Meet the Executive

Qualifications

MBA GAICD

Experience

Emma is Life Without barriers’ Chief Innovation Officer, where she provides empowering, inspiring, and collaborative leadership that drives the development and implementation of strategic change and engagement initiatives in relation to disability advocacy and community services delivery across the organisation and beyond.

Prior to commencing her current role, Emma spent five years as CEO of Blind Citizens Australia, revitalising the national representative organisation of Australians who are blind or vision impaired. An internationally respected leader and change-maker, Emma was also the first person with disability to lead Arts Access Australia, the national organisation representing artists, arts workers and audiences with disability.

Emma also chairs the Attitude Foundation, which is shaping a new understanding of disability through the promotion and development of media content that provides realistic portrayals of people with disability. She serves on Tasmania’s Ministerial Arts and Cultural Advisory Council and is a director of NV access, an Australian organisation that has developed a free, high-quality screen reader available to people who are blind or vision impaired throughout the world.

Qualifications

BA (HONS), FCA, GradDipACG, GAICD

Experience

Paula is Life Without Barriers’ Chief Strategy and Governance Officer and is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of experience working in governance, accounting, consulting and commercial and not-for-profit organisations.

Beginning her career with KPMG in the UK, Paula has worked internationally in both the USA and Australia across a wide range of business sectors. By combining her interest in systems and data with her accounting background, Paula has held some non-traditional roles that have expanded her understanding of the impact of systems and process improvements on business performance.

Leanne is the Executive Director, Disability and Mental Health at Life Without Barriers. In this role, Leanne leads a team of more than 4,500 dedicated and skilled essential staff, all of whom are committed to improving lives of people with disability and supporting mental health.

Leanne is a highly regarded leader, with experience spanning across disability, mental health, public health, and human services sectors. Before joining Life Without Barriers, Leanne’s most recent role was Executive Director and General Manager of John Hunter Hospital. During her tenure, Leanne led a team of 5,500 staff through the pandemic, ensuring the hospital was in the best position to withstand the impacts of COVID-19.

Leanne remains passionate about both public health and supporting people with disability and supporting mental health. She hopes to continue to bridge the gap between these two industries. Ultimately, whatever Leanne leads, she does it with purpose, respect, and passion. She always stays focused on the person at the centre – whether it be staff members, clients, or the wider community.

Qualifications

BA; LLB

Experience

Jeevani leads a highly skilled team of lawyers and other professionals responsible for providing high quality, strategic, person focused legal advice to the Life Without Barriers' Board, Executive and to all staff. She is also responsible for the Ministerial Correspondence function within Life Without Barriers.

Jeevani is an experienced and skilful lawyer with over 25 years of experience in child protection, out-of-home care, disability and social housing. She has long standing experience managing and leading law reform proposals across government from the inception of policy to legislative reform, managing and overseeing complex civil and criminal litigation and mediation as well as a number of human services related Commissions of Inquiry.

Prior to joining Life Without Barriers, Jeevani spent more than a decade as a lawyer in the Department of Communities and Justice and as the Director, Legal Services within the child protection portfolio. She has also been the Director responsible for child protection, out of home care, social housing, Police and emergency management within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Jeevani is passionate about driving great outcomes for the people Life Without Barriers' supports and doing so in a values driven compassionate manner.

Mark is the Chief Operating Officer at Life Without Barriers and is inspired by the positive difference Life Without Barriers makes on people’s lives.  

Mark oversees the commercial, technology and people aspects of the organisation and has a wealth of experience in finance, people, systems and change management. He has extensive experience building and leading high-performing finance and IT functions that deliver business insight, business excellence and leadership. 

Mark has considerable experience leading multi-national companies across Australia and New Zealand, Asia, India and Greater China such as Qantas Airways, Microsoft, Hudson Global, Mylan (Alphapharm) and the University of Technology Sydney. 

Mark’s five-year focus for Life Without Barriers is to enhance commercial capability through effective use of technology and data, improved business efficiency, strategic workforce planning and proactive risk management. 

Servena is the Chief Transformation Officer for the Cultural Justice and Reform Unit responsible for leading Life Without Barriers Elevate RAP & Transformation Project.

A proud Wadi Wadi, Wemba Wemba, Wiradjuri woman, Servena has spent her career disrupting thinking, systems, and structures that maintain the status quo. A dynamic and cross cultural leader, Servena has held numerous roles and portfolios across the social services sector for the past three decades, contributing to new practice and governance models, services, and organisations.

She is an experienced executive holding roles with some of the largest not for profit organisations in Australia, alongside appointments within Government, Universities and Peaks. Servena considers herself as a practitioner first, with a proven track record in designing and delivering people and community led change.

Servena holds qualifications in Social Services, Strategic Leadership, Quality and Business. She is also the Head of CALM Australia, member of the First Nations NGO Alliance and the Investment Dialogue for Australian Children Community Leadership Council.

Mary is the Executive Director, Group Risk Performance and Impact at Life Without Barriers. With more than thirty years of senior experience in a wide range of areas including disability, child, youth and family services, Mary is an experienced leader focused on driving practice improvement through the implementation of evidence-based practices and programs into people-focused service delivery.

As the former Director of Statutory and Forensic Services Design in the Victorian Department of Human Services, Mary was responsible for the design of child protection, youth justice and disability forensic services in Victoria. Mary has also held senior positions including as Director, Regional Operations Performance; Director, Child Protection, Placement and Family Services; Director, Child and Family System Advice (Cummins Inquiry); and Director, Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Strategy Unit.

Mary has a deep commitment to improving the immediate and long-term outcomes of children in out-of-home care and has a passion for relevant research and demonstrable impact measurement that can be shared across the sector.

Qualifications

MWplce&IndRels, BBus, AdvDipWHS, DipQA, GAICD

Experience

Michael is a high energy leader and problem solver who leads with character, integrity and respect. Michael is the Deputy Chief Executive Emerging Business, leading Aged Care and a team of people dedicated to extending the impact Life Without Barriers has across the country.

With qualifications in Workplace Law, Marketing, Safety and Quality Auditing, Michael has international experience and a strong track record for delivery and performance across a broad range of senior Operations roles; and has enjoyed team successes building leadership capability and growth in substantial executive roles in People and Culture, Strategy Development, Business Transformation and Industrial Relations.

Michael has an authentic and inclusive style with a strong sense of purpose, a commercial focus and a deep commitment to growth as an unfinished leader. He is passionate about building networks, sharing knowledge and learning.