Quality and Practice Governance Committee Members

My name is Diana Jans. I am a Tjungundji, Taepathiggi woman from the northwest Cape York community of Mapoon, and a Waanyi woman from Borroloola in the Gulf of Carpentaria. I pay my respects to the Kaurna people of the Adelaide region in South Australia of where I now proudly work and live.

With qualification in teaching, I have taught all throughout Cape York as well as doing some time in mainstream schools in Cairns. I love teaching and everyday you go home with a happy story of a student.

I also hold a Master of Social Work where most of my practice has seen me working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island maternal child health, grief and loss and bereavement, and trauma informed practice.

I am a member of the Indigenous Advisory Group with the Stillbirth CRE and have supported this position since 2017. It was from here where we designed the stillbirth stories in Cape York project – this is nearly ready for publication.

I also sit on the Royal Australian New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Mental Health Committee since 2015. My time as a cultural advisor and support person has seen me engaging in a number of areas, events and media forms that have come through the committee. I have gained a lot of knowledge from my time with the College, and I respect all the work being done in mental health and psychiatry.

I believe that nurturing wisdom and knowledge through a culturally sensitive practice of education, is one of the most important things for a person to have in life as a professional, for financial wellbeing and to secure a healthy lifestyle.

I also hold qualifications as a Narrative Therapist, a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, a Perinatal Infant Mental Health Therapist, and a Qld Justice of the Peace. I have a registered private practice where I serve as a counsellor and consultant for profession and clinical supervision.

One of my biggest achievements is being a mum to my beautiful young son, who was born at 32 weeks prem. Giving birth to a prem bubba, and a single mum at 25 years was something I hold dear in my thoughts and makes me more empathetic to parents with high-risk pregnancies. I know the medical complications, experience the inequity of conscious and unconscious racism within that specific health services, the emotional distress and worry of all that goes with a pre-term pregnancy, and the anxiety of being a first mum, and then the wonderful pleasure of having a beautiful healthy bub and watching him grow. I also know the hardship of loss.

After working with families and communities experiencing trauma and grief most of my career, I am now working at South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) in SA in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island maternal child health research project. I work in the Women’s and Kids theme sitting in the ACRA team, and being over 55, I feel so blessed to be working here on Kaura country.

Julie is the CEO of a nationally respected and high-performing specialist mental health service, known for her visionary leadership, strategic advocacy, and strong media presence. A nationally recognised expert in designing and delivering evidence-based health programs for at-risk communities, she is deeply committed to ensuring access, equity, and sustainability across health systems.

With extensive experience leading Primary Health Networks and Not-for-Profit organisations, she brings deep expertise in clinical governance, compliance, and service excellence. Her proven ability to secure diverse funding streams—from government tenders to philanthropic partnerships—has driven significant growth and innovation.

A Clinical Psychologist by training, she loves managing purpose lead teams, engaging stakeholders from grassroots to federal levels, and navigating media and political landscapes with insight and diplomacy. Her authentic and engaging communication style makes her a sought-after speaker and facilitator.

She is a creative and mindful leader who transforms challenges into opportunities, and a proud mother to a thriving, bold, and creative teenage daughter.

Emalynne is a bereaved parent from NSW. Her first born child, Annabelle Catalina was stillborn in 2012 and Emalynne subsequently experienced an early miscarriage in 2013. Emalynne’s connection to Red Nose began when she attended counselling and joined support groups. The connection has continued through volunteering for Heart Strings and as a Red Nose Peer Supporter. Professionally, she is a psychologist and currently works in public health focusing on building the clinical capacity of mental health services in working with individuals from refugee and migrant experiences. Through her professional and personal experience, Emalynne feels privileged to bring voice to diverse communities as a member of the community advisory committee.

Assoc Prof Fran Boyle is a social scientist at The University of Queensland’s Institute for Social Science Research and Co-lead of the Care after Stillbirth Program at the Centre of Research Excellence in Stillbirth (Stillbirth CRE).

Fran has a background in psychology and public health and is engaged in health services research and evaluation in a range of hospital and community settings. She is strongly committed to ensuring that care is informed by the latest best-practice evidence. Fran’s work is also driven by the firm belief that consumer perspectives and understanding of people’s lived experiences of health and their health care systems are essential to developing responsive and effective policy and practice.

Fran is passionate about improving perinatal bereavement care and ensuring that all parents receive the best possible care when a baby dies. She co-led the development of the 2019 Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand/Stillbirth CRE Clinical Practice Guideline for Respectful and Supportive Perinatal Bereavement Care.

Like many who are drawn to research and practice in this area, Fran’s involvement began with her own lived experience of the loss of a baby soon after birth. Her PhD looked at the psychosocial consequences of stillbirth, neonatal death and SIDS on families over time and she has since published numerous articles on the topic of perinatal bereavement care.

Fran has a deep understanding of the widely varying needs of parents following pregnancy loss and the essential role of parent-focused organisations such as Red Nose in helping to address those needs.

Lyndy is a Lactation Consultant working closely with the Aboriginal community of Tasmania, and holds several other roles including with PSANZ (Perinatal Society of Australia & New Zealand) Consumer Advisory Panel and the PSANZ Perinatal Palliative Care Special Interest Group.

Lyndy joined the Red Nose Board in November 2020 following the merger of Red Nose and Sands.

Based in Hobart, Lyndy has a long history with Sands and the bereaved parent community. After her son Thomas’ death in 1997, Lyndy became involved as a peer supporter and held a number of governance roles within Sands Tasmania. In 2014 she was appointed Chair of Sands Australia until its national unification in 2018.