Board of Directors

The ADEA National Board of Directors are a group of diverse and capable professionals. These CDEs and independent directors are recruited through a formal process outlined in the ADEA Constitution.

The President and other Office Bearers are elected at the Board meeting held during the Australasian Diabetes Congress.

Office bearers

Amanda Bartlett, President

Amanda is a registered nurse and certified midwife with over 30 years’ experience in health. She has been a Credentialled Diabetes Educator for over 10 years working in both public hospitals and her own private practice. Amanda has mentored many CDEs supporting them to achieve their goals and is a guest lecturer at UTS.

She has previously held a directorship of ADIPS, served in the ADEA Complaints Committee and is the current chair of ADEA DIP SIG. She is involved with Medical Education and Scientific Council (MESAC) in an advisory role. She is passionate about supporting all people with diabetes, supporting ADEA members and furthering the direction of ADEA as a professional body.

Amanda became Vice President in November 2020.


Ann Bush, Vice President

Ann has 20 years of experience as a registered nurse. She is a CDE working in metropolitan acute care, rural community health and private practice. Ann has been a member of the ADEA-VIC Branch Executive for six years, and is a member of the ADEA Victoria Branch Conference Organising Committee. She has represented the ADEA as a member of a health advisory panel working with the Victorian Department of Education and Training, and is passionate about diabetes education.

Ann believes in the sustainability of private practice. Her focus is ensuring the CDE role is evidence-based best practice and continues to support the lobbying and support for ADEA members.


Maria Maieli, Independent Finance Director

Maria holds a Master of Professional Accounting degree from Southern Cross University and is a Certified Practising Accountant. Maria is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary of Ellex Medical Lasers, an ASX listed company.

Maria has over 26 years of senior financial management experience in public and private companies, specialising in international tax and statutory reporting, corporate compliance, business strategy development, system improvements, risk management and governance. Maria is a member of the Governance Institute of Australia after completing her Applied Diploma in Corporate Governance and Australian Institute of Company Directors.


CDE Directors

Coralie Cross

Over the duration of her career, Coralie has worked across a wide variety of clinical areas and locations, including hospitals, community, urban, rural and remote.

‘I have been afforded the privilege of working with diverse populations such as homeless persons, refugee health and Indigenous Health’, Coralie says,

She has been working primarily within the specialty of diabetes for the past eighteen years, gaining her initial Master’s Degree within the specialty area of Diabetes in Rural, Remote and Indigenous Health, followed by a second Master’s Degree as an NP with the sub-specialty of Diabetes in Pregnancy.

Coralie’s journey into diabetes was largely led by following the clinical need. Oncology led her to investigate wound healing in more detail. The combination of wound healing and oncology led her to Hospital in the Home which then led to diabetes.


ADEA Board Director Catharine McNamara

Catharine McNamara

Catharine is a CDE with both clinical and academic experience. Catharine currently works at Deakin University as Unit Chair in the Graduate Certificate of Diabetes Education, and at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in a clinical role supporting people with type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.

Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts degree and post graduate certificates in Diabetes Education and Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. Her primary profession is as an RN.

Catharine has a great passion for educating and creating innovative tools to make the complex concepts around diabetes a little simpler and easier to understand. She has a longstanding involvement with the ADEA as a member of the Education Committee working group and other extracurricular activities such as mentoring DEs who are new to the GDS program.


Anna Blackie

Anna is a Consultant Pharmacist and Credentialled Diabetes Educator. She has over 15 years’ experience as a Pharmacist in both community and hospital settings in Australia and the UK. She has been a Credentialled Diabetes Educator since 2018 and has worked across a variety of clinical settings, including an Indigenous Chronic Disease Clinic, outreach services within GP Practices, NDIS and private services, and within the Community Health setting.

Anna is a member of the ADEA Expert Reference Group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workforce Development, and a member of the Medical Education and Scientific Advisory Council. She was elected to the ADEA Board in 2022.

Anna is passionate about the role of Diabetes Educators and about working collaboratively to empower people, communities and the healthcare professionals who support them, to create meaningful improvements in health outcomes.


Shannon Lin

Shannon is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and CDE with about 20 years of experience. She completed her PhD on health literacy and diabetes education. Her clinical area has focused on type 2 diabetes management and prevention, particularly in First Nations health, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and aged care facilities. Providing outreach clinics also forms part of her work. Further, her passion for helping vulnerable groups extends internationally with her role as the Diabetes Education and Training Specialist at Life for a Child.

Shannon also works as a Diabetes Course Director at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) where she has a strong interest in diabetes workforce development. She received several awards for her teaching and research excellence, including the 2023 UTS Alumni Award — Faculty Award of Excellence in Health.

Shannon actively participates in various state, national, and international diabetes committees, including many key ADEA committees and working groups. In 2021, she was voted the ‘Most Influential International Diabetes Educator’ in China after reaching more than 30,000 Chinese healthcare professionals and consumers. In 2023, she was awarded the Jan Baldwin National CDE of the Year.


Diabetes Australia Nominee Director

Justine Cain ADEA Board Director

Justine Cain

Justine joined Diabetes Australia as Group Chief Executive Officer in November 2021.  She has held Executive and Board appointments with listed, privately owned and profit-for-purpose organisations, including more than a decade with private health insurer Medibank.  Justine holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) from the Australian National University.

Justine has extensive knowledge of the health and human services sectors, and this is complemented by her track record in leading and growing large-scale organisations to deliver a range of health services.

The experiences of friends, family members, and colleagues living with diabetes has given Justine personal knowledge of the impact diabetes can have and the challenges of managing the condition day-to-day.  She is committed to creating a stronger, more unified voice for people with diabetes, generating more support for services, and securing greater investment in type 2 diabetes prevention


Independent Directors

ADEA Board Directors Jessica Miller

Jessica Miller

Jessica is currently a senior lawyer at Johnson & Johnson, supporting the Med Tech business in Australia and New Zealand.

Jessica graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Business (Accounting). Jessica went on to do postgraduate study and completed a Master of Laws at the University of Sydney.

Jessica’s career has spanned across private legal practice and in-house roles. She commenced her career at Ashurst in the Corporate (mergers and acquisitions) team in Sydney. She worked predominantly on corporate transactions and advisory work for clients in the highly regulated healthcare sector.

She has held the role of in-house legal counsel for Medtronic, where she acted as the company secretary and privacy officer, and supported the insulin pump business. Jessica then joined P&G as the head of the legal and government relations functions in Australia and New Zealand. Jessica sat on the ANZ Leadership Team and was a company director of the four legal entities in the P&G group in ANZ.

Prior to joining J&J, Jessica was the inaugural General Counsel of Bubs Australia Ltd, where she has established the legal function of a growing Australian ASX-listed food company as it expanded into offshore markets.


Derek Finch

Derek has more than 22 years of experience in reengineering and is one of Australia’s leading contact centre specialists. Derek has worked in government, not-for-profit and corporates, both as a manager and as a consultant.

Derek is an experienced change manager, contact centre judge and conference speaker. He has been an active member of Auscontact and has held the role of National Director and National Chair.

Board of Directors

The ADEA National Board of Directors are a group of diverse and capable professionals. These CDEs and independent directors are recruited through a formal process outlined in the ADEA Constitution.

The President and other Office Bearers are elected at the Board meeting held during the Australasian Diabetes Congress.

Office bearers

Amanda Bartlett, President

Amanda is a registered nurse and certified midwife with over 30 years’ experience in health. She has been a Credentialled Diabetes Educator for over 10 years working in both public hospitals and her own private practice. Amanda has mentored many CDEs supporting them to achieve their goals and is a guest lecturer at UTS.

She has previously held a directorship of ADIPS, served in the ADEA Complaints Committee and is the current chair of ADEA DIP SIG. She is involved with Medical Education and Scientific Council (MESAC) in an advisory role. She is passionate about supporting all people with diabetes, supporting ADEA members and furthering the direction of ADEA as a professional body.

Amanda became Vice President in November 2020.


Ann Bush, Vice President

Ann has 20 years of experience as a registered nurse. She is a CDE working in metropolitan acute care, rural community health and private practice. Ann has been a member of the ADEA-VIC Branch Executive for six years, and is a member of the ADEA Victoria Branch Conference Organising Committee. She has represented the ADEA as a member of a health advisory panel working with the Victorian Department of Education and Training, and is passionate about diabetes education.

Ann believes in the sustainability of private practice. Her focus is ensuring the CDE role is evidence-based best practice and continues to support the lobbying and support for ADEA members.


Maria Maieli, Independent Finance Director

Maria holds a Master of Professional Accounting degree from Southern Cross University and is a Certified Practising Accountant. Maria is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Company Secretary of Ellex Medical Lasers, an ASX listed company.

Maria has over 26 years of senior financial management experience in public and private companies, specialising in international tax and statutory reporting, corporate compliance, business strategy development, system improvements, risk management and governance. Maria is a member of the Governance Institute of Australia after completing her Applied Diploma in Corporate Governance and Australian Institute of Company Directors.


CDE Directors

Coralie Cross

Over the duration of her career, Coralie has worked across a wide variety of clinical areas and locations, including hospitals, community, urban, rural and remote.

‘I have been afforded the privilege of working with diverse populations such as homeless persons, refugee health and Indigenous Health’, Coralie says,

She has been working primarily within the specialty of diabetes for the past eighteen years, gaining her initial Master’s Degree within the specialty area of Diabetes in Rural, Remote and Indigenous Health, followed by a second Master’s Degree as an NP with the sub-specialty of Diabetes in Pregnancy.

Coralie’s journey into diabetes was largely led by following the clinical need. Oncology led her to investigate wound healing in more detail. The combination of wound healing and oncology led her to Hospital in the Home which then led to diabetes.


ADEA Board Director Catharine McNamara

Catharine McNamara

Catharine is a CDE with both clinical and academic experience. Catharine currently works at Deakin University as Unit Chair in the Graduate Certificate of Diabetes Education, and at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in a clinical role supporting people with type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.

Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts degree and post graduate certificates in Diabetes Education and Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. Her primary profession is as an RN.

Catharine has a great passion for educating and creating innovative tools to make the complex concepts around diabetes a little simpler and easier to understand. She has a longstanding involvement with the ADEA as a member of the Education Committee working group and other extracurricular activities such as mentoring DEs who are new to the GDS program.


Anna Blackie

Anna is a Consultant Pharmacist and Credentialled Diabetes Educator. She has over 15 years’ experience as a Pharmacist in both community and hospital settings in Australia and the UK. She has been a Credentialled Diabetes Educator since 2018 and has worked across a variety of clinical settings, including an Indigenous Chronic Disease Clinic, outreach services within GP Practices, NDIS and private services, and within the Community Health setting.

Anna is a member of the ADEA Expert Reference Group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workforce Development, and a member of the Medical Education and Scientific Advisory Council. She was elected to the ADEA Board in 2022.

Anna is passionate about the role of Diabetes Educators and about working collaboratively to empower people, communities and the healthcare professionals who support them, to create meaningful improvements in health outcomes.


Shannon Lin

Shannon is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and CDE with about 20 years of experience. She completed her PhD on health literacy and diabetes education. Her clinical area has focused on type 2 diabetes management and prevention, particularly in First Nations health, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and aged care facilities. Providing outreach clinics also forms part of her work. Further, her passion for helping vulnerable groups extends internationally with her role as the Diabetes Education and Training Specialist at Life for a Child.

Shannon also works as a Diabetes Course Director at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) where she has a strong interest in diabetes workforce development. She received several awards for her teaching and research excellence, including the 2023 UTS Alumni Award — Faculty Award of Excellence in Health.

Shannon actively participates in various state, national, and international diabetes committees, including many key ADEA committees and working groups. In 2021, she was voted the ‘Most Influential International Diabetes Educator’ in China after reaching more than 30,000 Chinese healthcare professionals and consumers. In 2023, she was awarded the Jan Baldwin National CDE of the Year.


Diabetes Australia Nominee Director

Justine Cain ADEA Board Director

Justine Cain

Justine joined Diabetes Australia as Group Chief Executive Officer in November 2021.  She has held Executive and Board appointments with listed, privately owned and profit-for-purpose organisations, including more than a decade with private health insurer Medibank.  Justine holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) from the Australian National University.

Justine has extensive knowledge of the health and human services sectors, and this is complemented by her track record in leading and growing large-scale organisations to deliver a range of health services.

The experiences of friends, family members, and colleagues living with diabetes has given Justine personal knowledge of the impact diabetes can have and the challenges of managing the condition day-to-day.  She is committed to creating a stronger, more unified voice for people with diabetes, generating more support for services, and securing greater investment in type 2 diabetes prevention


Independent Directors

ADEA Board Directors Jessica Miller

Jessica Miller

Jessica is currently a senior lawyer at Johnson & Johnson, supporting the Med Tech business in Australia and New Zealand.

Jessica graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Business (Accounting). Jessica went on to do postgraduate study and completed a Master of Laws at the University of Sydney.

Jessica’s career has spanned across private legal practice and in-house roles. She commenced her career at Ashurst in the Corporate (mergers and acquisitions) team in Sydney. She worked predominantly on corporate transactions and advisory work for clients in the highly regulated healthcare sector.

She has held the role of in-house legal counsel for Medtronic, where she acted as the company secretary and privacy officer, and supported the insulin pump business. Jessica then joined P&G as the head of the legal and government relations functions in Australia and New Zealand. Jessica sat on the ANZ Leadership Team and was a company director of the four legal entities in the P&G group in ANZ.

Prior to joining J&J, Jessica was the inaugural General Counsel of Bubs Australia Ltd, where she has established the legal function of a growing Australian ASX-listed food company as it expanded into offshore markets.


Derek Finch

Derek has more than 22 years of experience in reengineering and is one of Australia’s leading contact centre specialists. Derek has worked in government, not-for-profit and corporates, both as a manager and as a consultant.

Derek is an experienced change manager, contact centre judge and conference speaker. He has been an active member of Auscontact and has held the role of National Director and National Chair.