President

Jenny Learmont is the President of MHCN and has been a carer for over 40 years for her son who developed severe obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) at the age of 13, and later developed bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder (BPD).

She has extensive knowledge and advocacy experience in the mental health sector and in 1990 she was elected Chair of the Anxiety Disorders Alliance (ADA), a Standing Committee of the NSW Mental Health Association (MHA), a position she held until 2006. From 2006 to 2016 Jenny was President of the Anxiety Disorders Association NSW Inc, (ADAN).

She is a member of the advisory committee for the Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, is a member of Private Mental Health Consumer Carer Network (NSW), and is also a member of the Anxiety Disorder Reference Committee NSW.

In 1996 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and admitted to the degree of DOCTOR OF MEDICINE HONORIS CAUSA, at the University of NSW for eminent service to the community.

Vice President

Lynda Walton has been involved with mental health carers since 2012, as a project officer and then as a board member.

Throughout her career, she has maintained a strong presence on the frontline by working in the aged care sector for over 40 years, with a focus on older person’s mental health and in particular, transcultural aged care.

Lynda has lived experience caring for her parents from a young age and has volunteered in the in the community in practical ways throughout her life providing her with pivotal experience in order to best contribute to advocacy in the mental health space.

Treasurer

Andrew Pryor, GAICD FCA B.Com is an experienced senior finance executive and leader, with over 30 years of financial corporate experience, including 20 years at Westfield Group and 5 years at Big 4 accounting firm, PWC.

Andrew has lived experience as a carer for his daughter supporting her on her mental health recovery journey, providing him with insight into the mental health system, including public and private hospitals and various treatment therapies and programs.

He is passionate about improving the mental health system and applying his skills and experience to improve mental health services, particularly for young people and their carers.

Secretary

Elizabeth Priestley started working in mental health in 1993, taking up a position with the Mental Health Association NSW (MHA) as Mental Health Promotion Officer eventually leading to her role as CEO of the organisation from 2010-2021.

In addition, she has also worked for a number of other organisations in the community services and mental health space including Mental Illness Education Australia (MIEA), under the leadership of Margaret Lukes, ARAFMI founder, at NCOSS, running the Management Support Unit and as a project officer at We Help Ourselves (WHOs), a D&A rehab program.

Ordinary Board Member

Christian Avent has been an assistant Principal at a NSW DoE Special Needs School with students with Mental Health diagnoses for over 35+ years and a member of MHCN since 2017.

She is a PAC member and has served as Board Secretary for several years. She is also the chair of Operation Art, a joint state-wide initiative of DoE and Children’s Hospital at Westmead which has provided art for the psychological and therapeutic benefit of children by children for over 30 years.

Chris has lived experience of with family members and has a passion for young people’s mental health welfare.

Ordinary Board Member

Raj Gopalan has over 30 years of experience in the IT and Telecommunications industry in Australia, performing a variety of roles including senior roles in marketing, sales, business development, integration consultant, strategy formulations, program/project management and process improvement and operations for leading organisations like Tatas, Fujitsu, and Telstra.

Raj also has over 25 years of experience as a carer for his daughter with autism, mental development delay and behavioural disorder issues, providing him with rich experience and insight into the mental health system and a solid background for being a strong advocate for carer’s welfare which he is passionate about.

Ordinary Board Member

Yolande Williams is the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, Indigenous woman, wife, mother, and registered nurse/midwife of 33 years’ experience in health care: acute, subacute, aged care and Indigenous community.

Ordinary Board Member

Matt Floro is a passionate advocate for mental health care, particularly for older Australians and individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds. Driven by personal experience as the sole carer for his mother and his own background as a recipient of mental health care, Matt has a deep commitment to supporting individuals facing mental health challenges.

Professionally, Matt is an experienced lawyer with a focus on environmental, planning and climate change law. He is Principal Lawyer at Johnson Legal and previously held the role of Senior Advisor to the NSW Minister for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Heritage. Matt is also a dedicated volunteer, currently serving as the National President of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association, the national peak body promoting cultural diversity and access to justice for Asian Australian lawyers.

Matt aspires to give back to the mental health community, apply his skills in the health sector, and learn from leading professionals in the field. His experience with non-profit boards, such as the National Environmental Law Association and Out for Australia Victoria, reflects his strong belief in the power of civil society organisations to drive meaningful change. Matt holds undergraduate degrees in Law and Economics and Master’s degrees in Law and Public Administration.

Ordinary Board Member

Douglas Holmes is vice president and a founding member of Transforming Australian Mental Health Service Systems (TAMHSS). TAMHSS is a Mental Health think tank set up in Perth in 2009 to allow people interested in system reform to come together and discuss ideas about what issues they would like support with changing the system.

He was the Carer Peer Network facilitator with the NSW Mental Health Carer Advocacy Network (under contract with Mental Health Carers NSW) from 2020 until May 2024. Douglas has had a long involvement with Association of Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill (ARAFMI) on the Central Coast and the Hunter, including as current Chairperson of the Central Coast ARAFMI board and is a long-time member of the Yakkalla Community support group.

Douglas is the project manager and a volunteer with Super Cro, a charity set up in 2018 to aid people with lived experience of mental health distress through education, advocacy, collaboration, feedback and equal representation.

Douglas’s foray into the mental health and addictions sector came later in life after a career within the transport industry. His passion to work with mental health and addiction was sparked by a personal journey of lived experience and recovery. He has worked as an adult peer support/advocacy worker and volunteered as a Consumer Leader.

Douglas was privileged to carry the voice of both Consumers and Carers, to local, regional, and national forums when he was a member of the NSW Consumer Advisory Group Mental Health Inc for 3 years from 1996 to 1999 and then Executive Officer for 6 years from 2000 to 2006. He was also chair of the NSW Consumer Workers Committee, Consumer Participation Officer at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, and a member of TheMHS Learning Network with a focus on supporting the Consumer and Carer pre-conference day prior to the main conference. Douglas lives in Boolaroo as part of Lake Macquarie and enjoys all sports (watching more than participating now) and music and supports people to organise MAD Pride concerts across Australia.