Our Board

We are looking for people who bring their commercial expertise and personal experience of disability, mental health or ageing to the Board. It is a voluntary role that brings a great sense of satisfaction.

Avivo was established as an Incorporated Association 50 years ago by people passionate about providing practical help to keep families together. Avivo has grown to employ 1250 employees who work within teams across Perth, Wheatbelt and Coral Coast. Our work is to provide support and care to over 3000 people who need assistance due to disability, mental health or ageing to live life to the full. The Board’s role is to govern and steward Avivo to achieve its potential. The Board is a mature group of talented people that are focused on supporting Avivo to flourish.

We value different life experiences, skills and backgrounds including people with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, LGBTQIA+ and people from all cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Read the position description here, or if you are interested in discussing this role further please contact davina.dcosta@avivo.org.au.

Angus is a Professor and Head of School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University. Working as an occupational therapist for the past 34 years, Angus is passionate about people being given authentic opportunities to participate fully in all aspects of their lives. Prior to commencing at Curtin in 2008, Angus worked for 16 years at the Disability Services Commission where he held senior management and leadership roles. Angus is an active and published researcher, focusing on citizenship, inclusion and the social participation of adults with disabilities within communities.

Angus is an active member of the Australasian Society of Intellectual Disability, and recently held the position of Australasian President for five years. In 2017, he was appointed to the position of Vice President – Asia Pacific for the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. As well as having a strong research background in contemporary disability practice, he brings extensive senior executive experience of working within the WA disability sector across policy, program and operational areas.

Jo brings a broad scope of international strategic management experience to the Board. Her career has seen her lead change programs in both the public and private sector. She has helped a variety of organisations develop innovative and sustainable strategies. Her focus is on getting the best outcomes from complexity and diversity, and she values contribution, integrity and fun.

Jo has lectured at local and international universities as well as tertiary education facilities in disciplines ranging from the social sciences to business and health. She is passionate about health, education and culture and has a particular interest in the role of mindfulness in transformational change.

Using her extensive experience as a registered nurse, she facilitates positive change in the community mental health sector, and mentors overseas nurses in their transition to their professional lives here in Australia. She also teaches the Diploma of Mental Health and is a trainer for the West Australian Association for Mental Health.

Working in healthcare, Gabrielle is committed to seeing social change through delivering value to individuals and communities through effective governance. She is studying Applied Corporate Governance and is looking to use this to ensure that Avivo continues to deliver the same level of quality services in the future.

Gabrielle is a Fellow of Leadership Western Australia as well as a graduate of their Rising Leaders’ Programme and LeadAbility course. She also sits on the Boards of the Disability Services Commission and Patricia Giles Centre.

Nick is a values-based leader with a passion for nurturing human connection, belonging and universal solidarity. With his background as an occupational therapist, he founded Perth-based organisation Befriend in 2010 to catalyse a movement of connectedness. Nick’s work with Befriend has mobilised thousands of citizens, cultivating connections for over 10,000 West Australians. Nick is a School for Social Entrepreneurs Fellow and a Westpac Social Change Fellow. He strives to bring the values of freedom, curiosity, courage, compassion and hope to life through organisational leadership, collaborative impact partnerships and design of organisations and services.

Brad is a passionate technologist with global experience in IT management, digital strategy and business process improvement across the mining, resources and financial services sectors. A career focus is shifting IT departments from traditional “one-stop shops” to facilitators of technology outcomes that drive effective consumption of fit-for-purpose technology platforms that are aligned with business needs and adapt as they change. Brad brings this experience to his role as a Director of Avivo Live Life to help guide the organisation through their digital transformation journey.

As a consultant, Brad helps organisations shape and align their digital strategy with the business strategy and define the pathway to successful execution. Before consulting, Brad worked at South32 as a technology leader, responsible for setting the direction of digital services in the Australian region, focusing on operational and functional requirements while delivering regional specific technology services. He was part of the BHP Billiton demerger team that led to the formation of South32. Prior to this, Brad was Chief Information Officer at BHP Billiton Iron Ore for 10 years.

After holding a number of professional roles in both government and non-government organisations, a desire was ignited in Neil to build an organisation with a values-based approach to doing business. Neil fundamentally believes that people have a right to great places to work, and so, more than 25 years ago he founded MODAL, an organisational development and learning consultancy. MODAL specialises in building healthy culture, leadership and team development and coaching together with people change management.

Neil has had the pleasure of working with many great people who share the belief that leaders create organisations that are great places to work and deliver results. His coaching experience is extensive across all levels of organisations, and his most recent work was focused on developing high performance executive teams and executive coaching. Neil’s coaching relationships with leaders at all levels has resulted in improved clarity, a more open results-oriented approach, and leaders that realise their worth within the demanding business environment.

Neil has worked with industries including mining, oil & gas, financial services, manufacturing, engineering & construction, transport & logistics. He has also mentored executives in a variety of organisations such as BHP Billiton Iron Ore, BHP Billiton Nickel West, Racing & Wagering WA, Ramsay Health, Western Power, Rosslyn Hill Mining, Honeywell, Microsoft, and Woodside.

Stewart has a passion for working with organisations that are committed to developing a high performing culture and leadership development. Stewart is a highly regarded financial and strategic leader in the resources industry. Stewart is delighted to bring his commercial and cultural experiences to his role as a Director with Avivo Live Life to help the organisation deliver great customer outcomes.

Stewart joined BGC in 2015 as Chief Financial Officer at BGC Contracting, in 2018 he moved into the role of Executive General Manager Sales Processes responsible for various divestments of BGC assets and businesses. Stewart has led BGC teams that deliver financial and commercial services, and is responsible for leading and implementing strategies and change initiatives.

Prior to BGC he was Chief Financial Officer at Western Power, and previously held several global leadership roles over a 23 year period with BHP including CFO Iron Ore during the resources boom.