Our board of directors and leadership team

As outlined in our Constitution we are governed by a Board of Directors elected by members.

Meet our board of directors

Alan Ashford Chairman A member of Spinal Life Australia for more than 45 years, Alan is retired after 40 years in the government-owned electricity supply industry. Alan has a Bachelor of Science and has had various roles in IT from computer programmer to business analyst. He is particularly interested in access issues and community attitudes to disability.
Gyl Stacey Deputy Chair Gyl is an IT executive who has many years of experience as a senior manager in Australia and the UK. She has been recognised for her ability to drive innovation, in the way services are both delivered and used. Over a period of more than 10 years with Queensland Police Service, Gyl built an award-winning capability that helped drive a transformation in the way Police use technology to fight crime and protect public safety. Before that, she was extensively involved in a series of nationally-driven Modernising Government initiatives designed to improve the quality of Scotland’s public services. Gyl has a Bachelor of Business, a Graduate Certificate in Management and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, as well as having many years of experience in corporate governance and in managing stakeholder relationships across government and the private sector.
Des Ryan OAM Des has been a continuing Board member of Spinal Life Australia since 1995, and President from 1999 – 2007. He led the transition from a community-based Board to a mixed Board with a diverse skill set from the business and corporate sector. He has more than a 20-year history with not-for-profit Boards providing services to people with disabilities and training in the Central Queensland region. His database development business, Abled Disabled, has been consulting throughout QLD since the early 1990s and he has been in continuing employment for the same period with Community Solutions supporting people with disabilities and now as Community Relations Ambassador. Des holds an Associate Diploma in Information Technology and Community Services Work. He was a recipient of the Rotary Paul Harris Fellow in 2000 and 2012, a Companion of Central Queensland University and a recipient of the Order of Australia Medal 2013 for service to people with disabilities.
Mark Dillman Mark has an extensive background in law and is a Principal at Macpherson+Kelley Lawyers where he practices primarily in commercial litigation and commercial advisory work. Mark also has experience in advising the not-for-profit sector and in particular, churches, church and community owned hospitals and aged care facilities and the RSL. He has been a member of the Board of the Wesley Hospital, served on its Finance Committee, and has served on the Ethics Committee for Blue Care.
Dr Ben Lawson Ben has over 9 years’ experience working for Queensland Government in natural resources policy. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) and a Doctorate of Philosophy from the University of Queensland. Ben brings significant skills in policy development and implementation, as well as lived experience in the challenges of navigating education, work, parenthood, and the health system with a significant physical disability. Ben has been a member and client of Spinal Life Australia since the late 1990’s.
Grant Devine Grant is an experienced business professional with a financial services career spanning over 30 years with listed and member-owned organisations. Grant was Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Police Credit Union Limited (now QBANK) and was instrumental in its change to be a member-owned Bank in July 2016. He also has more than six years’ Board experience with payment services company Indue Limited, holding Committee Chair and Deputy Chairman positions. Grant’s academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Business, Master of Business Administration and a Graduate Diploma from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Julie Laughton Julie is a finance professional with more than 25 years’ experience across commercial, government and community sectors both within Australia and internationally. Julie is the Director and Principal of a CPA practice which provides senior financial and investment management services. Through her career and practice Julie has provided significant strategic and financial support to organisations through periods of growth and transformation. Julie understands the important priorities of community sector organisations, their members and staff from working directly within organisations as a finance executive and as an active Board member. Julie holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland and has been a member of CPA Australia for over 20 years.

Meet our executive management team

Michael Powell Chief Executive Officer Michael has held senior management and leadership roles with five major non-profit organisations in the aged and community sector, including as Chief Executive Officer of Tasmania’s largest aged care provider. An experienced business leader, his success lies in developing growth strategies for organisations as they move towards greater client engagement, involvement and empowerment in all aspects of service delivery. A qualified accountant, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Accountants and Australian Institute of Management, and Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has also held a range of directorships with community and charitable organisations.
Pauline Davis Executive Manager, Strategic Service Development Pauline has extensive experience in human service delivery agencies including child safety, youth justice and most recently disability services. Prior to commencing with Spinal Life Australia, Pauline was the General Manager, Statewide Service Delivery for Disability Services Queensland. She has undertaken private consulting work involving a review of the Community Visitor Program for the Office of the Public Advocate, Queensland, a review of access pathways and assessment processes for the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services and a project working with regional staff during a change management process within the Hunter Region of the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, New South Wales.
Frances Porter Executive Manager, Business Development After beginning her nursing career in Princess Alexandra’s Spinal Injuries Unit Frances decided to move into a community-based job, which is how she began work with Spinal Life Australia in 1988. Frances gained a Masters in Human Services which gave her the grounding to further develop the services of the organisation. She has led the organisation’s client and member services areas and has been involved in developing new services to meet the needs of members and clients. In recent years Frances has focused her energies on building sustainable commercial businesses to move the organisation into the future.
Natalie von Snarski Executive Manager, Corporate Services and CFO Natalie is responsible for the oversight of the strategic and operational Finance, HR and IT activities of Spinal Life Australia including its people and systems. She is a Chartered Accountant with over 15 years of experience in managing the senior accounting function and has extensive experience leading finance teams in the mining and resource industry. Natalie works well in challenging and deadline driven environments that require high degrees of accuracy.