About us

Parkinson’s Australia Board

Professor George Mellick, Parkinson's Australia Board Chairperson

Professor George Mellick

Director & Chair

Professor George Mellick

George is an interdisciplinary scientist who works on all aspects of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. He is the Deputy Director of the Eskitis Institute, Griffith University and holds adjunct positions at the University of Queensland, RBWH and Princess Alexandra Hospital.

George has authored over 100 research publications including articles in the Lancet, JAMA, Lancet Neurology and Annals of Neurology.

He is also an advocate for people affected by Parkinson’s disease and serves as the President of Parkinson’s Queensland.

Dr Moira Watson

Dr Moira Watson PhD, FAICD, FAIM, FGIA

Director & Vice Chair

Dr Moira Watson PhD, FAICD, FAIM, FGIA

Moira is an experienced company Chair and Director on a range of Boards with a background as a senior leader in ASX listed companies and as an executive director in government.

Moira has a PhD in business management and is a graduate and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia.

Moira is also Chair of Chorus Australia, Chair of Diabetes WA, a Councillor with HBF, a Director with Diabetes Australia, and a Director with Diabetes Australia Research Limited.

Steve Ferguson

Steve Ferguson

Director

Steve Ferguson

Steve is a Chartered Accountant and was a partner with Ernst & Young for over 25 years leaving in late 2018. Steve was the Financial Services Accounts Leader for EY in Asia Pacific and as an assurance partner has led the audit of a number of large Australian multinational listed companies.

He is a graduate of the Company Directors Course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Marcia Kimball

Marcia Kimball

Director

Marcia Kimball

Marcia’s husband, John, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s some 16 years ago.

She has over 35 years of experience in corporate and senior executive roles and was the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission. As the COO, Marcia had responsibility for providing the Australian Trade and Investment Commission globally across a broad spectrum of corporate services. These services encompassed Finance, IT, HR, Legal, Property and Procurement.  Marcia has a Bachelor of Education, a Graduate Diploma as a Resource Educator and Masters’ level qualifications in Financial Management from the Australian National University. Marcia is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is a Director of The Hospital Research Foundation Group – Parkinson’s ACT and Chair of their Board of Governors.

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Jen Harkness

Director

Jen Harkness

Jen was diagnosed in 2014, with Young Onset Parkinson’s at age of 48.  Jen has spent the past 24 years working in the Public Service, with the last 16 years prominently in the international field, working within the Pacific Region as a program manager. 

Since her diagnosis she has worked tirelessly advocating and raising awareness for Parkinson’s with a particular passion for those with young onset Parkinson’s.  She continues to dedicate her volunteer time to improve support and resources for people and families living with Parkinson’s.  

Previously Jen was a member of the Committee for Parkinson’s ACT and then sat on the Board of Governors for The Hospital Research Foundation – Parkinson’s ACT.  Jen is the Coordinator for their Young Onset support group. 

Sally Macdonald

Sally Macdonald

Director

Sally Macdonald

Sally is a Sydney-based CEO, strategic advisor and investor with experience in retail, fashion, online and biotechnology. She chairs Carla Zampatti, the much-loved Australian women’s apparel business, serves as a non-executive director at Symbyx Biome, and advises early-stage consumer businesses. Previously, Sally was CEO of Oroton Group (2006-2013), overseeing a turnaround of the then-listed group which included Oroton and Ralph Lauren Australia and NZ. Sally was also CEO of Big W department stores in 2016 and her early career was as a management consultant at BCG in Melbourne and New York. Sally holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Commerce from the University of Melbourne, where she received an Alumni of Distinction award in 2010. Sally has a personal connection to Parkinson’s through her Father and Grandfather.

We partner and collaborate with these organisations and alliances to advocate for people living with Parkinson’s

Partner organisations & alliances

Accessible Product Design Alliance (APDA)

arthritisaustralia.com.au/accessible-design-division/accessible-product-design-alliance/

Assistive Technologies for All (ATFA)

assistivetechforall.org.au

Australasian Neuroscience Nurses Association (ANNA)

anna.asn.au

Australia New Zealand Academy of Special Needs Dentistry (ANZASND)

anzasnd.org

Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)

aasw.asn.au

Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO)

afdo.org.au

Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA)

ahha.asn.au

Australian Patient Advocacy Alliance (APAA)

patientadvocacyalliance.org.au

Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHFA)

chf.org.au

Continence Foundation of Australia (CFA)

continence.org.au

Dietitians Australia

dietitiansaustralia.org.au

Exercise & Sport Science Australia

essa.org.au

European Parkinson’s Disease Association

parkinsonseurope.org

Global Alliance to End Parkinson’s Disease

worldparkinsonsday.com

Invisible Disabilities Australia

invisibledisabilities.com.au

Medicines Australia

Movement Disorders Society of Australia and New Zealand

mdsa.org.au

My Moves Matter

mymovesmatter.com

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)

ndis.gov.au

Neurological Alliance Australia (NAA)

neurologicalalliance.org.au

Occupational Therapy Australia (OT Aus)

otaus.com.au

Palliative Care Australia

palliativecare.org.au

Parkinson’s Foundation

parkinson.org

Parkinson’s New Zealand

parkinsons.org.nz

Patient Voice Initiative

patientvoiceinitiative.org

PD Avengers

pdavengers.com

Pharmacy Guild Australia

guild.org.au

Shake It Up Australia Foundation

shakeitup.org.au

Speech Pathology Australia

speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

World Parkinson’s Coalition

worldpdcoalition.org