Lara has been responsible for the design brief and roll-out of multiple metro, rural and remote ear health programs across Western Australia. She has extensive clinical experience in the field of paediatric Audiology with clinical interests in the areas of Aboriginal Children, diagnostic assessments for newborns and difficult to manage cases. Lara cofounded Earbus Foundation of WA (EFWA) and worked for 10 years as Director, Clinical Services & Outcomes. Since 2013 she has spent over 250 weeks in Aboriginal Communities providing Audiology Services and coordinating the transdisciplinary Earbus teams. This work has been in the East Pilbara, Goldfields, South West and Kimberley regions of WA. Whilst in Perth, Lara ran the Earbus Hear Today Clinic with emphasis on Infant Diagnostic Assessments. She became CEO at Earbus Foundation in April 2023 and was awarded the Dr Harry Blackmore Award in March 2025.

Barry has recently retired as President of the Deafness Council and was previously working on behalf of Deaf and Hearing Impaired people for over 30 years. Barry and his wife Pam are parents of a son, Michael , who was born with a profound hearing loss. Barry has been President of the Deafness Council for many years and was previously a Board member and Chairman of the Speech and Hearing Centre as well as the Chair of the Disability Services Commission.

John has been profoundly deaf since he was 12 years old. He successfully advocated for captioning of cinema, TV and live theatre. He is currently the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity.

Paul is a qualified teacher of the Deaf with extensive ESL experience and holds a master’s degree in educational and organisational leadership. Paul successfully ran a language school in Japan for 5 years and was Principal/ CEO of Telethon Speech & Hearing from 1998 to 2013.

He chaired the First Voice national alliance 2006-2008, served 10 years on the WA NGCS Committee, served as Chair of AISWA Special Needs Advisory Committee, is a member of the WA Deafness Council Executive Committee and the WA Newborn Hearing Screening Executive Committee 1997- 2012.

Paul co-founded Earbus Foundation WA and served as inaugural CEO from 2013 to 2023. He is now Executive Director of EFWA and Secretary of the EFWA Board of Directors.

Harvey Coates AO MS FRC'C FRACS DABO is a Paediatric Otolaryngologist and Clinical Professor at UWA, School of Paediatrics and Child Health and University Dept of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and Senior ENT Surgeon at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. He is Chairman of the Aboriginal Sub-committee of the Australian Society of Otolaryngology Head, Neck and Surgery. Amongst his many interests are newborn hearing screening and Indigenous children's ear disease.

Leanne spent 45 years in education, with 39 years in various areas of the Deafness sector. She has worked in the speech, audition and sign language areas of Deaf Education. She has worked in Early Intervention with babies, through to teaching Deaf adults English. Her last two appointments with the Education Department were as Access and Equity Coordinator state-wide in schools and Principal of Shenton College Deaf Education Centre. She worked for The University of Melbourne training Teachers of the Deaf for 12 years and was awarded a Fellow of the University of Melbourne during this time. She is also a past president of the Australian Association of Teachers of the Deaf (WA branch). Leanne began the Auslan/English Interpreters’ course at TAFE in 1987 and is now a Life Member of ASLIA. She has worked as an interpreter as well as being a Teacher of the Deaf. She was a Board Member of the WA Deaf Society (now known as Access Plus) for 23 years and was awarded Life Membership with that organisation. Concurrently she also worked as a volunteer for the Catholic Deaf for over 25 years. At present Leanne is involved in the Coaching sector within Education.

Jacob represents Cochlear Implant Club and Advisory Association, CICADA Club WA Inc. Jacob began with two behind the ear (BTE) hearing aids in mid-1982 and in March 2014 was subject to surgery and received a Cochlear Implant (CI), there may be a second CI sometime in the future. CICADA wanted a representative on the Deafness Council of WA as they have a broad range of concerns that can and have been raised at the Local, State and Federal Levels. Some important CICADA concerns relate to competition, consumer protection, NDIS, medical insurance and other protection for people on Disability and Old Age Pensions.

Rae Walker is a career STEM educator with extensive experience teaching in Secondary and University education. She currently works as an academic specialist and pastoral care support Teacher of the Deaf at Shenton College Deaf Education Centre. Rae was born hearing but an illness left her profoundly deaf as an adult. She also suffers from severe tinnutis and episodic vertigo. She has a Degree in Education – Science/Math Specialist, Diplomas in Human Resource Management and Auslan and is currently enrolled in a Masters of Education at the University of Western Australia. Her particular interests as a member of Deafness Council WA are inclusive education and access to services. In early 2025, Rae was elected as Chair of the Deafness Forum Australia.

Lynne van Olden has experience working in the private and not for profit sector in a variety of roles and has qualifications in environmental health science, social impact and business management. Lynne is passionate about social justice and feels privileged to work with Deafness Council WA. Since 2005, her role as Chief Executive Officer for the WA Foundation for Deaf Children has enabled her and a passionate and dedicated team to positively influence the lives of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, the Foundation has developed into an innovative, creative and highly competent organisation supporting families through their journey.

Meliza’s passion for hearing is reflected in the various roles she held in the last fourteen years with Cochlear: providing Clinical Education in Asia Pacific, supporting the set up of various Cochlear implant programs in Southeast Asia, and leading introduction of Connected Care portfolio in Asia Pacific markets. She was President of the Society for Audiology Professionals Singapore (SAPS) from 2009-2011. Meliza moved from Singapore to Western Australia in 2018 to join Cochlear ANZ team. In her current role, she supports the various Cochlear and Baha implant programs across Western Australia. She closely collaborates with hearing care partners to better understand the needs in advancing hearing health and deliver best outcomes for people seeking hearing solutions. Meliza holds a Master of Clinical Audiology degree from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor in Speech Pathology from the University of the Philippines. She was an Assistant Professor at the College of Allied Medical Professions University of the Philippines, prior to joining Cochlear.

Bronwyn has been a Teacher of the Deaf (TOD) for over 40 years spending most of her working career at Telethon Speech and Hearing. In 2009, she became a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (LSLS) Cert Auditory Verbal therapist through AG Bell in America. In 2014 Bronwyn started working with families with deaf children in their homes, as an AVT, and an NDIS provider, ‘Auditory-Verbal Western Australia’ (AVWA). Bronwyn also works at SSEN; S as a Visiting Teacher of the Deaf. She is the Chairperson & National Rep.of the Australian Association of Teachers of the Deaf WA (AATD WA). She represents WA Teachers of the Deaf when attending the Deafness Council meetings.

Alison Cook PhD MClinAud B.Sc(Hons) BMus MAudA(CCP) represents the WA Chapter of Audiology Australia. She is currently Paediatric Specialist Audiologist (Perth) with Hearing Australia, and also travels with the Hearing Australia HAPEE program providing paediatric diagnostic audiological services to remote indigenous communities across WA. Previously a university academic lecturing in Paediatric Audiology, Dr Cook has a demonstrated commitment to establishing and maintaining standards of teaching and practice of Clinical Audiology. Her research background is in cochlear mechanics, cochlear autoregulation and instrumentation, and clinical electrophysiology ranging from the objective diagnostic assessment of infants and young children, to intra-operative monitoring during ear and skull-base surgery.

Sarah Livingstone is a parent of a profoundly deaf son who is now 36 years old. She has been active in Deafness Council, W.A. for more than 30 years and has been a representative of the parent sector at Deafness Forum, the national peak body representing Deaf and hard of hearing people in Australia. She has also been a Teacher of the Deaf for 25 years, working for the Education Department, W.A. Sarah has been a strong advocate of ensuring that open captions are shown when special announcements and press releases are made on television by governments, both State and National, especially during emergencies.

Debbie Celenza joined Expression Australia as Business Partner, Marketing & Development in April 2023 and launched the organisations WA Office based in Fremantle in July 2023. Prior to this role, Debbie worked in commercial real estate for NAI Harcourts Metro for five years. Debbie has worked in a variety of roles within industries such as stockbroking, the Perth stock exchange, Kerry Stokes head office in West Perth, research and development and multi-cultural arts. Prior to life getting busy Debbie was a cellist.

Timothy Fawcett represents Hearing Australia on the Deafness Council. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science from UWA Timothy pursued a Masters of Clinical Audiology, Also at UWA, graduating in 2011. His original Masters Thesis ‘Feasibility of a novel pure-tone audiometry method utilising commercial earphones’ was supervised by Dr Robert Patuzzi and required advanced knowledge of acoustical standards, hearing screening program implementation and health econometrics. Timothy started with Hearing Australia in 2012 and has worked in both Victoria as well as WA servicing all client groups including paediatrics, complex adults and Indigenous Australians. He has served as the clinical coach for WA since 2023.

Sebastian Ryan is the National Manager of Clinical Services at Ear Science Institute Australia (ESIA). Sebastian is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Lions Hearing Clinic network in WA & NSW, the Ear Science Implant Clinic and the Ear Science Surgical Facility. Prior to joining ESIA, Sebastian worked as an audiologist across adult rehabilitation, tinnitus management, paediatric hearing assessments and auditory processing assessments in WA metro and regional locations. He graduated Macquarie University with a Masters of Clinical Audiology in 2016, completing his thesis on music perception for adult cochlear implant recipients and graduated with a Masters of Business Administration in 2023, completing his thesis on the awareness, availability, accessibility and affordability of adult audiological rehabilitation services in Australia.

Ronel Chester-Browne has been involved in cochlear implantation for more than 30 years. She joined the Ear Science Institute in 2010. In South Africa, she was the Pretoria Cochlear Implant Program Coordinator for more than 10 years. At Ear Science Institute, she was the Clinical Coordinator and Clinical Implant Lead for 14 years and has recently been appointed as the new Ear Science Implant Clinic Manager. She has been involved in training undergraduate and postgraduate audiologists in cochlear implantation and mapping. She has also been collaborating with surgical and audiological colleagues nationally and internationally for many years.

Monique has been the principal at Mosman Park School for Deaf Children since 2015. She has established a professional team of Auslan Language Specialists, Educational Interpreters and Teachers to deliver a bilingual/bicultural education for any Deaf or Hard of Hearing students across Perth. Monique spent many years in mainstream education, as a teacher and administrator, then moved into Deaf Education after completing her Masters in Special Education: Sensory in 2012. She is currently working to complete her PhD with the University of Newcastle, looking at the Declaration on the Rights of Deaf Children. Monique is passionate about advocating for Deaf children to have equal access to life and education through language.

Claire has worked at Mosman Park School for Deaf Children since 2022 and is a strong advocate for their bilingual/bicultural education program which caters to all Deaf or Hard of Hearing students across the metropolitan area. She has implemented the Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading program in the school, which is an evidence-based early literacy program developed specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Claire worked as an Auslan Interpreter for 11 years in primary school settings before completing her Master of Special Education: Deaf/Hard of Hearing in 2014. She worked as a Visiting Teacher of the Deaf and Access & Equity Consultant during her 10 years with the School of Special Educational Needs: Sensory. She is currently working to complete her PhD with the University of Newcastle, looking at how the political and organisational definitions of d/Deaf influence the fulfillment of Deaf children's rights in Australia.

Hannah is a disability advocate with two auditory brainstem implants who sees the barriers faced by others navigating the healthcare system; particularly as it relates to communication. Formerly a teacher of students with complex communication needs, Hannah runs her own disability consulting business. She regularly works with both Health Sciences, and School of Medicine at University of Melbourne. Her work extends to Birmingham City University, assisting with their Deafblind Studies course. Hannah runs workshops and provides consulting services to a range of agencies, including government, private, schools, universities, research institutes and hospitals. Hannah is Chairperson of Deafblind West Australians, and a Non-Executive Director at Deafness Forum Australia.

Carole Steketee, PhD, B.Ed (Hons), GAICD, is the Chief Executive Officer of TSH, where she leads innovative, integrated services for children and families navigating hearing, speech, and language challenges. With an extensive background in senior leadership roles across Western Australian universities, Carole is also an Adjunct Professor and former Director of Medical Education at Curtin Medical School. Her research focuses on integrated models of care, reflecting her deep commitment to holistic, evidence-based early intervention. As a Board Director at First Voice, Carole is a passionate advocate for world-class support systems that empower deaf children to thrive in mainstream environments. Driven by a vision to bridge education and healthcare, Carole is dedicated to initiatives that deliver comprehensive, best-practice support for families ensuring every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Barbara has more than 30 years’ experience in audiology, working as a paediatric specialist, complex adult specialist and clinical leader with Hearing Australia. In 2014 Barbara joined the Ear Science Institute Australia as a cochlear implant audiologist and in 2015 she moved into a clinical specialist role with MED-EL Hearing Implant Systems.