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Our Board and Supporters

Our Board is a hand-picked group of people, each an experienced and respected specialist in one (or several) key fields related to our work.

Maggie Beer
Maggie’s hope for every Australian to have a good food life leads her to work on many levels, with the hope of encouraging everyone (young, old and in between!) to enjoy quality, seasonal cooking every day. "I have gathered around me a committed Board for the Foundation, all with skills I’m in awe of, and over the last several years I have found a group of committed passionate people in all areas of aged care, all of whom want to make a difference to the quality of life of residents and aged people needing care in the community. I feel it’s like a huge jigsaw with pieces that we can pull together over time to make a wonderful picture that we can be proud of." Maggie Beer
Jon Clarke
Chair, Maggie Beer Foundation
Jon Clarke is the former managing partner of Cowell Clarke lawyers, and now the principal of Jon Clarke Advisory. Jon combines the experience and knowledge of almost 40 years at the frontline of the legal profession with his core asset of communication – the essential skill in finding solutions to corporate, business, probity and procurement issues. Jon also has governance expertise, is Chair of several not-for-profit organisations, a Founding Director of Kick Start for Kids Pty Ltd, and Director Resthaven Inc.
Petrina Baker
Petrina Baker of Baker & Frost is a brand and business development executive with extensive experience across retail, product development, licensing and media. Focused specifically within the hospitality and luxury lifestyle sectors. Petrina's 25+ years' experience in developing and commercialising brands led her to establish Baker & Frost in 2014. Previous to establishing Baker & Frost, Petrina was responsible for the commercialisation of leading television brands (including MasterChef) for the country's largest television production company at the time, Shine Australia. She also managed Donna Hay's business affairs from 2007 - 2011 helping transform this business from a publishing based model to a leading international food, retail and homewares brand. Prior marketing and publishing roles include Conde Naste Publications and the food magazine portfolio at News Life Media, News Corporation. Petrina also serves on the Two Good Foundation board as a non-executive director and sits the advisory board for RePlated.  
Beverly Smith
Beverly Smith is the Chief Commercial Officer of Amplar Health, part of the Medibank group, which partners with government and organisations to design and deliver integrated health care services in outside-hospital settings.
Beverly has over a decade of senior executive leadership in retirement living, home and residential care with Bolton Clarke, Australian Unity and myHomecare Group. Beverly's advocacy has established her as a leading innovator for how Australians can be enabled to age well. She brings to the Foundation a passionate commitment to enriching the lives of ageing Australians through healthcare, social impact and economic reforms. Beverly’s experience as a commercial lawyer brings deep capability in corporate governance and risk-weighted decision-making.
Robyn Hayward
Robyn is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years experience across various organisations, predominantly in the Australian media industry.  Robyn is an exceptional and respected leader, who initiates business growth and sustained profitability through operational efficiency and improvement, change management and strategy development. Not only does she have a wealth of experience leading finance teams and delivering finance transformation projects, she also brings a passion to the Foundation for improving food and nutrition in Aged Care through personal experience with her Mum.  This is Robyn’s first Board position and she will be focussed on finance and governance for the Foundation.
Alison Coates
Alison is Professor in Human Nutrition and Dean of Research in Allied Health and Human Performance at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. She is a member of the Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity Research Centre whose research vision is "Healthy Lives for Healthy Living". Her research focusses on dietary strategies to improve cardiovascular and metabolic function and she is passionate about evidenced based knowledge informing dietary advice to help people live well. She is a Registered Nutritionist and served on the Nutrition Society of Australia Council from 2018-2023 as President-Elect, President and Immediate Past President and as an ex-officio member of the National Committee for Nutrition, Australian Academy of Science from 2020-2021.
Aditi Dhawan
Aditi Dhawan is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader with over 15 years of experience in finance, technology, and business transformation. She has held C-Suite positions throughout her career.  Her visionary approach and leadership have driven significant growth and innovation across multiple industries. Aditi has leveraged her technical expertise and financial acumen to lead critical initiatives in technology and corporate finance, giving her the ability to navigate the intersection of technology and business with remarkable proficiency. Aditi holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy (B-Pharm), a Post Graduate Diploma in Management, and a Master of Business Accounting (MBus). She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a distinguished Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia (FGAI) and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). Her career is marked by a relentless pursuit of excellence, innovation, and the creation of solutions that have a lasting impact on organisations.
Professor Susan Kurrle
Susan is a specialist geriatrician practising at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital in northern Sydney and at Batemans Bay Hospital in southern New South Wales. She holds the Curran Chair in Health Care of Older People in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. Her research and practice interests centre on dementia, frailty, elder abuse, successful ageing, and intergenerational programs, and her work focuses on translation of research into clinical practice. She has recently been awarded the 2022 Sidney Sax Medal for leadership in health services policy and delivery.
Board Alumni

Professor Kurt Lushington     Professor Ralph Martins     Olivia Nassaris     Sarah Goodwin     Elizabeth David     Peter Kenny     Jane Mussared   

Wendy Holdenson     Kevin Reid     Wendy Lacey     Trevor Richards