ConneXtions is fortunate to have a highly qualified, volunteer Board of Directors who support all areas of the organisation to run effectively. Our not-for-profit organisation is proud to have the upmost integrity and governance practices to retain its reputation as one of the most innovative players in this sector.
Toni Reeves
Founder & Executive Director, BSSci, GradDipSW, GradDipEd, MEd.
Toni is a founding Director of ConneXtions, which was established in 2017 after a two-year consultation process with individuals and families in North East Victoria and Southern NSW interested in supporting people with disabilities to live a "good life".
Toni supports self–direction and self-management and in building people’s knowledge and capacity to live ordinary and typical lives in communities of their choice. She has been actively involved in shaping the disability landscape since her son was born in 1998 and has supported the establishment and development of a range of services, including early intervention, learning and development, and capacity building projects across Victoria and NSW.
Her ongoing learning comes from the people she meets. She maintains her motivation and inspiration by being actively involved as a Director of Belonging Matters, a social inclusion organisation based in Melbourne.
Toni believes that “the only way to truly alter the disability landscape is one person at a time; through thoughtful and meaningful engagement, participation, and connections with people in our community”.
This commitment to community inclusion and social justice has led to over 30years of work in community development, research, education and training, service management and service development, within a range of organisations including, local and state government, not-for-profit , community service organisations, community health, education and training organisations and industry peak bodies , including VIC SERV and the Centre of Excellence in Child and Family Welfare.
Toni has led an organisational development and consultancy company and was contracted by the Community Services and Health Industry Training Board to project manage, design, develop and roll out Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Disability Quality Framework in Victoria between 2009–2012 and provided ongoing quality management and organisational consultancy across Victoria, NSW, and the ACT for over six years before returning to North East Victoria to live and shape her own son’s transition to life after school.
Ann Wearne
Chair
Ann is the Chair of the ConneXtions board and as well as having lived experience of providing support to a family member with a disability, she has led a range of small to large teams over her extensive career in disability and community health.
Ann was a public servant in various iterations of health and human services over 20 years. She worked in policy development and managed direct services mainly in disability.
Ann moved to community health in 2005, and enjoyed 10 years as Chief Executive Officer of Ovens and King Community Health Service. During this time, she led a team of committed and passionate staff to provide health and community services across central Hume.
As well as ConneXtions, Ann has served on various boards including youth, education and more recently, Northeast Health Wangaratta. Participating in governance has provided Ann with wonderful insight into the complexity of managing health and community services. She is now delighted to assist in the governance of ConneXtions, which she says is a fine disability agency which focuses on ensuring people with a disability live the life they want with the support that meets their needs.
Terri Briese
Founder and Director of Finance
Terri Briese is a founding Director of ConneXtions. She is a Certified Practicing Accountant with more than 20 years of experience in taxation, accounting and business services. Terri is also a Director of Briese Janissen and Associates.
Terri is our financial management expert who is both well equipped and skilled to support ConneXtions to realise both its financial and strategic goals. Her experience, expertise and commitment to social justice and local services has made her an invaluable member of our board.
Terri has strongly supported ConneXtions in the start-up phase, and in the establishment of a robust financial management and business planning process. Terri has worked to ensure that the organisation has strong financial leadership so that it can establish itself, grow, as well as realising its social outcomes.
Terri oversees and manages the financial intermediary and plan management processes and practices and supervises our financial management team, as well as the organisation’s overall budget, financial management and compliance activities.
Phil Hart
Director
Phil has more than 40 years of experience in a variety of roles including fresh food manufacturing, catering, manufacturing, disability and aged care. Phil also has over 10 years of experience teaching the Certificate IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma of Occupational Health and Safety.
For the past 10 years, Phil has been designing and delivering training and businesses with OHS solutions. Phil believes that safety is about good management and focused leadership. He advocates that the objective of effective and efficient occupation health and safety is to help people to be better leaders and that effective workplace health and wellbeing is about developing a cadre of people who see safety as a way of life, not a process.
Phil states that occupational health and safety is about going back to the basics of how good people do their work, and then apply that framework of an appropriate safety process as an overlay. It’s about creating a questioning attitude, a rigorous and prudent approach, and necessary communication to ensure all aspects of an effective safety culture is developed in individuals.
Phil supports ConneXtions in the development and implementation of sound OHS, risk and quality management and is a valued member of the ConneXtions team.
Jan Lang
Director
Jan has more than 40 years of experience in the health sector with formal qualifications in community development and social work.
Jan was the Operations Manager at Ovens and King Community Health Service for eight years to 2014, and following a merger with Gateway Health, worked as the Director of Clinical Services for 12 months. Prior to that she worked for the Hume Region Parent Education Service and at the former mental health facility, Mayday Hills in Beechworth.
In recent years, Jan has undertaken a number of projects involving obstetric and maternity services at Yarrawonga Health and Albury Wodonga Health, as well as building partnerships between the hospital and general practitioners in the Yarrawonga area. Jan also oversaw a project for Beechworth Health Service focusing on the four evidence-based elements of high-quality aged care, known as the 4Ms (what matters, medication, mind and mobility).
Now retired, Jan volunteers as a member of the clinical governance committee at Beechworth Health, and as a Director of ConneXtions where she has special interests in human resources, workforce planning, and learning and development.
Eric Nigsch
Director
Dennis Johnson
Director
