Our people

Peter has been Chair of the Very Special Kids Board since 2012.

A financial services professional with many decades of experience, Peter has previously been Group Executive at CBA, Chief Executive Colonial First State and Managing Director.

In these roles he was responsible for all investment and insurance services, including funds management, master funds, superannuation and insurance businesses, and third-party support services for brokers, agents and financial advisers.

In addition to his Chair role at Very Special Kids, Peter was Chairman of Challenger Limited (listed company director since November 2003), Challenger Life Company Limited and Avant Group Insurance Limited until 2022. Peter is also a director of Avant Mutual Group Limited, Avant Group Holdings Limited and Copia Investment Partners.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Masters in Business and Leadership) and has graduated from the Harvard School of Business Development Program.

Luke Bell is a marketing and fundraising specialist, currently Director of Advancement at Swinburne University. He has held executive and senior leadership positions across multiple purpose-based sectors, including health and disability at Vision Australia, aid and development at Oxfam and medical research at Cancer Council.

Luke is deeply experienced in developing effective strategies that drive revenue growth and make businesses more sustainable. In addition to his professional roles, Luke has held directorships with SEATT (a gender equality change accelerator) and Alpha Autism (Adult Autism service organisation now merged with Aspect), where he guided the launch of an award-winning national awareness campaign, Drawtism.

Luke holds a Master of Business Administration (Professional), Postgraduate Diploma of Management (Marketing) from Melbourne Business School, a Bachelor of Applied Science from RMIT, and is an Australian Marketing Institute-recognised Certified Practising Marketer.

Lisa Evans has thirty years career experience in the healthcare and disability sectors, and joined the Very Special Kids Board in 2023.

A Registered Nurse, and holding a Graduate Diploma in Health Science, Lisa has worked across frontline and leadership roles within public health and private hospitals. In 2014 she joined St John of God as Director of Nursing at their Berwick Hospital, which included the oversight of the new hospital build and eventually coordinating the relocation from the previous facility.

Lisa was appointed CEO of St John of God Accord in 2019, the disability service within St John of God’s extended healthcare network. And in 2023 Lisa joined Scope Australia, one of Australia’s largest providers of disability services, as Chief Operating Officer.

Lisa has also been a recipient of support at Very Special Kids. Lisa’s eldest son Jack was supported regularly for respite stays for over 15 years, before exiting the service as an adult. Lisa and her family also accessed family support services during the same period.

As both a highly experienced health clinician and leader, as well as a parent of a child with a life-limiting condition and service recipient, Lisa brings to the Very Special Kids Board both insight into the opportunities available to improve services to families, and in ensuring that all future service endeavours undertaken at Very Special Kids remained child and family-centred.

Cameron Fuller (Cam), joined our Board in October 2021 and is Chair of our Finance, Audit and Risk Committee. He brings over 30 years’ experience in commerce and banking, 20 of those in the healthcare industry.

From November 2022 until August 2023, he was the Interim Group Chief Executive, Epworth Healthcare, and before this, their Chief Financial Officer having joined Epworth in August 2020. Prior to this, Cam spent more than four years with National Australia Bank, where he was the Executive General Manager Growth Sectors and Specialised Banking.

Cam has also held roles at NAB Health as General Manager, at ANZ leading the Diversified Industries sector within the Institutional Bank, as Chief Financial Officer Mayne Pharma, and Head of Investor Relations Mayne Group.

Cam is a Chartered Accountant, holds Post Graduate Diploma in Finance and Investment and is a Graduate of the Australian Company Institute of Directors.

Dr Susie Gibb is a paediatrician with three decades of experience in Australia and the United Kingdom.

She is currently the Medical Lead of the Complex Care Hub at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, and consultant Paediatrician in the Departments of General Medicine and Neurodevelopment and Disability. She also has a private paediatric practice.

It was through the experience of her patients that she became aware of Very Special Kids, joining our Board in 2017 as the head of the Clinical Risk and Governance Committee. She brings a wealth of knowledge across paediatric care and healthcare in general to our organisation.

Susie holds a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She is a member of Neurodevelopmental and Behavioural Paediatric Society of Australasia, member of the Continence Foundation of Australia and an Honorary Fellow of the Melbourne Children’s Research Institute.

Rhys is a Partner and Head of Tax at the leading Australian law firm, Corrs Chambers Westgarth.  He specialises in advising major Australian and multinational clients and government on the tax aspects of significant and high profile transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructures, infrastructure projects, capital raisings and inbound investment. He is also one of the Corrs pro bono partners, and regularly advises charitable and not-for-profit clients. It is in this role that he advised Very Special Kids on several matters for a number of years, before joining our Board in 2015.

Rhys has brought a wealth of financial and commercial knowledge to the Board, and sits on the Finance, Risk and Audit subcommittee.

Rhys holds a Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Commerce and has been admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia. In addition to this, Rhys is a member of the Tax Committee for the Law Council of Australia and a fellow at The Tax Institute.

Therese joined the Very Special Kids’ Board in 2019 and sits on the Family Advisory Committee and Remuneration Committee.

She brings extensive experience in government programs and service delivery to the organisation, including working with community organisations and partners.

Therese has managed many programs in state government including health and mental health roles, Aboriginal affairs, multicultural affairs, social cohesion and aged care. Currently she is Director, Aged Care and Community Performance, Victorian Department of Health.

In addition to her work with us, she is also a Board member and past President at the Rotary Club of Central Melbourne.

Therese holds a Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Public Administration, and Bachelor of Biochemistry. In 2009, she was awarded the National Emergency Award in 2013 for participation in the bushfire response.

A/Prof Adam Scheinberg is a paediatric rehabilitation specialist and state-wide medical director of the Victorian Paediatric Rehabilitation Service.

Adam trained in Sydney at the Children’s Hospital Westmead before relocating to Victoria in 2009. Adam has over 25 years’ experience in paediatric and young adult rehabilitation.

Adam joined the Very Special Kids Board in 2018 and also serves on the Clinical Risk and Governance Committee, and the Hospice Rebuild Committee. Adam’s clinical interests include paediatric and young adult rehabilitation particularly affecting those with spinal cord injury, brain injury , chronic fatigue syndrome and cerebral palsy.

Adam is an active clinical researcher and educator, honorary fellow at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Associate Professor in the school of Paediatrics University of Melbourne. Adam is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.