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Mr Gary Smith AM
Director since 2018 | Appointed Chair November 2021
Mr Smith has extensive experience in the management of healthcare facilities and the provision of health services, predominately in the general practice arena. He has been involved in the management of general practice since 1985 and has taken a keen interest in the operation of general practice and the major organisations which influence and shape general practice in Australia. Mr Smith is currently a Director with the Australian General Practice Accreditation Ltd (AGPAL), Chair of Quality Innovation Performance (QIP), Quality in Practice Consulting and QIP-International, Deputy Chair, General Practice Workforce Tasmania, Chair, Client Focused Evaluation Program (CFEP) Australia and UK and Board Member, Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations (CAHO), India. Mr Smith has extensive representation on relevant Commonwealth and State Government Advisory Boards, Working Parties and task groups and relevant healthcare industry committees both here and internationally, which allows him to contribute to the shape and delivery of healthcare in Australia. In 2021, Mr Smith was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of New England (UNE), in recognition of his distinguished service of UNE Partnerships and to the professionalisation of the field of medical practice management for the past 30 years. In 2023 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
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Mrs Fleur Hannen
Director since 2020
Mrs Hannen (MBA) is a Registered Nurse of 30 years and operates an aged care consulting business that works across Australia with the aim of enabling excellent standards of care, sustainably. Her passion for the aged care and disability industry has been developed through roles such as Managing Director, CEO, General Manager, Nurse Advisor, External Assessor and of course – Registered Nurse. Mrs Hannen holds various board advisory positions, aiming to apply logic and empathy to her work having walked in many of her clients shoes herself. She has strong ties to the Nepean and Blue Mountain Region, having been a resident of the area for over 30 years.
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Mr Jeffery Jenkins
Director since 2022
Mr Jenkins is a podiatrist and co-founder/Director of a large multidisciplinary healthcare organisation in the Nepean Blue Mountains region. Mr Jenkins has a passion for teaching and is involved in the development, implementation, and analysis of clinical training programs of existing and new graduate practitioners, along with building evidence-based treatment and general practice protocols. He also has a keen interest in enhancing the efficiencies and access to high-level multidisciplinary healthcare within the primary healthcare setting. Mr Jenkins undertakes ongoing clinical research, as well as holding various university clinical supervision and lecturing positions. He also holds a number of council and committee positions within the healthcare industry, including a regional council position in the Australian Podiatry Association.
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Dr Nicole Langsford
Director since 2021
Dr Langsford is a GP living and practising in the Blue Mountains, with 20 years of clinical experience. She is passionate about primary healthcare that supports patients across allied health and community services, and commits much of her medical practice to creating this environment for her patients. Dr Langsford has a keen interest in preventative medicine and developing healthy communities, and is currently studying a Masters of Medicine (Paediatrics) at Sydney University. She has a Fellowship from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, as well as a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
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Professor Andy Marks
Director since 2020
Professor Marks is a Pro Vice-Chancellor at Western Sydney University and CEO of the NUW Alliance and leads major strategic higher education initiatives with government, industry and the community. He has a PhD and first-class honours in political science and literature. Professor Marks writes regular columns for the Sydney Morning Herald and the Daily Telegraph and is also a panellist on ABC Sydney’s ‘political forum’. Professor Marks is the Director of the Centre for Western Sydney and Chair of the Western Sydney Community Forum, the founder of the CatalystWest interactive policy forum and co-founder of the Launch Pad start-up incubator. Prior to his current role, Professor Marks was a researcher in the social services sector, a Council member at the University of New England and an ARIA nominated professional musician and composer.
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Ms Heather Nesbitt
Director since 2019
Ms Nesbitt is an urban and regional planner who has worked for government, private sector, non-government organisations and local communities for over 30 years. She has strong connections with the Nepean Blue Mountains region being born and attending school in the Hawkesbury. She was the inaugural Social Commisioner, Greater Sydney Commission, where she drove an agenda to deliver inclusive, connected and healthy communities through innovative urban planning and community/stakeholder engagement processes, collaborations and partnerships across Greater Sydney. Ms Nesbitt has strong networks with local community services and organisations; local, State and Federal government; business organisations, and universities. She is a Fellow Planning Institute of Australia, Graduate Australian Institute of Company Directors, NSW Councillor Parks and Leisure Australia and volunteer Australian Red Cross Emergency Services.
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Dr Madhu Tamilarasan
Director since 2020
Dr Tamilarasan has been a rural general practitioner in Lithgow since 2005. She is passionate about access to quality healthcare for all residents within the Nepean Blue Mountains PHN region and supporting our healthcare workforce. She is committed to improving support for rural and regional GPs so that others are tempted to work in smaller centres and find the same joy she experiences from living and working in a small community. Dr Tamilarasan has extensive experience in general practice training having previously managed the GP training programme for Western NSW for many years. She knows the importance of nurturing our future medical workforce by supervising medical students and GP registrars within her practice and remains involved in GP training external to her practice.
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Mr Bruce Turner AM
Director since 2017
Mr Turner’s (FAICD, FFIN, FIPA, FFA, FIML, PFIIA, CGAP, CRMA, CISA, CFE) diverse experience spans financial services, manufacturing, transport, energy, health, and public administration in executive and prior board roles. In addition to international and national experience, Mr Turner has worked throughout the Nepean Blue Mountains region and currently sits on the audit committees for Western Parkland City Authority and Blue Mountains city council (Deputy Chair). He chairs several other audit committees, and has authored numerous books on local history, governance, risk and auditing; including Footsteps on the Banks of the Nepean, Powering Audit Committee Outcomes and Rising from the Mailroom to the Boardroom. In 2015 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
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Mr John Yealland
Director since 2018
Mr Yealland has had a diverse career across many different sectors with expertise in business process improvement, leadership and management. Mr Yealland currently is a business advisor who provides services to organisations supporting people with intellectual disability in the Western Sydney, Blue Mountains and Nepean region. Mr Yealland is of Wiradjuri heritage and understands the issues that confront Aboriginal people and has a keen interest in the enhancement of health outcomes and economic participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. He has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by people with disability and by Indigenous people in accessing services for their needs. Mr Yealland is passionate about equity and quality service delivery.
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