Murrumbidgee LHD team

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Our board

The Murrumbidgee Local Health District Board oversees the performance and progress of our services and facilities. They develop the Strategic Plan for the District and make sure it is carried out.

Read more about the functions of the board.

Our Board members draw on experience and local knowledge to make important decisions for our community’s health and wellbeing.

Mr Adrian Lindner - Board Chair

Adrian has been a MLHD Board member for eight years and has served two years as the Chair. He has qualifications in accountancy, health management and university leadership. He was formally a health services executive in the Riverina and then Head of Campus at Charles Sturt University. A Fellow of the Certified Practising Accountants Australia, he currently serves on a number of boards and committees. Adrian is passionate about sustainability, quality safe care, research, innovation and continuous improvement in the Murrumbidgee.

Ms Elizabeth Dixon

Elizabeth Dixon is an experienced healthcare advocate, physiotherapist and non-executive director with expertise in rural and remote healthcare. She holds an MBA, is a Fellow with the International Society of Quality in Healthcare and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Dedicated to improving health outcomes for the rural and remote communities she lives and works with, Liz focusses on advancing clinical innovation to ensure timely access to care, alongside holistic, preventative health programs, that address long term causes of inequity.

Liz holds a clinical operational role with the Royal Flying Doctor Service and serves as a non-executive director for the Australian Physiotherapy Council.

Ms Elke Cleverdon

Elke is an experienced non-executive director, with two national board roles and two with NSW regional organisations. These include the health, banking, agriculture/horticulture sectors and a national peak body. Elke is a strategic and results-oriented business professional and leader. She is MBA qualified and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company directors. She has extensive experience across sectors and industries.

Elke's experience as a Fellow CPA and finance executive has been gained over 30 years in small-to-medium enterprises and 16 years in the customer-owned banking sector. Elke is a strong proponent of sustainable agriculture and regional health services and development.

For the past 30 years, Elke has been a partner in a broad acre family farming enterprise in Harden NSW growing cereal crops and running black Angus cattle. She holds NSW state pre-qualification for audit and risk committee membership for NSW agencies, chairs a number of audit and risk committees across industries, and is the board delegate to the MLHD independent Audit and Risk Committee.

Ms Cheryl Penrith

Influencer, mentor, connector and coach, Wiradjuri woman Ms Penrith cites her passion for community development and capacity building, cultural empowerment, community health and wellbeing as her motivating force to join the Board. She is looking forward to being involved in decision making and contributing to the revival and reinvigoration of all aspects of cultural practices.

Ms Mary Atkinson

A well-respected community leader, Ms Atkinson is a Wiradjuri woman who brings a wealth of experience in the education field and a keen interest in primary health care and mental health. She was the recipient of the Wagga Wagga NAIDOC community person of the year.

Mr Tony Kolbe

Mr Kolbe has more than 40 years of experience in the health sector including 17 years in senior public health positions within NSW Health.

An experienced international public health consultant, he has previously served as a non-executive board director of the Hume Medicare Local.

A/Prof Alam Yoosuff

A/Prof Alam Yoosuff is a Board Director for the Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) and Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (PHN). A dedicated rural generalist general practitioner with nearly 20 years of experience, he serves as the Principal GP at Finley Regional Care and a GP VMO at Finley Hospital (MLHD).

Passionate about improving rural healthcare access and outcomes, he has a strong focus on holistic care, emergency medicine, aged care, and primary healthcare advocacy. As a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame Australia, he is also committed to medical education and mentoring the next generation of healthcare professionals.

George John

George John is a pharmacy professional and academic leader, currently head of interdisciplinary experience across pharmacy, medical science, pathology, nursing, oral health, and nutrition and brings a comprehensive and holistic approach to healthcare leadership.

Mr John is a passionate leader in the community who currently serves on several boards and committees locally and nationally, including with Diabetes Australia, the Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network Community Advisory Committee, and Multicultural Council of Wagga. He is also the Chair of the Wagga Wagga Local Health Advisory Committee (LHAC).

In these roles Mr John has championed strong community connections, consumer advocacy, and organisational governance, leading to significant improvements in healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

Our board publications

Below is a list of our board strategy documents:

Collaboration Agreement MLHD_MPHN 2025-2028 (PDF 1.72MB)

Board meeting minutes

You can view minutes of the Murrumbidgee LHD board meetings from the last 4 years.

2026

MLHD Board Minutes February 2026 (PDF 106.76KB)

2025

2024

2023

2022

Our executive team

The senior executive team provides advice to the chief executive on major strategic, quality and safety, corporate and operational matters. They are driven by the following 9 principles:

Commit to excellence.
Measure the important things.
Build a culture around service.
Create and develop leaders.
Focus on employee satisfaction.
Building individual accountability.
Align behaviours with goals and values.
Communicate at all levels.
Reward and recognise success.

A message from our Chief Executive

“My purpose is to lead with compassion and integrity and to think about the moments that define why we are here. These are not just moments in the system; they are human experiences that stay with people for a lifetime. These stories remind me that our work is not about processes or structures, but about people- trusting us to care, to listen and to stand with them when it matters most. I am committed to empowering our staff, listening deeply to our communities, and making decisions that balance clinical excellence with humanity. Through courage, transparency, and collaboration, I strive to build a health system that truly cares for people.
As Chief Executive I never lose sight of what this role truly means. Behind every decision is a person - a patient, a family and that matters deeply. It is my responsibility to ensure when people turn to us, often in their most vulnerable moments, they are met with not just expertise but genuine compassion, kindness, dignity, and care.
Together with a dedicated executive team, and our valued partners, Murrumbidgee Local Health District is focused on continually providing the best possible care to all communities. Just as importantly, we are committed to fostering a workplace where people feel valued, supported, and proud to belong. Together we will keep striving to do better, to reach further, shaping a future for generations to come.”
Carla Bailey - Interim Chief Executive.

Carla Bailey - Interim Chief Executive

Reporting to the Board and accountable to the Secretary of NSW Health, the Chief Executive provides strategic leadership, direction, and management of Murrumbidgee Local Health District. The role carries responsibility for governance, financial stewardship, clinical safety, and quality for the overall performance of the district.

Kevin Lawrence - Director Finance and Performance

Kevin is responsible for the leadership and management of financial services and performance reporting including clinical activity and trends. Kevin also leads procurement and revenue functions.

Rebecca Leon - Director People and Culture

Image Dr Rebecca Leon People and Culture Director

Rebecca is responsible for work health safety and wellbeing, human resources, and industrial relations. Her role includes developing and implementing human resource initiatives that support culture and capability development.

Len Bruce - Executive Director Medical Services

Len is responsible for the implementation of sustainable systems and processes for reviewing and improving the quality of medical services, for effective engagement of medical staff in Murrumbidgee LHD, planning services and delivery and maintenance of a sustainable medical workforce.

Christine Stephens - Executive Director Nursing and Midwifery

Christine is accountable for the development, monitoring and reporting of all aspects of professional activities to optimise health outcomes provided by nurses and midwives in Murrumbidgee LHD.

Jill Reyment - Director Clinical Governance

Jill is responsible for managing the Clinical Governance Unit to lead, coordinate and support clinicians and managers in providing clinical excellence and best practice care.

Emma Field - Executive Director of Service Delivery

Emma has responsibility for leading, directing and managing implementation of programs relating to key state and national programs and priority areas. These programs include chronic care, child youth and family health, violence prevention and response, Aboriginal health, BreastScreen NSW, population health, oral health, health promotion and the Integrated Care Strategy.

Jen Spain - CAE/CRO Director Governance, Risk and Audit

Jen manages the broad areas of organisational governance, risk management and internal audit for the District.

Tony Martin - Executive Director, Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing

Tony is responsible for managing Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing. He has extensive experience in Aboriginal Health, cultural governance, and facilitating organisational change to privilege First Nations voices at a strategic and service level.

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