Tamsin Short
President, Board Member since 2018
Dr Tamsin Short (She/Her) is the Executive Lead of Mental Health and Wellbeing at Access Health and Community, a leading community health service and AOD treatment provider in Melbourne’s eastern region. With a background as a clinical and forensic psychologist, Tamsin has worked in a range of clinical, research and leadership roles over the past 15 years, including positions within AOD, forensic mental health and community health services. Over the past decade, she has led the establishment of new and innovative AOD services, including the first specialist AOD treatment program for medication misuse in Victoria. Tamsin is passionate about supporting excellent leadership and effective advocacy in the AOD sector.
Clare Davies
Vice President, Board Member since 2022
Clare Davies is the CEO of Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC). SHARC is a peer-led organisation that has co-produced programs to support people impacted by alcohol and other drugs, and more recently, gambling. Although the influence of lived experience is increasingly recognised in Australia, SHARC has been promoting and advocating for lived experience through services, programs and policies for more than 25 years. Clare joined SHARC in 2022 having held leadership positions in the non-profit sector for over 15 years. She has qualifications in social work, governance, psychology and AOD work. Clare is a Harvard Club of Victoria Non-profit Fellow and she is thrilled to be a current board member for VAADA.
Dom Ennis
Treasurer, Board Member since 2021
Dom is the Victorian State Director at Key Assets Australia. He has more than 25 years of experience in community services, spanning child protection, early intervention, crime prevention, mental health, housing, and family services. Most of his career has been in the AOD sector, where he has held senior management, operational, service development, advocacy, and workforce development roles.
He holds postgraduate qualifications in Adolescent Health and is particularly passionate about the Youth AOD sector. Dom is committed to building a collaborative and coordinated Youth AOD response that meets the needs of young people and families seeking support.
Josie Taylor
Board Member since 2021
Jose has worked in the youth and family setting for over 30 years, in both community service and health care settings. As a practitioner in both the South West of Victoria and in Barwon, Jose developed a passion for bringing coordinated care to community with a strong focus on rural and regional settings. Acknowledging that the further you travel into these settings, the more difficult it becomes to access what you need when you need it. Over the last 15 years in management, Jose has continued this work with the teams she manages with a strong focus on developing place-based approaches, ensuring that assertive outreach and healthcare in community happen.
Jose currently works at Meli in Geelong as Director of Youth, Housing and South West Services. She has a strong belief in the AOD sector delivering holistic and person-centred care, with a focus on safety and reducing stigma attached to people using substances. Jose’s passion for young people and community naturally brings in a focus on early intervention and the importance of engaging family and natural support systems.
As a long-standing VAADA member and board member, Jose represents the community, young people, and family, with a belief that working together, we are stronger.
Dale Hardy
Board Member since 2022
Dale is currently the Executive Leader Wellbeing, Inclusion and Independence at Bendigo Community Health Services, particularly focussing on community equity and inclusion, regional service and sector development with emphasis on clinical and psychosocial drug and alcohol services, refugee services and cultural diversity projects. After an initial career working on the London financial markets, Dale professionally reoriented to the community sector. With a Bachelor of Behavioural Science, he has 30 year’s experience working both as a practitioner and in senior leadership roles across housing and homelessness, out of home care, youth justice, drug and alcohol, mental health and multicultural sectors.
Cath Peake
Board Member since 2023
Cath Peake is the Manager Mental Health/AOD Integration at Barwon Health. Before this role, Cath managed Barwon Health’s Drugs and Alcohol Service (DAS) for 13 years, overseeing the delivery of a broad range of community-based AOD treatment and harm reduction services. Cath was also the Program Manager for several Barwon Health specialist tertiary community mental health teams, including therapy, eating disorders, forensic, family violence, and homelessness programs. Cath holds a doctorate in forensic psychology, with previous experience as a clinician and manager in child protection, youth justice, and adult correctional services. Cath is committed to reducing stigma and discrimination, the principles of harm reduction, evidence-informed practice, and workforce wellbeing within the AOD sector.
Richie Goonan
Board Member since 2023
Richie is the Executive Manager Community Health at Youth Projects. Richie currently leads AOD Youth Outreach and Specialist AOD Primary Health responses for people experiencing homelessness. He has been working in the community sector for 30 years at the intersection of policy and service delivery areas including homelessness, drug and alcohol, harm reduction, primary health, family violence and mental health. With an unwavering commitment to amplifying the voices of people with a lived experience, he drives service design responses that create positive change in peoples’ lives, whilst challenging the systems and attitudes that lead to inequality and disadvantage.
Dr Stefan Gruenert
Board Member since 2023
Stefan (he/him) is a psychologist and the CEO of Odyssey House Victoria. He has over 25 years’ experience in the AOD sector in clinical, research and management roles. Stefan is a current Board member of the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) and he sits on a range of AOD and mental health government advisory committees. Stefan has helped establish AOD residential and community-based programs across metro Melbourne and regional Victoria, and he has co-authored several publications and resources. He has previous Board experience as Chair of VAADA and Treasurer of the Australian Alcohol and other Drug Council of Australia. Stefan has contributed to national and international drug policy, including at the United Nations, with a focus on family inclusive practice and family violence. Stefan is a strong advocate for the maintenance of a strong and independent AOD sector, that draws on lived and living experience and meets people’s needs.
Adrian Webber
Board Member since 2023
Adrian Webber works for Uniting Vic.Tas as the General Manager, AOD, MH, Carer Services and Tasmania. He has held leadership roles in the AOD sector across NSW and Victoria and worked in the University sector in the field of mental health and addiction studies. Adrian’s AOD sector experience spans youth and adult services across rural and metropolitan regions, including residential withdrawal and rehabilitation, and community-based services. Adrian has a strong sense of social justice and actively works to advocate for drug law reform that is based on human rights, evidence, and prioritising health. One career highlight was his 2023 work with the Uniting Church Synod, which led to the church resolving to publicly advocate for drug law reform, recognising AOD use as a health issue rather than a legal one. Adrian holds graduate qualifications in psychology, counselling, commerce and management.
Craig Holloway
Board Member since 2024
Craig is a proud Yorta Yorta man and has been linked with VAADA for over 20 years. With 30 years of experience in the AOD sector in Victoria, he has served as a frontline worker, manager, and executive director. Currently, he is a Senior Project Manager at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service.
Craig continues to represent his communities on numerous working groups, expert advisory groups, and committees to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ voices are at the table and heard.
Craig has been recognised at a state, national, and international level for his commitment to the AOD sector. Additionally, Craig is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health with the Centre for Alcohol Policy and Research at La Trobe University.
Recently, as a VAADA Board member, Craig has contributed and is co-chair of VADDA’s first Aboriginal engagement strategy and Advisory committee. He is an active contributor to Rainbow Mob.
Kent Burgess
Board Member since 2024
Kent Burgess is an experienced and values-driven leader with a broad background in the health sector with special interest across alcohol and other drug services, community, mental health, primary care and LGBTIQA+ health. Kent is a former CEO of Your Community Health and Windana, and is committed to community partnership, quality and equity in healthcare. Kent brings Board Director experience in health and social services, a Master of Public Health, GAiCD and a clinical background as an occupational therapist in mental health and dual diagnosis, underpinning his leadership. Kent was a Harvard Club of Victoria Not-for-Profit Fellow in 2023.
Kent is committed to advocating alongside people who use drugs for a rights and health-based approach and for a system that is accessible, evidence-informed and person-centred.
Dan Lubman
Board Member since 2024
Professor Dan Lubman is a Psychiatrist and Addiction Medicine Specialist with extensive experience in mental health and drug treatment in the UK and Australia. He is the Executive Clinical Director of Turning Point, Director of the Monash Addiction Research Centre, and Professor of Addiction Studies at Monash University. His research explores alcohol, drug, and gambling harms, brain function impacts, and mental health links, developing innovative interventions across community, school, and healthcare settings. Dr Lubman has authored over 500 publications and chaired the RANZCP Faculty of Addiction Psychiatry for over a decade. He frequently advises on policy, serves on government committees, and led the treatment program in SBS’s Addicted Australia. He was appointed Member of the Order of Australia for his contributions to addiction services.