OUR STAFF
Michael Janssen
Chief Executive Officer
Michael Janssen, has over a decade senior management experience in health at both State and National levels. Michael comes from The Continence Foundation of Australia where he was Deputy CEO and responsible for managing a major Commonwealth awareness raising project and for establishing Australia's first nationally accredited vocational continence courses for health professionals. Previously, he has held the positions of Patient Advocate at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Principal Adviser for the Australian Divisions of General Practice, Executive Officer of the Australian Diabetes Professional Organisations and Community Relation Manager for Diabetes Australia - Victoria. Michael has also been a commercial sculptor, youthworker and minister of religion. Michael holds a Masters of Applied Science, a Bachelor of Theology, and recently completed a PHCRED Fellowship with the Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne. Michael brings to the role of CEO experience and passion for both consumer and professional perspectives in health care across community, primary and acute sectors.
Ph: (03) 9479 5827
Email: m.janssen@healthissuescentre.org.au
Panayiota Romios
Deputy CEO
Dr Panayiota Romios has been involved in a number of projects at Health Issues Centre including: Austin Health's groundbreaking Respecting Patient Choices (RPC) Project that aims to allow patients and their families to make advance decisions about end-of-life care; a complaints handling process for the Royal Australasian College of Psychiatrists; the development of an annotated bibliography and literature review on consumer complaints handling processes for the Turning Wrongs into Rights Project; the preparation of recommendations to the National Medical Health Research Council on involvement of consumers in the development of health advice; and the Exploring Women-Centred Care in Maternity Care Research Project that aimed to compare women’s and midwives understandings of women-centred care in the midwifery-led component of Team Care in the maternity care program of the Royal Women's Hospital. More recently Panayiota has worked on the North Eastern Metropolitan Integrated Cancer Services (NEMICS) research project looking into consumer experiences that cross both public and private cancer care. Dr Romios also has experience in participatory action research and evaluation.
Ph: (03) 9479 5824
Email: p.romios@healthissuescentre.org.au
Julia Byford
Senior Project Officer
Dr Julia Byford has extensive experience in primary health care and community development as a researcher, a medical anthropologist, an academic and a midwife and has published widely. She has advocated within health systems in Australia and overseas from both consumer and provider perspectives. She has worked in community development and gender advisory roles across a range of sectors, from community organisations to government. She has developed and implemented strategies for ensuring effective implementation of health policies and improving health outcomes. Julia has a strong interest in sustainable programs and appropriate strategies to improve people’s health outcomes. To this end Julia’s qualifications and work have been characterised by a strong focus on participatory action research and evaluation.
Ph: (03) 9479 3218
Email: j.byford@healthissuescentre.org.au
Nicola Bruce
Senior Project Officer
Dr Nicola Bruce has qualifications in Health and Community Development with Masters and PhD degrees in Health Science. Much of Nicola’s practice has been in the community health sector. She has considerable experience in health advocacy both from an academic and personal standpoint. Her thesis, Makers of meaning: Consumer participation in breast health and the role of women’s contribution in breast health knowledge, examined the role of consumer participation in the communication of knowledge. Nicola first came in contact with the Health Issues Centre when she was a consumer representative on the Optimizing Consumer Participation committee for the Southern Metropolitan Integrated Cancer Services (SMICS). Since commencing work at the Health Issues Centre Nicola has worked on literature reviews for the Cancer Australia Project and the Sax project, as well as working on a North Eastern Metropolitan Integrated Cancer Services (NEMICS) research project looking into consumer experiences that cross both public and private cancer care.
Ph: (03) 9479 3520
Email: :n.bruce@healthissuescentre.org.au
Tere Dawson
Senior Project and Policy Coordinator
Dr Tere Dawson has qualifications in social sciences with Masters and PhD degrees in sociology and anthropology, as well as a Master of Public Health. Tere has an extensive research and academic background and has published widely. Since commencing work with Health Issues Centre, she has collaborated in several research projects including complaint processes, consumer participation in quality and safety activities, consumer participation in cancer services and consumer and carer perspectives on the Respecting Patient Choices Program® at Austin Health. Dr Dawson's other responsibilities at Health Issues Centre have included her work in primary health care, general practice integration, and the Primary Care Partnerships Strategy.
Ph: (03) 9479 3895
Email:t.dawson@healthissuescentre.org.au
Jackie Mansourian
Senior Project Officer
Jackie Mansourian has been working as a community development worker for the past 21 years in Melbourne, London and in various parts of Mozambique, in all sorts of places and levels - including neighbourhood houses, local government, community health, university and international non-governmental organisations. Human rights and social determinants of health and wellbeing are values and understandings that underpin her practice. Jackie's position at Health Issues Centre is to support the ongoing development of Community Advisory Committees across 19 public health services in Victoria. Jackie has a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Social Work from a long time ago and in 2006 completed a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing.
Ph: (03) 9479 5870
Email:j.mansourian@healthissuescentre.org.au
Souzi Markos
Office Manager
Souzi Markos has been with Health issues Centre since the beginning, providing the vital administrative support necessary to keep activities at Health Issues Centre humming along. Souzi also ensures that enquiries, documents and people coming to Health Issues Centre find their way to the appropriate staff member.
Ph: (03) 9479 5827
Email:s.markos@healthissuescentre.org.au
Assunta Morrone
Senior Project Officer
Assunta currently works with the Consumer Advisory Committees and the Consumer Nominee Program at Health Issues Centre. Both these projects involve direct contact with consumers, as well as strategies support and resource development.
Assunta has worked in the Multicultural Sector as a community development worker for the past 10 years. Her previous role was as Manger of Centre for Culture Ethnicity and Health (CEH), where she managed a team or four project officers as well as all elements of the organisations, workforce initiatives, including training, community consultations and resource development. Before her role at CEH Assunta was the project coordinator for the Multicultural Sport and Recreation Project at the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues. The project worked with State Sporting Associations, local governments and the fitness industry to build the capacity of these organisations to be responsive to the needs of young people from newly arrived communities when developing, delivering and implementing sport and recreation policies and programs. Assunta has a BA in Social Sciences and a Certificate IV.
Ph: (03) 9479 3520
Email::a.morrone@healthissuescentre.org.au
