Lauren Anthes – CEO Read more »
Lauren is an experienced and passionate healthcare executive, having worked in the research and service development space for 15 years. Lauren’s aim is to be able to improve the health system, health outcomes and experiences for women. She has a particular interest in mental health, domestic violence and reproductive health issues including endometriosis and PCOS.
Lauren completed a Bachelor of Psychology through Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, NSW and started her career working at the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health in Orange, NSW. She had the opportunity to work on and lead a number of clinical research projects around early psychosis, severe mental illness, suicide risk and a longitudinal mental health and wellbeing study focusing on Australians living in regional and rural areas. She completed a Masters in Evaluation through the University of Melbourne, with a focus on real world formative and impact evaluation, which has contributed to her expertise in value based healthcare and health system planning.
With her health system knowledge and experience gained from working across not-for-profit, private, government and education sectors, Lauren hopes to be able to develop strong cross sector partnerships to better address women’s health issues in the ACT.
Lauren is excited to explore how the organisation can work differently and in innovative ways to raise the profile of women’s health in the ACT.
Jodie Kirkness– Communications Manager Read more »
Jodie is an experienced communications and digital media professional with a background in journalism. Her passion for story telling resulted in her completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism with a major in Literary Studies.
She has a keen interest in women’s health and youth advocacy and has advocated for cancer prevention and research. Prior to joining Women’s Health Matters, Jodie has worked in government and across the health, and agriculture not-for-profit space.
She also has ample experience in the journalism industry having experience at 2CC Radio, ABC Canberra, and UC Curieux and plans on using her media contacts to promote Women’s Health Matters work.
Dr Merri Andrew – Senior Health Promotion Officer Read more »
Merri has worked in social policy and advocacy for over fifteen years, across both the ACT and national levels, with a focus on gender equality and gender-based violence. Most recently, Merri spent five years managing a national alliance of organisations working to end gender-based violence, before working locally to deliver violence prevention training to educators, businesses, and community members.
Through her PhD in political science at the Australian National University (ANU), Merri studied feminists’ attempts to shape social policies affecting work and care.
She subsequently researched the development of women’s services and women’s policy agencies, including those focused on health. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters on gender equality, gender-based violence and human rights, including articles in Australian and international journals.
Merri is happy to be part of a community-based organisation working for women’s health in the ACT, where she can contribute to violence prevention, sexual and reproductive health, better access to health information, and all the changes needed so that women can have full enjoyment of their lives.
Molly Stanley – Executive Officer Read more »
Molly has over seven years of experience in professional administration, the past three of which have been spent in the community and not-for-profit sectors. Previously Molly worked with the Australasian College of Road Safety national office to support better road safety outcomes. Molly shares her time between Women’s Health Matters and the ACT Down Syndrome Association. She provides skill development and peer support opportunities for people with an intellectual disability at the ACT Down Syndrome Association.
Molly completed herBachelor of Archaeology at Flinders University in Adelaide and is currently studying a Master of Archaeological and Evolutionary Science at the Australian National University, where she has been honing her research and writing experience.
More recently, her own personal experiences in the healthcare system have prompted her to explore women’s health, with a particular interest in women’s experiences in the healthcare system. She hopes that by working with Women’s Health Matters she can play a contributing role in improving health outcomes for women in the ACT while increasing her knowledge of the field.
Molly enjoys using her knowledge and experience to develop efficient administrative processes that support small organisations to provide better outcomes for the community. She hopes that her blend of professional administrative and postgraduate research experience will support Women’s Health Matters to improve women’s health outcomes in the ACT.
Anushe Khan – Health in My Language Project Coordinator Read more »
Anushe leads the Health in My Language program at Women’s Health Matters as the HiML Project Coordinator.
Having personally experienced the challenges of navigating the healthcare system after moving to the ACT as someone with lifelong chronic conditions, Anushe understands the barriers faced by those who may be new to Canberra and seeking support.
Before joining WHM, Anushe worked with state and national peak bodies, advocating for better health outcomes and access for multicultural and multilingual communities. This experience has provided her with information on the challenges faced by women from diverse backgrounds when it comes to accessing healthcare.
She hopes to leverage the insights and outcomes gained from the project to strengthen WHM’s advocacy on improving health access and system responsiveness within the ACT.
In her spare time, Anushe enjoys cooking for friends and family, being a pretty average plant mum, and picking up a new craft hobby every month!
Bormey Ken – Bilingual Health Educator Read more »
Meet Bormey!
Bormey’s experiences as an international student and her work with non-profit organisations promoting women’s rights has given her a unique perspective on the challenges women from diverse backgrounds may face in accessing healthcare.
She understands how accessing health care as international students or non-citizens can be challenging, especially when there are language and cultural barriers and financial constraints.
As a Bilingual health Educator at Women’s health Matters, Bormey plans to deliver health education program in both Khmer and English Languages.
She hopes that she can help break down language and cultural barriers and ensure that more women in ACT have access to the information they need to make informed decisions about their health.
In her spare time, Bormey enjoys a variety of activities, including cooking, hiking, travelling, and functional training as they help her manage stress and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Fouzia Jabeen – Bilingual Health Educator Read more »
Meet Fouzia.
Fouzia is a Bilingual Health Education Officer at Women’s Health Matters.
Fouzia comes with a rich experience in the healthcare industry, having worked in India for more than 20 years in the medical transcription industry.
She began her career as a medical transcriptionist, and after coming to Australia she joined the COVID-19 Response Team in NSW Health and worked in the public health space before taking up her most recent role as a Bilingual Health Education Officer in Community Services.
Fouzia acted as the contract tracing ambassador for the COVID-19 multicultural communication by participating in interviews and voiceovers in Hindi and Urdu languages targeting culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
In her spare time Fouzia loves to spend time with her family and adores her two kids. She has a passion for gardening and interior design.