OUR BOARD

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Pat Anderson AO is a Co-Patron of the First Nations Eye Health Alliance.
 

Aunty Pat is an Alyawarre woman known nationally and internationally as an advocate for the rights and health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including community development, policy formation and research ethics. 

Aunty Pat was Co-Chair of the Referendum Council, the Co-Chair of the Uluru Dialogue, and a key advocate for the YES vote for the Voice to Parliament 2023 Australian Referendum.

Trevor Buzzacott OAM is a Co-Patron of the First Nations Eye Health Alliance. 

Uncle Trevor is an Arabana man who worked closely with the late Professor Fred Hollows on the delivery of the National Trachoma program between 1976-1978. 

The program screened and treated over 100,000 people across Australia for eye disease including trachoma.

Lose is a Wiradjuri and South Pacific Islander woman and is the Chief Executive Officer for the First Nations Eye Health Alliance. 

Lose Fonua is an experienced public and population health leader with more than two decades of work across government, academic, and not-for-profit sectors. Her career has focused on driving culturally safe, equitable health system reform for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Medicine), formal Leadership qualifications, and is currently completing a Master of Public Health. Lose key passion is to see all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people healthy and thriving. 

Before establishing the First Nations Eye Health Alliance, Lose served as Associate Director at the Minum Barreng: Indigenous Eye Health Unit, where she helped implement the national Roadmap to Close the Gap for Vision. She is also a co-author of the nationally endorsed Vision 2030 Report, launched by the Minister for Indigenous Australians.

Lose is Chief Investigator of the Lowitja Institute–funded Ngaaminya Project, a First Nations–led study exploring community expectations of children’s eye health to inform improved care pathways and service models. Her academic contributions include peer-reviewed publications in the Medical Journal of Australia and BMC Primary Care, as well as leadership in developing national ear and hearing check guidelines for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Shaun Tatipata is a Ngarrindjeri and Wuthathi man, and the Chair of the First Nations Eye Health Alliance Board.

Shaun’s professional career has been devoted to advancing the health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Having trained as an Aboriginal Health Practitioner (AHP), Shaun gained extensive experience delivering Primary Health Care and designing and implementing outreach programs in both the Aboriginal Community Controlled Sector and with state/territory Governments. It was through these roles that Shaun developed a passion for preserving and restoring sight and set out to specialise in delivering culturally safe eye care services, combining the unique skill set and cultural brokerage role of an AHP with the clinical expertise of Optometrists and Ophthalmologists. This passion led Shaun to lead the first consultation with Mob on eye care needs in our communities on Larrakia Country in 2022, and as a result, he co-authored the V2030 Report and helped to establish FNEHA. 

Throughout his career, Shaun has held various senior leadership roles, including overseeing The Fred Hollows Foundation’s programming efforts across Australia. He is now engaged with both the University of Melbourne and the University of Western Australia as an Academic Specialist and Senior Lecturer. He is a Board Director of IAHA NT Workforce Development Ltd. In 2020, Shaun established the Deadly Vision Centre in Darwin. As the first Aboriginal-owned and led Optical and Eye Care provider in Australia, the Deadly Vision Centre seeks to address the unmet eye care needs of Aboriginal communities across the Top End of the Northern Territory. 

Secretary of the First Nations Eye Health Alliance, Nick Wilson, is a proud Ngarrindjeri man originally from South Australia. Nick now lives and works on Larrakia Country in Darwin. 

Nick studied graphic design at university and has a keen interest in all things creative. Nick has worked in Indigenous health for over 13 years and has experience working the community-controlled, state government and tertiary education sectors. Nick has also worked for many years in health promotion and environmental health. 

Before his time at the First Nations Eye Health Alliance, Nick served as Associate Director at the Minum Barreng: Indigenous Eye Health Unit, where he conducted strategic research, health promotion and through the trachoma efforts, supported the nationwide elimination of Trachoma. 

Nick is the Assistant Director of Northern Territory (NT) Operations at Indigenous Allied Health Australia, NT, improving education, training, employment, and health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families, and communities across the NT. 

A/Professor Kris Rallah-Baker is a Yuggera/Warrongo/Wiradjuri man and Australia’s First and currently only Indigenous Ophthalmologist. 

Kris holds an Adjunct Associate Professorship with QUT, is an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, founding member and former President of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association, former AMA Federal Councillor, Director on the Federal Board of the Royal Flying Doctors Service, technical advisor to the Fred Hollows Foundation, Chair of the Vision2020 Indigenous Committee, a Zeiss Key Opinion Leader, Director on the Board of the Nova Peris Foundation and Director/Owner of Sunshine Coast Ophthalmologists at Noosa and Nambour

Sara Carrison is a Ngarrindjeri woman who has found passion in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who are studying or aspiring to study optometry. Sara firmly believes that creating a culturally safe environment in optometry education and the workforce is essential for the success and well-being of First Nations peoples, and will ultimately contribute to improved eye health outcomes.

In her current role as an Associate Lecturer at Flinders University, Sara has the privilege of directly supporting students through both teaching and involvement in the A Place for Mob and A Place for Me in Optometry project. Sara is also a dedicated optometrist with astrong commitment to improving eye health outcomes. 

Sara's roles on the Policy and Education Committee and within the College of Nursing and Health Sciences’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collective enable her to advocate for policy changes that will

foster a safer and more inclusive environment for future generations.

Tom is an Ophthalmology Registrar at the RVEEH. A proud Gangalu man from Central Queensland, he grew up on Gooreng Gooreng country in Gladstone. 

His career as a health professional started as a pharmacist, where he spent 5 years as a Pharmacy Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force prior to returning to study his MD/MPH at the University of Melbourne. He completed his junior doctor years at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, along with some locum work, before returning to Melbourne to commence his specialist training. Tom has sat on the board of directors for the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA) and keeps his passion for First Nations Health central to his career and would one day love to move back to the Northern Territory to work, having lived and worked there twice over his career and studies to date. 

 
Tom is a big advocate for junior doctors and doctors in training working conditions and aims to keep a healthy work-life balance. 

Tom strongly supports harm minimisation policy and is a passionate diversity and LGBTIQA+ community member and advocate.

Lauren Hutchinson is a Murrawarri woman and optometrist. Lauren was born and raised on Wiradjuri country in the central west of NSW. 

She graduated from her Bachelor of Vision Science/Master of Optometry from QUT in 2017, following which, she returned to the central west, now residing back on the beautiful lands of the Wiradjuri people once again. Lauren has worked as an optometrist both in private practice and within the community-controlled sector. Lauren’s passions are in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, rural and remote and paediatric health and is committed to advocating for improving outcomes for her people in these spaces. 

In her spare time you can find Lauren spending time with her beautiful nieces and nephews, on a hockey field or fishing on the Galari (Lachlan River).

Telaine Cowdrey is a dedicated Aboriginal and South Pacific Islander professional with a robust background in social justice, advocacy, and policy reform. With over a decade of leadership experience, Telaine has worked across the not-for-profit, education, and healthcare sectors, fostering meaningful partnerships and driving systemic change to benefit First Nations communities.

In her current role as Senior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Advisor at The Fred Hollows Foundation, Telaine plays a pivotal role in advocating for equitable healthcare access for First Peoples. She ensures that the Foundation remains publicly accountable as an ally organisation, committed to healthcare reform through the lenses of social justice and self-determination. 

Telaine’s leadership style is defined by authenticity, humour, empathy, and strategic thinking. Her impressive career includes roles with the Reach Foundation, Hester Hornbrook Academy, Elizabeth Morgan House, and Margaret Tucker Hostel for Aboriginal Girls, where she has led initiatives that challenge colonial systems and prioritise community-led solutions. Her expertise extends to policy development, stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, and community-driven advocacy. 

Telaine is also a sought-after MC and keynote speaker, sharing her insights at national and international conferences on First Peoples' healthcare, human-centred design, and systemic reform. Proudly Aboriginal and South Pacific Islander, Telaine is deeply committed to dismantling barriers, amplifying community voices, and ensuring that First Peoples have access to good sight and culturally safe healthcare.