Board of Heartbeat Victoria Council Inc

I am a mum of four, granny to ten under eight years old and have two fur babies. Family is a large part of my life but the bush, my 4×4 and cameras round out my retirement.

My work life has been dominated by health, as a nurse and health educator at all levels of the education system. I am now enjoying a consumer role with Safer Care Victoria. I have been living with heart failure for 17 years and I have come to regard it as a challenge but not a sentence.

Mark Is a Licenced Real Estate Agent and Manager of Biggin Scott Ballarat and is the current President of the Heartbeat Ballarat Branch.

He has previously been a Professional Singer, Actor and Director, which has facilitated his skills as a communicator. He is a Sales professional and has had previous roles of International Sales Manager, Commercial Sales Manager and National Sales Manager.

He is passionate about Peer-to-Peer collaboration, communication and awareness, and strategies to combat Cardiac disease and treatment.

Amy Lock is a senior governance professional with more than 12 years’ experience supporting boards and committees across the financial services sector, with a particular focus on corporate governance, company secretariat, risk oversight and board effectiveness.

She currently works in governance within the superannuation industry and is passionate about helping organisations achieve their objectives through strong governance and sound decision-making.

David is a Chartered Accountant with over 15 years’ experience across business planning, financial control, strategic finance and tax in both ASX listed and SME organisations.

He is currently the Business Planning & Analysis Manager at Accelagen Pty Ltd, a contract research organisation (CRO) based in Melbourne.

He is energetic and committed to health and fitness, he loves working with numbers, and coaching & mentoring others to build their financial confidence.

Barry is an active volunteer providing direct peer and social support to Ballarat folk living with cardiac challenges. As a lived experience educator, Barry speaks to new cardiac patients at local cardiac rehabilitation programs. His message is not to be sedentary and he lives what he teaches by walking with or leading four walking groups weekly.

Barry has been a cardiac patient since 2006. He is retired, with interests in media, communication, and event project management.

Mum of five and Granny to nine, I was born and grew up in the Walpeup region of north west Victoria on a wheat and sheep property. Growing up in the country and working on the farm gave me a broad problem-solving approach to things. I was a stay-at-home mum who was involved with the Guides and running children around to sport, both of which I enjoyed.

I would like to raise awareness of heart disease in Victoria and make the journey easier for those from regional areas.

John holds a Master’s degree in Electrical (Biomedical) Engineering from Purdue University in the US.  He recently retired after 30 years with Medtronic, working in both the US and Australia in a variety of roles, including Engineering, Education, Clinical Trial Management and Marketing.

He now works part-time in his consulting business, Australian Medical Technology Consulting.

Professor Murphy holds a PhD in cardiovascular disease from Monash University. He has been exploring the fundamental biological process that influence atherosclerosis, the leading cause of heart disease for approximately 20 years. He has spent part of his career at Columbia University in New York extending his knowledge with world-leading researchers, and in 2013 he returned to Melbourne to establish his laboratory at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute.

He has previously been a board member of the Australian Cardiovascular Alliance and several scientific societies.  Andrew brings knowledge on the research sector and how consumers, patients (including friends and family) can interact in the fight against heart disease.

Professor Rebecca Ritchie is a cardiac pharmacologist at Monash University. She obtained her PhD from the
University of Adelaide, in the Cardiology Unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Before joining Monash,
Rebecca enjoyed fulfilling career roles at both USA-based Wayne State University, as well as at the Baker
Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne. Her research focuses on arresting the progression of heart
failure.

Rebecca’s career spans discovery, preclinical and clinical research, with established collaborations across
Monash, the Victorian Heart Institute and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. Her professional board
experience includes key national and international cardiology, heart research and pharmacology societies,
as well as scientific committees of the Victorian Cardiovascular Research Network (Deputy Chair), Victorian
Heart Institute, CAD Frontiers, Australian Cardiovascular Alliance, the Australian Stroke and Heart Research
Accelerator and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Jennifer Irvine completed her PhD in the field of cardiovascular pharmacology at Monash University, before undertaking two consecutive National Heart Foundation Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships at the Baker Heart & Diabetes Research Institute. In 2015, Jennifer began her transition into the tertiary education space and is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology at Monash University.

Outside of her professional life, Jennifer has intimate personal experience with the devastating impact that sudden cardiac events can have on many facets of a person’s life, as during her time at the Baker Institute, Jennifer suffered two heart attacks less than a year apart, both resulting from spontaneous dissection of a coronary artery (SCAD). The uncertainly of living with a heart condition was reinforced yet again for Jennifer, when she suffered another SCAD heart attack in January 2022.

Deb Mackellin is a registered nurse, public health professional and passionate consumer advocate with a lifelong connection to cardiovascular health.

Born with complex congenital heart disease, Deb has lived through multiple cardiac surgeries and decades of navigating the healthcare system. This personal experience, combined with her professional background in critical care and coronary care nursing, has given her a unique perspective on both sides of the healthcare experience.