Board of Directors
Anne Mellon
Anne is the Clinical Nurse Consultant in Gynaecological Oncology at the Hunter New England Centre for Gynaecological Cancer, a position she has held for the past 25 years. Anne is respected and depended upon for expert advice, mentoring and support, locally, nationally and internationally, as she contributes to many high-level committees and advisory groups, to help inform best practice gynaecological cancer care and improve gynaecological cancer outcomes. Anne is passionate about working with patients, their families and all levels of staff to ensure that the patient’s care is undertaken appropriately and that expectations are met.
Anne has been a valuable contributor to CNSA since its inception, holding positions of office on the National Executive Committee, NSW Hunter Regional Group, Communications Committee and Gynaeoncology Nurses Specialist Practice Network, of which she is the current Chair. Most recently contributing to the board as Co-Director of Education. She is dedicated to progressing the profession of cancer nursing and ensuring the continuation of a robust society.
- Phone:
- 0427 487 785
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/anne-mellon-117a2030a/
Meredith Cummins
Meredith is a highly driven and dedicated health professional who thrives on delivering world class care to cancer patients and enhancing the skills of other health professionals to deliver this care. She has been involved in Oncology for the past 35 years in metropolitan, rural, international, public and private settings.
Meredith has a Graduate Certificate in Oncology Nursing, Grad Certificate in Clinical Management, and a Graduate Diploma in Business. Meredith has been a member of the CNSA NSW Sydney Group for the past 10 years holding the position of Pharmaceutical Liaison Officer, and for the past 5 years to current the position of Chair. She has been on the organising committee for CNSA Annual Congress when it was held in Sydney and has coordinated and facilitated 2 Pre-Congress symposiums.
Meredith is currently the Chief Executive Officer for NeuroEndocrine Cancer Australia and is embracing the opportunity to continue in developing and delivering World Class cancer care for neuroendocrine cancer. She has contributed to developing education materials for health professionals and patients internationally and been on Advisory Boards globally.
Meredith is also the current Chair of the CNSA Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.
- Phone:
- 0419 287 585
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/meredith-cummins-240029a7/
Sue Bartlett
Sue works as an Oncology Nurse Practitioner at Grampians Health Ballarat. She has worked in various clinical, coordinator and project management roles in metropolitan, regional and rural centres which has allowed her to develop many varied skills and knowledge in leadership and management, quality and safety risk, management, consumer involvement, education, practice development and research. Sue is passionate about regional and rural health provision and ensuring equitable patient access to specialised cancer care for regional and rural patients.
Sue has been a member of CNSA since 2008 and over the years has become involved within CNSA committees both within Victoria State Group as Chair until March 2021 and is the current secretary of the Cancer Nurse Practitioner Specialist Practice Network. She completed her Graduate Certificate in Cancer & Palliative Care in 2008 and completed her Masters of Advanced Nursing Practice - Nurse Practitioner in Medical Oncology at the University of Melbourne in 2018.
Sue has been involved in multiple nurse led service provisions including establishing and implementing the Symptom & Urgent Review Clinic (SURC) at Grampians Health Ballarat along with developing and rolling out an immunotherapy patient alert card used throughout regional Victoria.
- Phone:
- 0438 330 485
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/sue-bartlett-021b4a1b0/
Gillian Blanchard
Gillian is an Oncology Nurse Practitioner at the Calvary Mater Newcastle, NSW, Australia and has been working in Oncology with a clinical focus for the last 25 years.She currently holds a conjoint lecturer position with the University of Newcastle and has been actively involved in the CNSA for more than 20 years. She has held positions as both Deputy Chair and Chair and committee member of the CNP SPN and the former Hunter Regional Group. Gillian is also an active committee member of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care.
Gillian is actively involved in many current oncology projects around symptom management and clinical redesign as both principal investigator and co-investigator and has published in these areas. She has a strong interest in supportive care, immuno-oncology and endocrinopathies and is driven to improve patient’s cancer experiences.
In her spare time Gillian provide assistance locally to nurses writing for publication and also provides medico-legal reports as an expert witness, and also continues her interest in Integrative Oncology currently studying a degree in complementary therapies
Diane Davey
Diane started her nursing career at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre after leaving a successful business career to pursue her vision to make a difference in the lives of people affected by cancer. At Peter Mac, she held positions in day therapy, radiotherapy, radiology and as a nurse researcher before moving to the Border Cancer Hospital Day Oncology Unit in Albury / Wodonga.
Di has been combining her passion for patient-centered cancer care with her business and clinical expertise at Albury Wodonga Health since October 2022 in her role as Operations Manager Cancer Services. Di's unique corporate background and MBA qualification, combined with her nursing, clinical experience and previous CNSA involvement, has her well placed to offer insight and guidance to the Board of Directors. She is passionate about providing her experience and knowledge to empower cancer nurses.
Ellen Heywood
Ellen is the Ambulatory Cancer Services Manager at Alfred Health. Ellen has dedicated her 22 year career to cancer nursing and cancer operations, successfully managing both inpatient and ambulatory Cancer Services in public health organisations, incorporating chemotherapy, cellular therapies (apheresis/transplant), clinical trials, research, radiotherapy, outpatients and palliative care.
Having completed a Graduate Diploma in Advanced Clinical Nursing (Cancer Stream) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), Ellen has extensive experience in managing large scale projects and establishing services; these include a Day Chemotherapy Unit, CAR-T service, SURC, PATS, Cancer@Home as well as currently operationalising the new Paula Fox Melanoma and Cancer Centre (Alfred Health’s stand-alone comprehensive cancer facility).
Ellen is passionate about creating high performing teams and services that deliver the best evidence based patient centred care and outstanding outcomes.
- Phone:
- 0418 919 760
Margie Hjorth
In Margie’s current primary position as Group Director of Nursing she has a clear strategic role in the development of cancer nurses globally. Margie is also a subject coordinator at University of Melbourne designing and delivering the radiation oncology nursing module in the ‘post graduate certificate in cancer nursing’ course. These two roles align with her passion for strategic workforce planning, exceptional care delivery, and professional development for all cancer nurses and she is committed to advancing nursing practice in cancer care. Through her affiliation with International Oncology Organisations, Margie is actively involved in addressing the global cancer burden. She believes by promoting the voices of nurses through education, training and mentoring we can influence access to equitable, quality cancer care regardless of where you live.
Margie has 20+ years clinical experience in radiation oncology nursing and works consistently to raise the profile of this speciality. She has authored and co-authored resources that inform our current practice across Australia. Her advanced leadership skills have been recognised both nationally and internationally, having been invited to speak at various conferences/events on leadership and management in cancer nursing. Margie is chair and member of several committees within her organisation responsible for clinical governance and is instrumental in ensuring high standards of care, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes.
Margie is a long standing member of CNSA and has held past chair/current member positions on several committees. She is excited with the direction CNSA is taking in support of the cancer care nursing workforce and appreciates the opportunity to extend her involvement.
Gemma McErlean
Gemma is a registered nurse with an eighteen-year career in cancer-related health care and education. This includes experience in providing direct patient care, clinical research, evidence-based practice, quality management, service improvement, project management, medical writing, and teaching and education. She has undertaken extensive postgraduate study.
Gemma has extensive experience in research and in leading and working collaboratively with expert cancer groups for two state government agencies, and worked as Project Lead for one of the most research productive projects undertaken by the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) – the Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) Network.
- Phone:
- 0403 776 117
Gabby Vigar
Gabby Vigar has been a cancer nurse for over 24 years, both in the inpatient and ambulatory care setting and in a variety of different roles. Gabby's main area of cancer nursing expertise is Radiation Oncology nursing. Her current role is Nurse Unit Manager of Radiation Oncology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, a position which she has held for over 6 years. Recently Gabby has expanded her Nurse Unit Manager role to include the management of the Cancer Outpatients Nursing Team and Cancer Administration Team Leader. Gabby very much enjoy's the opportunity to influence cancer nurses/nursing, particularly in the area of full scope of practice based on evidence.
Gabby has also worked in a number of state wide cancer nursing and project roles, which included federally funded cancer projects looking at cancer workforce issues and more recently as a Nurse Consultant for SA Cancer Service which gave her experience in state wide and national cancer initiatives. Gabby is currently a committee member of the South Australian Cancer Clinical Network. Gabby has a Graduate Diploma in Oncology Nursing and a Master of Nursing Science (Oncology Nursing). She is also currently the Deputy Chair of the CNSA Radiation Oncology Special Practice Network (RON SPN) and Chair of the CNSA South Australian State Group (SA SG).
- Phone:
- 0438 038 957
Tracy Pearce
Tracy Pearce is the Head of the Health and Community Centre of Excellence at Bendigo Kangan Institute, where she leads the development of this innovative educational facility and forges partnerships with health and community services to create pathways for the future workforce.
With 27 years of experience in health and oncology, Tracy is a dedicated leader passionate about optimising life outcomes for cancer patients. She has held senior leadership positions in both public and private sectors in Australia and the UK, including various professional nursing leadership roles such as Head of Nursing. Tracy has been instrumental in implementing models of operational excellence in care and establishing new cancer treatment centres.
She holds multiple postgraduate qualifications in nursing and education, as well as a Master of Business Administration. Committed to advancing the oncology sector, Tracy actively participates in government and nonprofit reviews of cancer care pathways and service delivery to enhance patient outcomes. Additionally, she volunteers with the Royal Flying Doctor Service's Memory Lane Program and serves as a Board Director for both the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia and the Peace of Mind Foundation.
Mark Lock
Mark is a Chartered Governance Professional who works with membership organisations, not-for-profits and small businesses to support best-practice governance, strategy, change and risk management.
Mark’s early career involved working as a pharmacist, managing pharmacies across several states in Australia including rural regions of Victoria and remote areas of the Kimberley and Pilbara in Western Australia before moving into a career as an executive leader and CEO in health membership and education associations.
Mark has an MBA, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Governance and Risk Management, is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and holds Fellowships with the Governance Institute of Australia, the Australian and New Zealand College of Advanced Pharmacy and the Chartered Governance Institute. Mark is a director on several boards of organisations in health, disability and community associations.
As someone with lived experience as a cancer patient, Mark has a deep understanding and appreciation for the critical role and impact that cancer nurses have on the lives of patients and their families.
