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Our Leaders

Mercy Community is run by an exceptional group of individuals who ensure our services remain relevant and responsive to your needs.

Our Executive Team

Tracie Beveridge

Chief Financial Officer

Janet Rhodes

Chief Operating Officer

Melanie Jones

General Counsel and Company Secretary

Our Board

Rowena current image_SEPT2021

Rowena McNally

Chair

Jeff-Carlos

Jeff Carlos

Deputy Chair

Steve-Hambleton

Dr Steve Hambleton

Non-Executive Director

Dr Esme Strydom

Dr Esme Strydom

Non-Executive Director

Patrick-O'Sullivan

Patrick O’Sullivan

Non-Executive Director
Chris-Foley

Dr Christine Foley

Non-Executive Director

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Michael Keir

Non-Executive Director

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Suzanne Greenwood

Non-Executive Director

Our Governance

Mercy Community (the ministry) is governed under the sponsorship of Mercy Partners.  The ministry was entrusted to Mercy Partners by the Sisters of Mercy Brisbane Congregation in April 2018. 

The Mercy Partners ministerial Public Juridic Person (PJP) assumes the role of the canonical sponsor of Mercy Community.  The civil relationship is that Mercy Partners Limited is the sole Member of the organisation that operates the Ministry.  The day-to-day operations of Mercy Community remain under the governance of the Mercy Community board.  

Mercy Partners commits to ensure that their ministries flourish as a Catholic ministry that contributes to the emergence of a world where the healing, liberating and life-giving mercy of God is experienced.

Rowena current image_SEPT2021

Rowena McNally

Chair

Rowena has over 25 years’ experience as a board director and board chair. She has served on a number of national and regional boards across a broad range of areas including Catholic and government hospitals, health and aged care services, disability, water and energy infrastructure and professional membership organisations.

Rowena has held several roles with Church entities including as a past Chair of Catholic Health Australia. She currently serves on the Archdiocesan Development Fund board, and as the Chair of Sugar Research Limited, Isa Rodeo Ltd and the Advisory Council to the Queensland Energy and Water Ombudsman.

Rowena holds a Bachelor of Law and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute for Company Directors, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Managers and Leaders and a Fellow of the Resolution Institute.

Qualifications: LLB, FAICD, FAIML, FRI

Jeff-Carlos

Jeff Carlos

Deputy Chair

Jeff joined the Board as Deputy Chair on 24 February 2021.  He is also chair of the Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee.

Jeff has over 40 years’ experience as a Chartered Accountant and has 20 years’ experience as board director and chair.  He has worked in public practice consulting to corporate and family groups in the areas of Audit, Taxation, Superannuation and Business Planning.

Directorships held include both profit and non-for-profit companies including mission-based organisations.  Currently Jeff also sits on the finance council for The Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for The Diocese of Rockhampton, the body of governance for Central Queensland Catholic Education schools and colleges, Catholicare, Diocesan Development Fund and the Diocese and Parishes.  Jeff is also a member of the Queensland Bishops Provincial Salary Remuneration Committee.

Jeff has previously been a Registered Company Auditor and Superannuation Fund Auditor and has an extensive experience on finance, audit and risk committees as well as interacting with many such committees in the capacity of external auditor.

Qualifications: BBus, FCA, FCPA, MAICD

Steve-Hambleton

Dr Steve Hambleton

Non-Executive Director

Dr Steve Hambleton is a General Practitioner in Brisbane.  He is a former State and Federal President of the Australian Medical Association and is a Specialist Advisor to the Australian Digital Health Agency and Chairs their Clinical Governance Committee. He also serves on the boards of Avant Mutual Group Limited as Chair and the Digital Health CRC. He is a former President of the AMA Queensland Foundation and served as an independent director of the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council for two years.  He is Chair of the Service Delivery and Quality Committee.

Qualifications: MBBS, FAMA, FRACGP(hon), FAICD.

Dr Esme Strydom

Dr Esme Strydom

Non-Executive Director

Dr Esme Strydom is an experienced people, culture and governance leader with more than 25 years’ senior leadership experience across the health and education sectors. She currently serves as Executive Director, People & Culture, where she leads enterprise-wide strategy spanning workforce capability, culture, leadership, governance, wellbeing, industrial relations and organisational development.

Esme brings a strong alignment to mission-driven and community-centred organisations, underpinned by her academic background, which includes a Doctorate in Healthcare Mission Leadership and a Master of Business Administration. Her qualifications reflect a deep commitment to ethical leadership, stewardship, and values-based decision-making in complex human-centred systems.

A Fellow of the Australian HR Institute and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Esme combines contemporary governance expertise with practical executive experience. She is recognised for her ability to foster psychologically safe, inclusive and high-performing cultures while ensuring compliance, risk management and long-term organisational sustainability.

Esme’s contribution at board level is informed by her strong strategic insight, her understanding of workforce and system risk, and her passion for ensuring that people, dignity and purpose remain at the heart of organisational success. She brings a thoughtful, collaborative and mission-aligned perspective to her role as a Director of Mercy Community, supporting the organisation to deliver meaningful outcomes for the communities it serves.

Qualifications: BComm (UNISA), MHealth Care (LUC), MBA (USQ), D.HCML (LUC), FAHRI, GAICD, GCert MigLaw.

Patrick-O'Sullivan

Patrick O’Sullivan

Non-Executive Director

Patrick O’Sullivan is the Corporate Services Executive at Brisbane Catholic Education, a position he has held since March 2020. Patrick is a seasoned senior executive with a strong background in financial services, asset and infrastructure services, procurement services and governance. As the Corporate Services Executive, Patrick is responsible for the people and culture, asset and infrastructure, financial services and office services functions.

Previously, Patrick worked with St Vincent’s Health Australia in the roles of Executive General Manager, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer for St Vincent’s Care Services (the aged care arm of St Vincent’s Health Australia). In this role he stewarded significant transformative changes to the delivery of consumer-based aged care, focusing on streamlining service delivery, strengthening governance and maintaining a culture of continuous improvement.

He has been instrumental in establishing new models and frameworks for the provision of health and aged care support services embedded in a culture of excellence and integrity.

Patrick holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Queensland and is a member of the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

He has been a significant contributor to several Archdiocesan Committees in Brisbane, including Centacare. He has also previously held a number of governance roles including Councillor on the Mercy Partners Council and a Director of Mt St Michael’s College Ltd.

Qualifications: BCOM, ACA  

Chris-Foley

Dr Christine Foley

Non-Executive Director

Christine (Chris) has worked in the healthcare industry since 1985.  She is a hospital trained Registered nurse and holds an undergraduate degree in nursing and a range of post graduate qualifications in management, built environment and a Doctor of Philosophy. Chris is currently appointed as the Director of Clinical Governance for health, community and residential aged care in Mater Health.

Chris’s career has seen her work across all sectors of health from public to private, metropolitan and regional, community services and aged care.  She has held state and national Executive roles with a strong focus on Clinical Governance, quality and risk management, clinical care, consumer partnerships, clinical deterioration and effective communication.

Chris has previously been appointed as a Member of the Queensland Board of the Australian Medical Board and a Member of the Board for Wesley Medical Research. She has developed a strong interest in translational research in health and aged care and completed research at doctoral level on the relationship nurses have with policy in their everyday work.

Chris has a deep connection with the philosophy of servant leadership and has a proven track record in public sector and catholic health and aged care governance in developing and sustaining a strong and positive workplace culture where respect, transparency and quality of service thrive.

Christine also holds a:

  • Doctor of Philosophy (Nursing)
  • Masters in Health Management
  • Bachelor of Nursing
  • Graduate Diploma in Landscape Architecture
  • General Nursing Certificate
  • Post Basic Certificate in Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation 
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Michael Keir

Non-Executive Director

With over 25 years experience, Michael Keir (Keir Steele Waldon Lawyers) practices law primarily in the areas of rural, commercial, corporate, mergers and acquisitions, health industry and property development.

Advising agribusiness operators, local governments, government owned corporations, corporate and family businesses across a range of industries requires an appreciation of the commercial reality involved in each particular transaction, which Michael’s business sense allows him.

He has quality experience in the beef, cane, aquaculture, aviation, energy, solar, marine, mining, quarry, health, probity, property and construction industries and sits on several private advisory boards in that regard.

Qualifications: LLB(Hons), BCOM

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Suzanne Greenwood

Non-Executive Director

Suzanne is a highly experienced board director, chairperson and CEO. With Masters level qualifications in Law (UQ) and Business (QUT), Suzanne’s experience as a Catholic professional includes roles as General Counsel for the St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland, as Corporate Counsel for St Vincent’s Health Australia in Queensland and as a Director of the Good Sams Foundation. She was a Director of the Board of the Archdiocesan Development Fund, Chaired the Women’s Resource Advisory Commission and was a member of the Archbishop’s Women’s Taskforce all for the Archdiocese of Brisbane before relocating to Canberra to take on the role of National Chief Executive for Catholic Health Australia for 5 years.

Whilst at Catholic Health Australia, Suzanne was an Australian representative to the International Confederation of Catholic Health Care Institutes (Vatican), an Ex Officio member of the Bishops Commission for Social Justice of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and a member of the Australian Catholic Housing Alliance and the Catholic Alliance for International Development. She is currently a member of the Australian Chapter of Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Fondazione (a Pontifical foundation).

Most recently, Suzanne was Executive Director for The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and is a Councillor of the ACT Chapter of the Australian College of Health Service Managers.

She is a fierce advocate for improved health, wellness and social outcomes for all Australians and was named Australia’s Healthcare, Pharmaceutical and Biotech Lawyer of the Year in 2017. Suzanne is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Managers and Leaders.

Suzanne joined the Board on 1 July 2024 and is also a member of the People, Culture and Safety Committee.

Qualifications: EMBA, LLM, LLB, FIML, GAICD, MCHSM, MICDA

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