Disability Worker Registration Board of Victoria

Melanie Eagle - Chairperson 

Melanie’s professional life spans population health, social policy, women’s policy, equal opportunity, future city strategic planning, and work as a solicitor.

Melanie has extensive Board experience. In the disability sector, in addition to chairing the Disability Worker Registration Board since its inception in 2019, Melanie's other roles have included being a member of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council, the Steering Committee of the Chronic Illness Alliance, and the Board of the Epilepsy Foundation. 

Currently Melanie is the Chair of the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, and is a Board member of the St Vincent’s Institute for Medical Research, the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre Trust and First Step.  Previously she was inaugural Chair of Respect Victoria and served on the Boards of Hepatitis Australia and Alfred Health, and was CEO of LiverWELL and Mayor of St Kilda Council. 

Melanie has qualifications in law, arts and social work, and international development, and is a graduate of the Institute of Company Directors. She lives with epilepsy.

Christian Astourian

Christian is a program manager for the Diversity and Disability program at the Migrant Resource Centre North West and he fluently speaks 4 languages. He has served to progress the recognition of the rights of persons with disability at the local, state, national and international levels.

Christian participated at a UN Disability Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, representing the disability movement. In 2006, he was a candidate in the Victorian State Election raising awareness on disability rights. He was President of the Cerebral Palsy Support Network for 5 years, Board Member of Scope Australia for 9 years, member of the Disability Advisory Committee for the City of Melbourne for 5 years, Vice Chairperson of Arts Access Victoria for 5 years, member of the Disability Reference Group for the Victorian Human Rights Commission for 6 years, board member and Chairperson of the Disability Committee for the Federation of Ethnic Communities Council of Australia for 4 years and on the board of the Victorian government Disability Service Commission for 15 years. Christian was also on the Merri-Bek Council Disability Advisory Committee for 3 years and chairperson of the Customer Insight Committee and member of the Disability Royal Commission advisory committee within Scope Australia for 3 years.

He is currently on the Disability Worker Registration Board of Victoria and the Victorian government Community Advisory Council focusing specifically on the NDIS.

Ross Coverdale 

Ross was a long-term CEO of Araluen, a highly regarded disability service at the forefront of developing innovative supports and housing for adults with intellectual disabilities. Ross has vast community sector experience having worked in homelessness, health, youth services, and literacy promotion. 

He spent three years in Zimbabwe managing a hospital, HIV/AIDS projects and coordinating village-based community development. Ross owns a consulting business that focuses on housing, disability and community services. He has held governance positions in health, disability and aged care. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has completed studies in strategic management at Harvard Business School. 

He has undertaken various roles in consumer advocacy, quality management and committee memberships with Ambulance Victoria, the Royal Children Hospital’s Cancer Centre, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Salvation Army, National Disability Services, Centrelink, Telstra and the Victorian Council of Social Services.

Elizabeth March 

Liz focused her career on building, developing, managing and leading health and community service organisations that make a difference for people living with disability or disadvantage.

Liz held the position of CEO for Access Australia Group Ltd and previously, Castlemaine & District Community Health; with executive positions held in Out of Home Care, Family Support and Homelessness services.

Committed to compliance and exceptional customer services, Liz has a dedicated interest in standards of care; she is a Board Director with Bendigo and Central Victorian United Friendly Societies, a member of the Clinical Governance Committee and Chair of People and Culture Committee.

Liz held an advisory position on the Doxa School Board for 8 years, was a community representative on the Loddon Mallee Permanent Care and Adoption Panel and served a term on the City of Greater Bendigo Disability Inclusion Advisory Committee. Liz has high-level understanding of corporate governance and holds a Bachelors' degree with demonstrated excellence in leading organisations, steering culture and shaping change for better outcomes.

Professor Keith McVilly

Keith is Professor of Disability & Inclusion at the University of Melbourne.  He is a Clinical Psychologist who for the past 30+ years has worked with people experiencing multiple and complex disabling circumstances, including people with disability involved in the criminal justice system.

Much of Keith’s research takes place in applied settings in close partnership with people with disabilities, their families and support services.  He has a particular interest in supporting the education and professional development of the allied health and direct support workforce supporting people with disabilities.

Keith’s teaching activities include the areas of community inclusion, inclusive policy development, professional ethics, and behaviour support.

Emily Sandison

Emily is a dedicated health professional and disability advocate with qualifications in nursing, psychology, and mental health. She has worked across hospital and community settings, supporting individuals with complex physical and mental health needs. 

Alongside her professional expertise, Emily brings invaluable lived experience as a person navigating disability and chronic illness. This dual perspective enables her to bridge the gap between service systems and the people they are designed to support. 

She is passionate about simplifying access to healthcare and disability services, ensuring they are equitable, inclusive, and responsive to individual needs. 

Emily has contributed to advisory groups and innovation initiatives, using her insights to influence policy and practice. She is committed to fostering person-centred approaches that empower people with disability to live independently and with dignity.

Kelly Schulz 

Kelly is the Managing Director of Knowable.Me, driving value creation and providing data and insights into the needs and preferences of people with disabilities.

Throughout her career, Kelly has held senior corporate roles in Accessibility & Inclusion, Customer Experience, and Brand & Communications. Her blend of strategic thinking and human-centred design methodologies mirrors the synergy of an orchestra conductor, aligning disparate groups to influence positive momentum and drive growth.

Kelly holds board roles in disability service provision and is a member of the Technology, Innovation & Value Creation Committee of Swinburne University. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Kelly identifies as “blind, with just enough vision to be dangerous” and is ably assisted by her guide dog, Velvet.

Geoff Southwell 

Geoff is CEO of Victorian disability advocacy agency Leadership Plus. He has many years of executive experience in information technology, operations and finance consulting and governance with small business, government and international enterprises, as well as board experience in not for profit organisations.

He has been treasurer and chair of Express Media, and treasurer of Leadership Plus and the Mental Health Legal Centre, and is on the board and treasurer of the Disability Advocacy Network Australia.  

Geoff has a BSc and MBA and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Patrick Wilsmore 

Patrick is the Founder & Managing Director at Experience Social Growth and has had numerous C-Suite executive roles in the not for profit, corporate and commercial sectors. He has extensive experience on corporate, community and not for profit boards along with being a director of privately owned companies. The Consummate Professional with a strong values-focused leadership style.

Patrick has strong dedication to advocate for sector transformation and social policy reform whilst ensuring that our social impact is measured by an outcome-based framework and empowering all people.

He aims to ensure the customer voice is heard whilst ensuring we preserve and safeguard the human rights of First Nations people and people with a disability.