Your Board of Directors hold honorary positions and consists of leading thinkers, educators and practitioners. They are passionate and committed to advocating and embedding professional industry standards for health and wellness coaching in Australia and New Zealand.
Linda Funnell – Milner
Chair, Co-founder, Australia
Linda holds degrees in Law and Education, Adv. Dip Nutritional Medicine, Dip Clinical Hypnotherapy, Certs NLP, and Health & Wellness Coaching certificate from the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy. Until recently, Linda worked as a consulting Nutritionist, Health Coach and Clinical Hypnotherapist in clinical practice. For four years Linda held a Non-Executive Director board position with the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA) She is a member of the Australasian College of Environmental Medicine (ACNEM).
Prior to being a health practitioner, Linda held corporate managerial and senior executive roles internationally, developing strategic policies on global issues and was a registered political lobbyist. This led to international program experience as an Australian Business Representative on collaborations with various United Nations programs including six years as Chair of the UN-sponsored GRI Stakeholder Council based in Amsterdam. From 2007 – 2013 Linda was a Non-Executive Director and Chair of Governance and Finance Committees with large Australian social justice and environmental NFP Boards.
Sharon Curtain
Director, Australia
BSc. Melbourne University, MND Nutrition and Dietetics, Deakin University, Plenty Training – TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, Groupwork Centre – Facilitation training, PreKure – Certified Health Coach American Council on Exercise – Health Coaching and Behaviour Change Specialist Training.
Sharon is a Dietitian, Certified Health Coach, Certified Trainer and Assessor, Trained Facilitator, Entrepreneur and Director of Accredited Health Coaching Australia, and Author and Owner of the Diploma of Health Coaching, a nationally accredited qualification.
Sharon has worked for 23 years as a dietitian, health coach, trainer and presenter. She worked for five years as a clinical dietitian and another five years in corporate nutrition, in roles that included food regulations, marketing, and delivering nutrition training programs. Sharon currently trains students, practitioners and coaches individuals in health behaviour change.
Sharon developed and authored the first Australian Diploma of Health Coaching, run in collaboration with Victoria University Polytechnic and is the course co-ordinator and lecturer. She delivers online health coaching training courses to health professionals via Accredited Health Coaching Australia and has presented to Health professionals via Education in Nutrition and Education in Exercise online training
Dr David Codyre
Director, New Zealand
David has a proven track record designing and implementing ground breaking collaborative care teams that include Health Coaches throughout NZ since 2013.
Dr Dimitra Mersinia
Director, Australia
Dr Dimitra Mersinia is a clinician, neuroscientist, and health & wellness consultant with a diverse background in medicine, dentistry, economics, neuroscience, counselling, and special needs care.
While having contributed to the EU, MSF, RFDS, she now runs a private practice in Sydney and is active in clinical neuroscience research and clinical education. As an accredited coach, she supports health patients with Lifestyle Medicine and health professionals through her programs ‘M.i.n.d Your H.e.a.l.t.h’™ in navigating through stress and burnout, reigniting their passion for work.
A published author and a radio host, she advocates for integrated health and self-care, personal leadership, and compassionate performance in high-pressure environments.
Sharon Tomkins
Director, New Zealand
Sharon is a highly qualified and accomplished Coaching professional, with over a decade of experience in the industry. She holds an ICF Credentialed Coach designation, a Diploma in Coaching Supervision from the International Centre for Coaching Supervision in London, an NZQA VI Diploma in Professional Coaching, and an NZQA Cert V in Exercise and Personal Training.
Sharon is a Credentialed PREKURE Health Coach and a professional member of the AOCS (Association of Coaching Supervisors). Her expertise lies in executive leadership and wellness coaching, and she has also collaborated with various not-for-profit and communities to enhance health and wellbeing outcomes.
Sharon is a seasoned Health Coach with a track record of training and mentoring other coaches. Her contributions to the field have been recognised, as she was awarded the HCANZA Health & Wellness Coach of the Year award in 2022. She believes nurturing Health Coaches’ aspirations and wellbeing is fundamental to achieving better health outcomes for everyone.
Sharon’s passion for helping people discover enjoyable and innovative ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle is evident in her work. She draws on her expertise and creativity to assist her clients in tackling health issues in her coaching and supervision practice.
Julie Schutz
Director, Australia
BA. Physiotherapy, Post grad. Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation, Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, Certified Fitgenes Practitioner, Clinical Pilates Specialist, Board Certified Lifestyle Medicine Partitioner and Fellow of Australian Society of Lifestyle Medicine.
Julie has been a health professional for 26 years as a practicing Physiotherapist active across the public, private and community settings.
She has a deep understanding of the different Doctor/ Practitioner workplace settings and practice structures. Her skills as a Physiotherapist over such an extensive period across all sectors allows her to be a great communicator with doctors and other Health Professionals, a valuable bridge of communication and connection for HCANZA and its Health Coaches.
Julie is a Board-Certified Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner and a Fellow of the Australian Society of Lifestyle Medicine. I am passionate about preventative health practices and change and the important contribution Health & Wellness Coaches bring to this proposition.
Dr Gordon Spence
Director, Australia
Gordon is a highly experienced leadership development practitioner and coach, published author, educator, researcher, registered psychologist and exercise scientist (both NSW). He has 20+ years’ experience leading tertiary-level coaching programs at the Coaching Psychology Unit(University of Sydney) and Sydney Business School (University of Wollongong).
With a PhD in coaching psychology, Gordon has always been passionate about evidence-based practice and continuously leveraged his unique blend of skills and experience to assist individuals, teams and organisations address challenges related to employee engagement, transformational leadership, interpersonal effectiveness, and workplace wellbeing.
Gordon is extremely pragmatic and very focused on helping clients understand key areas of development and enact plans that can produce tangible and sustainable results. He has worked as a facilitator and coach within numerous private and public sector organisations, including AMP, Bankers Trust, Uniting NSW/ACT, Qantas and NSW Health.
Gordon has also made numerous contributions to knowledge in the fields of leadership and coaching, through various
editorial roles (journals and books) and authorship of over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. As an exercise scientist, he has authored Get Moving Keep Moving and 26 Ways to Keep Moving.
Qualifications:
- PhD – Coaching Psychology, University of Sydney (2006)
- Masters Applied Science (Coaching Psychology), University of Sydney (2005)
- Bachelor of Psychology (Class I Hons), University of Wollongong (2001)
- Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science, University of Newcastle (2022)
Stevie Wring
Director, Australia
Stevie Wring is an executive leader and Non-Executive Director with more than 20 years’ experience across public health, prevention, governance and system change. Her career spans senior leadership roles in health, philanthropy, sustainability and community impact, where she has built organisations, shaped strategy and worked effectively across complex, multi-stakeholder environments to improve health outcomes at scale.
Most recently, Stevie held senior executive roles with Woolworths Group, where she built and led the Health & Nutrition function across Australia and New Zealand and later led the development and operationalisation of the Woolworths Group Foundation. In these roles, she worked closely with boards, government, clinicians, researchers, funders and community organisations, with accountability for governance, risk, partnerships, funding strategy and impact reporting.
Stevie is a Registered Nutritionist and holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Public Health Nutrition, a Master of Business Administration, GAICD accreditation, and Fellowship of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine. She brings a clear, values-led approach to governance and is pleased to contribute her leadership experience to the Health Coaches Australia and New Zealand Association, supporting the organisation’s role in advancing professional standards and sustainable growth for the health coaching profession.
Susan Harbers
HCANZA Administration Manager, Australia
Susan has been an Accredited Health Coach since 2020.
She is currently working part- time for HCANZA as the Administrative Manager.