Governance

Mr Jim McGowan AM was appointed Chair of the Metro North Hospital and Health Board on 18 May 2020. Mr McGowan was previously Chair of the South West Hospital and Health Board and has significant high level public administration experience, specialising in the areas of governance, accountability, service delivery improvement and performance management. Mr McGowan is a former Director-General of the Department of Community Safety, Department of Emergency Services and Department of Justice and Attorney General. Since 2012, he has held the position of Adjunct Professor, School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University and in 2015 led the review of the Queensland Industrial Relations system and related legislation for the Queensland Government. He has led the Taskforce on Occupational Violence for Queensland’s Hospital and Health Services which reported in June 2016, and in 2019 was a member of the Expert Panel to provide advice to the Minister for Health regarding Queensland Health’s Governance Framework. On Australia Day, 2012, Mr McGowan was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) “for service to public administration in Queensland through the development and implementation of public sector management and training reforms and to improved service delivery”. As Director-General, Department of Community Safety and Deputy Chair of the State Disaster Management Group, Mr McGowan has led key response agencies and co-ordinated the response to a range of disasters which had serious and widespread impacts across Queensland and the nation. He holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Diploma of Education from The University of Queensland and is also a Commissioner of Declarations.

Dr Melissa (Meg) Cairns is a Specialist General Practitioner with over 25 years’ experience, currently practising in Ashgrove. Prior to that, she worked in Queensland Health Hospitals in Brisbane and Maryborough, and in General Practice in Brisbane and Toowoomba. Dr Cairns is also a GP Liaison Officer with Metro North Health, Chair of the Brisbane North Primary Health Network (PHN) Clinicians’ Advisory Group and a Member of the Brisbane North PHN Clinical Council. Meg is a member of a number of Metro North Health and Queensland Health committees including the Queensland Maternal and Perinatal Quality Council, and the Queensland Paediatric Quality Council. Meg is passionate about improving patient care through collaboration across health sectors and through effective communication and education. Dr Cairns holds a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Queensland, is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ms Nera Komaric has worked in the community and health sectors nationally and internationally for 25 years. Ms Komaric is an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the School of Clinical Medicine – Primary Care Clinical Unit, at The University of Queensland. She is a co-founder and Director of World Wellness Group, a primary health care social enterprise with its vision to create health equity by delivering health and wellness services in the system, while working on the system. Her former roles have included Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (CALD) Chronic Disease statewide program manager during which she has been instrumental in developing new and innovative strategies in chronic disease management for CALD population. Recently she was a Croatian Government Focal Point in the European Migration Network. Before that Ms Komaric was researching and consulting with international and national authorities on combating trafficking in human beings especially for sexual exploitation for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). She also spent many years working with newly arrived migrants and refugees. Ms Komaric has a background in law, primary health care, public health and Health research. In her 30 year career she has been involved in the design and delivery of services, research and evaluation projects in areas covering CALD health, integrated CALD models of health care, chronic disease prevention and management, and health services research. Her main interests are in social justice and translating evidence into practice with a special focus on vulnerable populations.

Jennifer’s medical career spans more than 35 years in primary care as a general practitioner, as well as roles in medical education (UQ Faculty of Medicine), clinical research (Wesley Medical Research), and medical reporting (Channel 9). She continues to serve as Patron of The University of Queensland Medical Society. Jen has a special interest in leadership and management, arising from post-graduate study at UQ and QUT Business Schools, and experience working as the Academic Lead for the UQ Medical Leadership Program. She has served on the Board of Arthritis Queensland since 2016.

With an extensive career in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and human service delivery, Jody is an advocate for improving service accessibility for First Nations communities and has worked nationally and internationally in relation to traditional birthing practices. Jody is a Yugambeh person with traditional ties to the country between Logan and Tweed Rivers. Since attaining her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Gender Studies, Jody embarked on her career in health and human service delivery. Jody has a particular focus in child protection and health, working in several senior positions in both community and government sector. Most recently Jody was a member of the National Aged Care Sector Committee. She has worked for the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council, Apunipima Cape York Health Council and the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health. Jody has been on various Boards including non-government organisations and Hearing Australia – a corporate government entity. From 2016 to 2022, Jody was the Chief Executive Officer at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane which is a large diverse health, early childhood education, youth housing and aged care service provider.

Mark has over 30 years’ of experience in the social services sector having worked in senior executive, CEO and Board roles with respected organisations in Queensland. He has strong leadership, corporate governance, finance and management experience and skills. Mark held chief executive officer roles with Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) from 2011 to 2020 and Spinal Life Australia from 1999 till 2011. During this time he worked closely with government, business, the community service sector and the broader community resulting in significantly improved outcomes for the people each organisation serves. His focus is creating the best environment possible for services, government and the community to meet the needs of people experiencing poverty and disadvantage to achieve their potential. Early in Mark’s career he worked as an accountant for a chartered accounting firm and statutory authority, and held the role of corporate services manager for a community organisation. This provided him with strong financial and administrative skills and experience. Along with this Board role Mark provides advice and support to community and corporate clients. He has previously held positions on the Queensland Plan Ambassador Council and numerous national and state committees across the social services sector. He is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has a Bachelor Degree in Accountancy and Graduate Diploma of Community Sector Management.

Libby has more than 20 years of experience and expertise in senior health leadership roles. She has a track record in managing the strategic, operational and business operations of a number of organisations within the not-for-profit sector. Her particular expertise includes stakeholder engagement and management, project management, policy development and analysis, partnership development and supporting system reforms and health system improvement. As CEO of Brisbane North PHN, Libby and her team support clinicians and communities across Brisbane’s northern suburbs, Moreton Bay Regional Council and parts of Somerset Regional Council.