Our Board of Directors holds 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.
Importantly, three Board positions will be held by practising HCANZA Professional Health & Wellness Coach Members. This is your Board!
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. She currently holds a Non-Executive Director board position with the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA) and 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.
Samantha McBride
Director, Co-founder, New Zealand
Sam holds an Honours Degree in Human Physiology from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. Her career path has taken her from ‘part-time’ Platoon Commander in the UK Army Reserve focused on leadership and teamwork, through employment in Pharmaceuticals industry, marketing, and running her own small business for 10 years in Te Anau. In 2017 Sam trained and graduated as a Health and Wellness Coach with the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy.
Sam is located in Te Anau in Fiordland , NZ and is the CEO and founder of liveMEwell. She is focused on finding solutions to deliver support, health understanding and guidance in service limited and remote geographical areas. In particular she runs a course called ‘Building Better Blokes’ with a focus on small business owners and agribusinesses where men (and their families) often feel isolated and without the time and resources to care for their own health and well-being.
She is passionate in helping bridge the gap between conventional and integrative medicine, guiding people to understand their own ability to create health from within.
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 Tabitha Healey
Director, Australia
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery – Flinders University
Medical Oncologist – Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians
Executive Leadership and Personal Wellbeing Coach
Postgraduate Qualifications in Clinical Hypnosis
During 20 years as a Medical Oncologist, Tabitha realised her greatest interest lay in restoring her patient’s wellbeing post treatment and established reconditioning and rehabilitation programs for cancer survivors. In 2019 she retired from medical practice to establish her coaching business to focus on prevention rather than palliation. As chronic illness overwhelms the healthcare system, Health Coaching provides an avenue to support people to take back control of their health and wellbeing and renew a health system in crisis. Tabitha has joined the board of HCANZA to support the organization in increasing awareness of the significant benefits that Accredited Health Coaches can provide as an integral component of the Health Care model, transforming care and lives.
Louise Schofield
Director, New Zealand
Louise holds a PhD in Public Health and 15 years’ experience in the corporate well-being industry developing behaviour change programs that achieve results. She is a successful entrepreneur and innovator. As co-founder and CEO of PreKure, she is on a mission to extend the human health span by preventing chronic disease, and where chronic disease already exists, reverse or reduce the disease burden.
Her mission is to change medicine to focus more on prevention, before the cure is needed.
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.
Jas Streten
Director, Australia
Jas has extensive experience of the healthcare system through his involvement at St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, State and Federal Government public consultations and engagement with Pharmaceutical companies. Jas has held senior management roles in the private sector across a number of business functions including Sales, Operations and Logistics.
His direct experience of the health industry includes roles as Deputy Chair of the Community Advisory Committee, The Innovation Committee and Specialist Clinics committees at a Melbourne Public Hospital, membership of Consumer Health Forum and Health Issues Centre.
At present Jas is using his extensive experience to advocate for better patient outcomes, as General Manager of the Australian Patients Association. In his spare time Jas paints and is preparing for his next art exhibition.
Melanie White
Director, Australia
Melanie holds an Honours Degree in Biology from Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. She is a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBHWC) and also holds a Cert IV in Training and Assessment, a Cert IV in Personal Training, and an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition.
In 2007, Melanie left her Environmental Consulting business for a sea change to NSW so she could focus on her passion; helping people to change in a way that makes sense to them, so that they can live happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives.
Melanie has since delivered group weight loss coaching program and resilience coaching programs in her own business since 2010. In parallel, she is a Coach Trainer and Business Mentor to students of Wellness Coaching Australia. Since 2016, Melanie’s business has focused primarily on business and resilience coaching.
Her big vision is to help put Health and Wellness Coaching ‘on the map’ by co-creating a professional, credible industry. She does this as a coach trainer and via her own membership, which helps coaches to develop successful, profitable businesses.
