Board & Governance

Tony has held a number of senior executive positions during his career namely, Principal Cabinet Officer, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Principal Consultant, Government Management Board, Director Corporate Services, Attorney-General’s Department, Commissioner for Consumer Affairs and Executive Director Office of Consumer and Business Affairs and Chief Executive Officer, City of Mitcham and recently as Executive Director, Institute of Public Administration Australia (SA Division). 

Assoc Professor Tim To is the Head of Unit at Southern Adelaide Palliative Services. He is the chair of the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN) End-of-Life Steering Committee, and the co-chair of the SALHN Comprehensive Care National Standards Committee. He is also a member of the SALHN Clinical Review Committee, SALHN Older Person’s Steering Committee and SALHN Challenging Behaviours Committee.

Helen is a retired palliative care nurse and experienced manager in a range of settings, her last role as Nurse Unit Manager at Laurel Hospice (Southern Adelaide Palliative Service). Her palliative care experiences have included Clinical Management role at Mary Potter Hospice and Director of Nursing/General Manager of Cabrini Palliative Care in Melbourne. Helen is a member of the SA Health EOLC Program Board, Deputy Chair of the Palliative Care South Australia Board and a valued member of the Palliative Care Australia Board. 

Kathy is the Nurse Unit Manager for Central Adelaide Palliative Care Service Community Team, having currently stepped out of this role to Project Lead the development of a Pathway to Palliative Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  Kathy has extensive experience in the field of Palliative Care, having worked with Central Adelaide Palliative Care Service for the past 14 years. During this time, she has developed a genuine interest in providing Palliative Care to the vulnerable populations that often have difficulty accessing services of the Specialist Palliative Care team.

David is a specialist in palliative medicine, working as Head of Unit at Northern Adelaide Palliative Service. He is a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Adelaide in the Discipline of Medicine. He is continually delighted in the passion for palliative care provision and improvement in South Australia.

Dr Mary Cossich is a specialist paediatric and palliative care physician and medical Head of Unit of the South Australian paediatric palliative care service. She has special interests in paediatric chronic pain and medical complexity. Mary is passionate about providing expert interdisciplinary care to all children and families experiencing life limiting illness across the life span from perinatal care through to young adulthood.

Shyla Mills is the CEO of Palliative Care South Australia, a peak body which supports end of life services, patients and their communities throughout South Australia. She is a palliative care nurse with over 16 years’ experience. Shyla’s clinical speciality was paediatric palliative care and has also worked as the Director of Nursing in aged care. She has also worked as National Program Manager for a commonwealth funded palliative care quality improvement program.

Shyla holds a Master of Palliative Care and a Master of Public Health and has a particular interest in public health palliative care, compassionate communities, continuous quality improvement, death literacy, arts in healthcare, and compassion literacy.

Shyla is a second generation western Buddhist. She has volunteered for FPMT since she 1996. Originally in a variety of roles at Buddha House (Adelaide), then as a Nurse at Sera Jhe and Kopan Monastery. Shyla then volunteered as the Assistant Director of FPMT Mongolia, which included working on the Enlightenment Experience Celebration 4 (EEC4). In 2006, Lama Zopa Rinpoche requested Shyla to establish and Direct Loving Kindness Peaceful Youth (LKPY) which she did until 2010 when she handed over the reins of LKPY and became a board member for the FDCW.

Joining as a volunteer at Daw House Hospice over 10 years ago, Maureen was approached to assist with fundraising activities that led to a Board appointment shortly after. She served as Deputy Chair for six years on the Board and served over three terms as Chair of the Laurel Palliative Care Foundation (formerly the Daw House Hospice Foundation).

Tim has worked within financial management in the industrial sector for many years with such companies as Brambles, Shell and Toyota, gathering an abundance of experience, which he’s now applying within his role as Treasurer. 

As a scientist, teaching and research academic veteran in the tertiary education sector with over 22 years’ experience, A/Prof Bastian oversees multiple, gran- funded, complex projects with numerous industry and research stakeholders and collaborators both nationally and internationally. She has conducted scientific research initially on gut health, cancer and wound healing and more recently in viticulture, wine, sensory science and consumer behaviour.

Briony joined THRF Group in 2010 and is responsible for overseeing income development activities for THRF Group and its charitable affiliates. In her role as Chief Operating Officer, The Hospital Research Foundation, she identifies and manages continuous improvement opportunities for the business, with a focus on fundraising activities such as direct mail, digital marketing, peer-to-peer fundraising and events. 

Fi joined our Communications Team in 2020, before moving to her current role as Senior Manager – Palliative Care early 2022. She is responsible for driving THRF Group’s contribution to improving statewide palliative care within SA through research, education and patient services, plus planning and delivering communication strategies with a focus on palliative care awareness. She also develops and promotes the LEAF Project/LifeCycles education around grief and loss literacy into South Australian schools.

Prior to joining THRF, Fi held various roles both within Australia and the UK at Qantas, Australian F1 Grand Prix Office, Associated Newspapers, Harper Collins, South Australian Tourism Commission, and lecturing at TafeSA. Her wealth of experience spans across travel, tourism, event management, business development, education, and non-profit industries, in addition to running her own freelance copywriting business.

Having completed a cycling tour in Cambodia and local triathlon to raise funds for palliative care, Fi is delighted to be part of the THRF Group’s support for this area of healthcare, thanks to personal experience. She feels privileged and proud being part of the THRF team, providing positive impact to everyday people and sharing their stories.

Away from work, Fi enjoys seeking out new adventures, travelling with her family, movies and theatre, or good food and wine with friends – keeping the balance through hiking and swimming!