Elissa Watson

Elissa is our Board Chair and Chair of the Community Advisory Committee.  Since her initial appointment in July 2019, Elissa has also been an active contributor to the Finance Audit and Risk Committee, and Board Appointments and Tender Evaluation Panels.

A keen advocate for place based healthcare, Elissa has developed strong relationships across the Loddon Mallee Health Network and government to ensure our service footprint is maintained, so that we can continue to meet the current and future primary health needs of Heathcote and our local community. 

As a strategic leader and highly skilled executive in a career spanning nearly 25 years, Elissa cultivates industry excellence through innovative policy design and best practice program implementation.  She has expertise in public administration, risk management and compliance, and is passionate about the role of governance in facilitating accountability and transparency in organisations.   Elissa builds high performing teams that are committed to quality service and improved consumer outcomes.

Elissa is the current Director, Integrity Assurance, Policy and Legal and works closely with the Racing Integrity Commissioner and Victorian racing industry.  Her extensive corporate background includes senior roles at Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and WorkSafe, and she has previously been a director of the Law Institute of Victoria and Justice Connect.

Ben Yuen

Ben has been a Heathcote Health Board Director since January 2020, the Chair of the Board Risk Working Group, Board Clinical Governance Committee and Board Community Advisory Committee member. He has lived in the region in Bendigo since 2016 (from Melbourne) and enjoys engaging with the local community through volunteering, his children’s school, and sport. He is on local boards – The National Chinese Museum of Australia (in Bendigo) and Amicus Community Services Limited (regional NDIS and disability support services). He was also part of The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in Bendigo, providing risk and compliance oversight for key customer-facing and corporate functions.

He is a senior manager in Australia’s largest banks, working nationally and across Asia in audit, risk and compliance, business strategy, digital banking, human resources, and project management.

He is currently a PhD Candidate (Artificial Intelligence/ Machine Learning in Banking) via The Federal Government Science and Innovation Research Grant. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). He holds a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Melbourne, and a Masters of Business in Human Resource Management/ Industrial Relations from RMIT University.

Andrew Roma

Andrew joined the Board in July 2022 and is a member of the Board Clinical Governance Committee. Andrew has over 20 years of experience working in the health sector, including time spent in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

He began his career as a Physiotherapist, before moving into management consulting in the health sector with KPMG, and then working for Medibank. Andrew now works for St Vincent’s Health Australia, where he is responsible for developing and implementing strategic initiatives to improve the delivery of private health care at St Vincent’s private hospitals across Australia.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physiotherapy from the University of South Australia, and a Masters in Applied Commerce from the University of Melbourne.

In his Board position at Heathcote Health, he continues to drive the delivery of high quality health services to the local community.

In his spare time, Andrew is an avid follower of Test Cricket and Soccer, is attempting to learn the drums, and has two young children which keep him very busy at all other times.

Callum Wright

Callum joined the Board of Directors in August 2022, after serving on the Corporate Governance Board Sub-committee for 18 months. Callum has significant experience in Primary and Community Health Service management in the Greater Bendigo region and is currently General Manager / Executive Officer of Bendigo Primary Care Centre (the region’s local GP Superclinic). In his spare time, Callum pursues his community focused passion as a Board Director with Lifely (a local NDIS service provider) and chairs their Quality, Safety and Compliance Sub-committee. He is also actively involved in Golden Square Junior Football and Cricket clubs (as a coach and committee member).

He has previous experience in community engagement, philanthropy, banking, finance and strategic project roles in the corporate sector. Callum is passionate about building stronger communities, the power and role of locally governed organisations and ensuring that everyone can connect with their community in a meaningful way and live a fulfilling life.

In previous roles he has worked with the Heathcote & District Community Bank, supporting local grants programs and strategic local initiatives. Callum is a regular visitor to Heathcote and can often be overtaken as he rides rather slowly along the O’Keefe Rail Trail.

Callum holds a Masters in Business Administration from La Trobe University (Bendigo) and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Organisational Leadership from Oxford University. He is a, Associate Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM), Member of the Australian Association of Practice Management (MAAPM) and Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD). In line for his passion for actively participating in a stronger Central Victoria, Callum is also a graduate of the LEAD Loddon Murray Community Leadership Program (2021).

Vimi Desai

Vimi joined the Heathcote Health Board in July 2022. She has spent the last 25 + years across three different continents, growing up in South Africa, studying in Canada and working in Australia which is now home.

Vimi is enjoying serving on the Heathcote Health Services Board, understanding the challenges and opportunities for the Heathcote community, and contributing toward effective governance and strategy. She has an elderly mom and has become intimately aware of the challenges and opportunities in caring for her mom. She is looking forward to using her experiences to contribute in creating better services for the Heathcote community. Vimi’s day job involves working for the CSIRO, Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Previous to CSIRO, Vimi worked at DEECA, the Victorian Government’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action. Working within the public sector has allowed Vimi to get a better understanding of how Government can maximise the connections between the environment, community, industry and economy. She has a passion for listening to her stakeholders to understand where value can best be added, setting up engaged teams, and delivering on strategic initiatives. Her industry experience includes the Victorian State Government, Technology, Research, Pharmaceuticals and Professional services.

Vimi is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and obtained an Honours degree in Business Administration from the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.

Bec Broadbent

Rebecca joined the Board of Directors in August 2023 and brings over 15 years of experience working in the Public Health Sector as a Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife.

In her role as Director of Nursing Rebecca aspires to ensure that all patients have access to the highest quality of evidence based care available, with a particular passion for First Nations Peoples health outcomes and experience of hospital-based care as an Allie. Rebecca holds a Masters of Clinical Nursing from UTAS.

Rebecca and her family have lived in rural NSW and Victoria since 2009, having grown up in Melbourne. She enjoys engaging with the local community through her children’s school as the President of the Parents & Friends Group and cheering loudly on the sidelines for the Golden City Football Club, Bendigo.

Cam Haskett

Cam joined the Board of Directors in July 2024, and has a long history working in finance roles locally and overseas. He has been an Independent Member of the Heathcote Health Finance, Audit and Risk subcommittee, Chair of the Project Control Group, and member of the Tender Evaluation Panel during his tenure as Independent Member. Cam holds a Graduate Certificate in Professional Accounting, and is a Member of the Institute of Public Accountants.

Cam moved to the Heathcote region over 7 years, and is an active member and Treasurer of Heathcote Tennis Club. He owns and runs two local businesses with his partner and two dogs.

Christina Campbell

Christina joined the Heathcote Health Board of Directors in July 2024 and brings over 22 years of experience working in the Public Health Sector. Christina is highly motivated and successful strategist driven to ‘make a difference’ in accessible healthcare.

Extensive clinical health sector experience in roles across clinical nursing and strategic leadership in complex environments and a track record of transformed healthcare programs and workforces. Strong governance, finance and business experience and known to be highly collaborative and collegiate in her many committee roles. Understands health policy and its effects on health care systems and their communities.

Born in Melbourne, grew up in central Victoria and currently traveling between the farm at Pyalong producing fine merino wool and Melbourne where working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Christina brings an understanding of both metro and rural health care needs and is an advocate for ensuring provision of timely care, developing our relationships and improving services, all to ensure excellent care our community needs and deserves.

Christina holds a Masters of Business, is a member of the Australian College of Nursing (ACN), Women on Boards (WOB), Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA) and the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). Possessing a passion for Heathcote’s history, surrounds, wine regions and is a proud supporter of ‘Heathcote on Show’ where you will certainly find her with family from Bendigo and surrounds joining in with locals and sharing stories.

Rob Stephenson

Rob joined the Board in July 2024, and is looking forward to contributing to the continuing strengthening of Heathcote Health as a vital part of the Heathcote community.

As a life-long resident and promoter of life in regional Victoria, Rob appreciates that a strong local health service is an essential factor in attracting and retaining people in a community, and in contributing to its wellbeing and general prosperity.

In a range of professional capacities, Rob has worked extensively to develop pathway opportunities for local people to acquire the skills that are needed to support current and future health and care workforce needs, and ensuring that they are able to realise their professional and economic potential.

Rob is a qualified accountant, with broad experience during thirty five years employed in professional roles in Bendigo. Those roles have included public accounting, non-bank finance and member-service sectors, including as Head of La Trobe University’s Bendigo Campus, and most recently, as Interim CEO and Advocacy Lead of Be.Bendigo.

Rob is an Independent Member of the City of Greater Bendigo Audit and Risk Committee, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, CPA Australia and Institute of Managers & Leaders, and Member of Australian Institute of Company Directors and International Leadership Association.