management, University of Sydney
Graduate Diploma Law, University of Wollongong
Bachelor of Commerce (Hons), Economics, Accounting, University of Wollongong

Michael Bink

Director

Michael Bink is a Director of Achieve Australia and member of its Disability Services and Practice Committee.

Starting his career as a disability support worker in 1987, Michael has more than 30 years’ executive experience across disability services, health research and the arts. He developed and ran the Ability Roundtable, Australia’s leading disability sector benchmarking and performance improvement network, working with service providers, boards and government to strengthen financial sustainability, service quality and outcomes in the NDIS environment.

Michael has also held senior roles with Ability First Australia and Scope, with a focus on strategy, research, service innovation and sector reform. His expertise includes service development, governance in regulated environments, risk and compliance, ethical decision-making, data-driven performance improvement and stakeholder engagement.

He holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School and is a Vincent Fairfax Fellow in Ethical Leadership. Previously Chair of two Human Research Ethics Committees and performing arts company, Chamber Made, Michael brings a long-standing commitment to strengthening organisations that support people with disability to live more inclusive and fulfilling lives. 

Jennifer Gardiner

Director

Jenny joined the Achieve Board in 2016 after serving three terms as a Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales (1991-2015).

Lorna Hallahan

Director

Associate Professor Lorna Hallahan is a Director of Achieve Australia and Chair of the Achieve Foundation.

A leading social work academic, Lorna also brings over four decades of professional and governance experience in disability advocacy, policy development and analysis and related human services, with a focus on ethical practice in challenging contexts.

She holds a Bachelor of Social Work and a PhD in Disability Theory and Theology. Lorna was an early contributor to the development and evaluation of the NDIS and is currently appointed to the NDIS Independent Advisory Council.

From 2019-2021, Lorna was the Senior Research Advisor to the Disability Royal Commission and produced a report on the socio-cultural history of disability in Australia.  Her current research is focused on a history of disability and the family in Australia. She is a member of the Australian Research Council Advisory Committee.

Lorna completed the Governance for Social Impact Certificate through the Centre for Social Impact in 2024. Her guiding principle for inclusion is ‘Nothing without us. Nothing.’

Stuart Miller MBA

Director

Stuart is a highly commercial, accomplished customer-centric executive. He joined the Achieve Australia Board in May 2023.

Stuart has a proven track record of leading transformational growth and acquisition programs in mid-scale, smaller-scale and complex, high-volume service operations through strategic and visionary leadership.

Stuart is a leader who possesses courage, optimism, and curiosity, creating impact with tenacity, resilience, and an ability to connect with staff at all levels. He has significant experience in creating and influencing culture to ensure depth in customer experience design, enterprise technology integrations, and delivering scale operations across all channels., customer strategy and leveraging data and analytics to build business advantage.
He also has a strong proponent of the use of technology in service delivery to gain efficiency and improved customer experience.

Stuart has wide ranging financial experience that determines the “picture” that the numbers provide, as well as highly developed capability to build systems, reporting and financial expertise to deliver positive results. He has detailed analytical capabilities that are used to enable the team to find the “real problem”. And extensive experience at managing, forming and contributing to Boards. Detailed knowledge of governance frameworks, management of government funding and incorporating risk mitigation strategies within operations to ensure appropriate compliance.

Sean Parker

Director

Sean’s extensive senior management experience includes Chief Financial Officer roles for 2 publicly listed companies.

He is also a member of the Board of several not-for-profit organisations specialising in community housing and supporting families.

Sean joined the Achieve Australia Board in May 2023.

He is Chief Financial Officer of Hume Community Housing where he is responsible for investment, finance, IT, and business services.

Sean is also a director of several not-for-profits. These include community housing provider, Tharawal Housing Aboriginal Corporation and Shine for Kids. Shine for Kids is the only national NFP working solely to support the children of incarcerated parents.

Graduate - Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)
Member – Institute of Chartered Accountants
Graduate – Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance

Dr. Theresa Ruig

Non-Executive Director

Dr. Theresa Ruig – Senior Consultant Ignis Consulting, Non-Executive Director Achieve Australia, B.Commerce (Hons) PhD GAICD

Dr Theresa Ruig is a highly experienced people and culture leader with over 20 years’ experience across the disability, higher education and corporate sectors. She brings a strong combination of executive leadership, governance, academic and advisory experience, with particular expertise in workforce strategy, organisational culture, diversity and inclusion and governance assurance.

Dr Ruig has held senior management and board roles within the disability sector and currently advises Boards and executive teams across disability services, aged care and Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations. She is a Social Impact Fellow and is recognised for her strong passion for measuring social impact. Her work consistently centres on ensuring staff, client and community voice informs decision-making and delivers meaningful outcomes.

Theresa is also a Non-Executive Director with Vision Australia.

Blind since the age of 10, Dr Ruig brings a strong lived experience perspective to her work and is passionate about disability representation and ensuring the voices of people with disability shape decision-making and strategy at all levels.

Charles Prouse

Director

Charles Prouse is a Nyikina man from the Kimberley region of Western Australia and has lived and worked across Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

He brings more than 20 years of experience in Indigenous affairs, public policy, and systems reform across Australia. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University (USA), and a Bachelor of Science in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from the University of Western Australia.

Charles has held senior leadership roles across the corporate, government, and community sectors. He served as the Global Supplier Diversity Manager at Lendlease, and before that was CEO of Supply Nation, where he worked closely with the Australian Government on the introduction of the inaugural Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP).

His earlier career includes serving as CEO of the National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy (NASCA) and managing the NSW Indigenous Employment Program with the former Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).

Charles is proud of his early work with the Kimberley Land Council and Native Title Services Victoria supporting Caring for Country initiatives and contributing to the early establishment of the national Indigenous Ranger network.

He is currently one of the Managing Directors of NyikBar Consulting, an Aboriginal‑owned firm specialising in First Nations engagement, governance, Indigenous procurement, and cultural mapping.

Wally Phillips

Company Secretary

Wally joined Achieve Australia in 2019 as Corporate Services Executive (Chief Financial Officer).

In this role, Wally is responsible for overall strategic financial planning and reporting, as well as providing leadership, direction, and management of the technology, property, corporate services, and finance teams.

Previously Wally held a range of executive finance roles in global commercial entities. His experience in the not-for-profit space includes 3 years as CFO for Afford (Australia Foundation for Disability).

Wally is a Member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and is Big 4 trained through Deloitte (South Africa).