Board of Governance

James Pirie

President and Chair of Governance and Remuneration SubCommittee

James became President in October 2010 having joined the Board in 2006. James is Manager Trading Services ith Hydro Tasmania, having held several management roles in that organisation. Prior to joining Hydro Tasmania in 2004, James had a number of senior roles with the Tasmanian Department of Treasury and Finance, including managing the sale of a number of Government-owned businesses. He also spent four years in Canberra as an adviser and senior adviser to the then Federal Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator the Hon  ocelyn Newman. Apart from his involvement with Lifeline, James contributes to the Tasmanian community through Bethlehem House, a Hobart homeless men’s shelter.

Georgie Ibbott

1st Vice President and Chair of Sustainability Subcommittee

Georgie joined the Board in February 2006. Her Board expertise is in marketing, promotions, public relations, media, journalism, administration and management. She is currently working as Marketing Manager with Aurora Energy. Her skills are backed with a Bachelor of Commerce and MBA. Georgie gained the Company Director’s Diploma in 2005 and is currently a member of the Australian Marketing Institute and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is professional in her outlook with a business acumen and high regard for integrity, quality and commitment.

Cathy Limb

Kevin Manderson

Mary Parsissons

Board Member  and Member of Governance and Remuneration SubCommittee

Mary joined the Board in 1987. Mary has been heavily involved in Lifeline for the past 24 years as a Telephone Counsellor and Supervisor-on-Call. Mary’s interest in Lifeline extended to becoming a member of the National Board of Lifeline Australia in 1993 and then being on the Lifeline International Board in 2001 and becoming International Chairperson in 2003. Mary has a Master of Education and is a member of the Professional Counsellors Association. Mary also works with Lifeline Centres in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji in assisting them develop skills. 

Dick Shoobridge

Dick is a consultant with Deloitte and a young 72. He very much enjoys the challenges being a Board Member of Lifeline Hobart brings and believes strongly in Lifeline’s aims and role. He has more than 40 years experience in advising family business and Government in areas including business and industry issues, succession planning,  econstruction and turnaround. Dick is an official liquidator and life member of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology.

Adrian Christian

Adrian joined the Board in 2010, bringing with him 20 years of public and private sector business and commercial perspectives. Adrian completed the Company Directors Course in 2005 and has experience in corporate governance frameworks for public-sector entities. Having completed his Bachelor of Economics in 1990, he worked in a variety of economics-related roles in Canberra and Hobart, notably 12 years in senior roles in Tasmanian Treasury before moving into consulting for two years, then returning to the public sector to undertake a review of the state’s energy sector.    

Steve Barker

Steve has been connected with Lifeline on and off for the past 11 years, and has been a Board Member since early 2011. He trained as a Telephone Counsellor and spent two years 'on the phones' and a further two years as a member of the Telephone Counsellor Training Team. His professional life at that time was as a principal with the  Tasmanian Department of Education, a position he held at a number of Tasmanian schools during a 26 year career. Before gaining his Bachelor of Education, Steve spent 11 years as a journalist with newspapers in New Zealand and New South Wales and with ABC radio and television in Tasmania. Following his resignation from the education department in 2007, Steve gained his Master of Counselling from the University of Tasmania. He was a member of the Standby Response Team and assisted with Lifeline Hobart's counsellor training in Sri Lanka before joining Relationships Australia as a counsellor. In his spare time, and when fitness allows, he is a keen bushwalker.

Eva MacKinley

Board Member and Member of Audit and Risk SubCommittee

Eva joined the board of Lifeline in early 2011. The youngest member at 21, she is very excited about the  pportunity to be a part of one of Australia’s largest and most well respected organisations. Eva has a background in community development, especially working within her peer group around the issues of resilience and innovation. Outside of Lifeline, Eva is involved with a variety of other organisation including the Oaktree Foundation, Hate-Ed and as the Tasmanian representative of the Australian Youth Forum Steering Committee. She also works with the business MoHow to develop community sourced strategic plans in local communities throughout rural Victoria.

Daniel E Morgan

Dan joined the Board in April 2011. He brings to the Board an understanding of legal and commercial issues. He is a Legal Practitioner with Page Seager Lawyers, in the firm’s Corporate and Commercial group. His main focus areas of law include mergers and acquisitions, commercial property, corporate advisory and business structures advice. Dan also has extensive experience in a wide range of corporate and commercial areas including business and acquisitions, property transactions, subdivisions, leasing, trusts and securities.

Management Team

Maxine Griffiths

CEO

Connie Alomes

Standby Coordinator  & LifeMATTERS Manager

Connie started with Lifeline Hobart in 1989 as the Coordinator of the Befriender Service. In over 20 years with Lifeline, she has worn many hats: Telephone Counselling Coordinator, Training Coordinator, Service Manager and now, StandBy Response Coordinator. She says she has been privileged to grow as Lifeline has grown and is still excited about being part of a dynamic organisation with a strong mission. Her professional qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Therapy, a Master of Arts in Counselling, a Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment and Training, a Diploma in Business Management and a Diploma in Human Resource Management. She is a Master Trainer for LivingWorks and has recently undertaken further studies in grief and loss and suicide bereavement from the Community Services Package.

Mishelle Zara

Telephone Counselling Manager

Mishelle joined Lifeline Hobart in January 2011. After being admitted to the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 2005, Mishelle chose to work in Family Dispute Resolution as a Family Mediator and Child Consultant. Mishelle has previous experience volunteering for various organisations including the Office of the Commissioner for Children, teaching performing arts to youth and children, supervising with the Children’s Contact Service, media sales & arketing and as a Program Presenter after studying at NIDA.

Kathy’s role includes managing pre-service training, in-service training, managing and supervising the training team, responsible officer, manager and assessor for RTO and delivery of community education, suicide prevention workshops. Kathy has a Diploma of Community Services, Certificate IV Training & Assessments Skills, a Post Graduate Masters Degree in Education (Counselling & Development) and a Diploma of Assessment and Training Systems. Kathy is also a Registered Trainer for LivingWorks and an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Trainer(ASIST ) Master Trainer. She has also been involved in a number of national activities for Lifeline Australia and Lifeline International (Pacifica) in Sri Lanka.  

Leigh Delaney

Chats Program Manager

Leigh joined Lifeline Hobart as Coordinator of the Social Re-engagement Project in December 2008 and has overseen the growth in Chats since taking on the role of Manager in July 2009. Leigh has been a Lifeline Telephone Counsellor for three years and has lengthy experience in managing interpersonal relationships in varied roles including industrial relations, human resources and marketing. Prior to joining Lifeline Hobart, Leigh worked in employment services, undertaking recruitment for employers and supporting and training jobseekers in their quest for employment, most recently supporting people with disabilities. Leigh has been active in the voluntary community sector in a range of positions in groups focused around men’s health, social justice, domestic violence, poverty, community policing and the preservation of steam engines.  

Andrea Cordwell

Retail Manager

Andrea has been with Lifeline Hobart for 22 years. For the past 18 years she has managed the retail outlets. Her role encompasses the management of all clothing donations via collection bins and from other sources, right through to point of sale in our retail outlets. Andrea also organises and oversees three car raffles each year. She works with a very dedicated team, and says this makes working for Lifeline Hobart very rewarding.  

Julie Britton

Finance Manager

Julie is responsible for managing all the financial affairs of the organisation. Julie has undertaken accounting and policy units at university, attended taxation and payroll/ industrial relations workshops and training and completed Certificate IV in Business (Administration). 

Peter Crosswell

Manager Business Development and Fundraising

Peter is the new boy on the block, starting with Lifeline in January this year, following what can only be described as a diverse career path. Following a 12 year stint in the RAAF as an engineer, he at various times managed an hotel, owned a residential camp, worked with a local helicopter company, managed a cool store for Coles and worked on the paper mill upgrade at Boyer before becoming State Manager of Camp Quality, a position he held for 18 yrs. He hopes that his passion for the wellbeing of Tasmanians, his vast network and experiences across broad demographics will build a stronger supporter base for Lifeline.