Our Staff and Board
Meet the women of WHISE
Kit McMahon
Chief Executive Officer
Kit McMahon has nearly two decades of experience across education, training and not for profits. Kit has consistently and passionately advocated for gender equality, empowering women and girls.
Alongside her work at WHISE, she is Deputy Chair/Director of Volunteering Australia as well as Director for Tradeswomen Australia.
Kit has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from Monash University, a Graduate Diploma in Action Learning, a Master of Adult Education (Organisation Development) from UTS and an MBA from Macquarie University.
Women's Health & Wellbeing Team
Laura Ardley
Manager, Women's Health & Wellbeing
Laura has worked in community services and health promotion across multiple settings and agencies for over a decade and has extensive experience in organisational design, policy and continuous improvement.
Laura has led the Health Promotion Team at WHISE since October 2017, has a Bachelor of Public Health and Health Promotion from Deakin University and believes that to reduce social and health inequities, a shared responsibility and collaborative approach is essential.
Zoe Francis
Acting Manager, Women's Health & Wellbeing
Zoe joined WHISE in July 2019 as the Health Promotion Coordinator for the Prevention of Violence Against Women before becoming Mental Health & Wellbeing Lead in 2022. Zoe holds a Master of Public Health and is an Honorary Fellow at Deakin University, as well as a Bachelor (Hons) in French and Spanish.
Zoe stepped into a role as Acting Manager for the Women's Health & Wellbeing team in August 2023.
Charlotte Barber
Acting Gender & Mental Wellbeing Lead
Danielle McCaffrey
Prevention of Violence Against Women Lead
With a background in International Development and Community Development, Danielle has worked for over eight years in Health Promotion in Melbourne’s Inner South prior to joining WHISE in 2022.
She has worked to increase social connection in place-based projects, with young people around increasing social and emotional wellbeing and in prevention of violence against women, respectful relationships, and gender equity in education settings. Danielle is passionate about building positive and collaborative relationships with a wide range of stakeholders to increase gender equality and prevent gender-based violence.
Laura Riccardi
Sexual and Reproductive Health Lead
Laura joined our team in June 2021 as Health Promotion Officer (Sexual and Reproductive Health). She has a Master of Public Health and prior to joining WHISE, Laura worked as Health Promotion Officer at Women's Health East.
Her role at WHISE includes renewing and overseeing the implementation of Good Health Down South, the women’s sexual and reproductive health strategy for the Southern Metropolitan Region and working with stakeholders and partners to advocate for the prioritisation of women’s sexual and reproductive health.
Gender Equity, Capacity & Capability Team
Krissy Nicholson
Manager, Gender Equity and Capability
Krissy joined WHISE in February 2023. She is a feminist leader with over 18 years in program management, strategy development and behaviour change initiatives globally. Her work spans across disciplines from organisational development and public health, through to gender equality and the prevention of violence against women. She holds a Master of Public Health; Bachelor of Social Sciences (Gender); Advanced Diploma Group Work Facilitation; and a Certificate in Executive Coaching.
Heidi Waterson
Intersectional Gender Equity Lead
Heidi joined WHISE in July 2023 as Gender Intersectionality Lead.
Heidi brings with her two decades of working in community development, primary prevention and health promotion, across local government, community health and a specialist sexual assault and family violence service. Heidi holds a Diploma of Business, Bachelor of Public Health, and a Masters in Leadership. Heidi's experience and professional practice is drawn from social justice and equality.
Maks | Malkanthi Walton
Women's Health & Engagement Officer
Maks has 25 years of demonstrated inclusive, transformational leadership and development across communities in 3 states and territories in Australia.
Her Masters in Transformational Development compliments this work along with her lived intersectional and international experiences. #nothingforuswithoutus is a key foundation for her work.
Natalie Opasinis
Women's Health & Engagement Officer
Natalie commenced employment with WHISE in November 2022 as a Women’s Health and Engagement Officer.
Natalie is a second generation immigrant that is passionate about aligning her professional expertise in health with the lived health experiences of migrants.
Natalie holds a Bachelor in Human Nutrition, Master in Dietetic Studies, and post-graduate certificates in Paediatric Nutrition, Eating Disorders, and Mental Health. Her work at WHISE involves partnering with migrant and refugee communities through respect and co-design to deliver intersectional and culturally sensitive health prevention and promotion initiatives.
Macy Choudhury
Women's Health & Engagement Officer
Macy commenced employment with WHISE in Feb 2023 as a Women’s Health & Engagement Officer.
Macy is an AASW registered Social Worker with a Master of Social Work from University of Melbourne. She also holds a Master of Business Administration (UK) and Master of Economics (India). She is a passionate advocate for gender equality and incorporates an intersectional feminist approach in her social work practice. Prior to joining WHISE, she worked in project management and executive business administration in the UK and Australia. Her work at WHISE is to work with women from migrant and refugee backgrounds across the our priority areas.
Dr Rachel Bush
Evidence & Policy Lead
Rachel joined WHISE in January 2021 as a Research Officer, before stepping into her current role as Evidence & Policy Lead in 2022.
She has eight years of research experience and has worked on a number of projects at Deakin University and partnered with organisations including Beyond Blue, Thorne Harbour Health, and Turning Point. Her role at WHISE is to lead the collection of evidence and research while collaborating with other members of the WHISE team to increase intersectional gender equity.
Tara Kortel
Research and Policy Officer
With over eight years of social policy and advocacy experience prior to joining WHISE in 2022, Tara has worked with a variety of non-for-profits. She believes advocacy is central to shifting community attitudes to create social change and has a passion for translating research into advocacy resources.
Tara holds a Bachelor of Social Science – Legal Studies from La Trobe University, Bachelor of Psychology and Criminology from RMIT and is currently completing her Honours in Psychology at the University of Adelaide.
Operations Team
Dalia Bluzer
Bookkeeper
Prior to joining WHISE, Dalia worked extensively in the corporate sector for over 20 years in marketing and business administration across a range of industries. With a special interest in the prevention of financial violence against women and children, Dalia hopes to empower women, especially mother’s, to be financially aware and independent.
Dalia has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Monash University, and Certificate IV in Bookkeeping and Accounting, and Diploma of Accounting from Swinburne University.
Somaye Sharifi
Administration Support Officer
Somaye Sharifi joined WHISE in June 2022, bringing her enthusiasm and dedication to the role of Administration Support Officer. Currently pursuing her studies in Health Services Assistance at Swinburne University, Somaye is passionate about contributing to the WHISE team and supporting its mission. She enjoys being part of an organisation that works to improve the health and wellbeing of women and girls in our region.
Doseda Hetherington
Communications Lead
Doseda joined our team as Communications Officer in August 2016, before stepping into her current role as Communications Lead in 2022.
Doseda holds a Bachelor of Business from Swinburne University of Technology and was employed at the university for 10 years. Her role at WHISE is to lead the communications and marketing functions at WHISE by designing and implementing communications and marketing strategies.
Jo French
Senior Marketing and Events Officer
Jo joined our team as the Communications, Business & Events Support Officer in March 2021 before stepping into her current role as Marketing & Events Officer.
Jo holds a Bachelor of Arts - Professional and Creative Writing from Deakin University. Her role at WHISE is to facilitate the organisation's marketing engagement and support the running and promotion of WHISE activities and services.
Mairin Angel
Senior Digital Communications Officer
Mairin joined our team as Digital Communications Officer in October 2022.
Mairin holds a Bachelor of Communications (Media) from RMIT university. Her role at WHISE is to implement and support the WHISE social media strategy and maintain the WHISE website, as well as working across departments for communications support.