Board of Directors
The current Oceania Academy Board of Directors includes representatives from across Australia and New Zealand.
- Amy Hogan, Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand, New Zealand. (Co-President)
- Georgina Clutterbuck, University of Queensland, Australia. (Co-President)
- Alicia Spittle, University of Melbourne, Australia. (Past-President)
- Cathy Wang, Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Australia. (Treasurer)
- Kirsty Stewart, Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia.
- Ann Jorgensen, independent advisor, Australia.
- Sian Williams, Curtin University, Australia.
- Petra Karlsson, Cerebral Palsy Alliance, Australia.
- Leanne Sakzewski, Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Centre, The University of Queensland, Australia.
- Fiona Graham, University of Otago, New Zealand.
- Alexandra Sorhage, Starship Children’s Health, New Zealand.
- Rachel Toovey, University of Melbourne, Australia.
- Guiliana Antolovich, Royal Children’s Hospital, Australia.
- Prue Golland (she/her), Senior Physiotherapist, Business owner, Australia.
Get to know our Board…
Amy Hogan is the Researcher and Member Support Advisor at the Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand. Amy’s role is to make information and resources accessible to members by writing about key ideas and topics in everyday language. Amy is also working on her Masters Thesis (Psychology) examining the language of experiment treatment claims. Amy works with researchers from places like CP Stem Reference and Australasian Pain Science Group, to keep up to date with international experiences. The work bridges the gap between the paediatric system, adolescence and adulthood with an emphasis on everyday experiences. This is knowledge that was lacking when Amy was growing up with CP. Despite many advances in our understanding of CP across the lifespan, it is still a major developing area, using research and information to assist individuals and families to understand the complexities of CP better. Amy’s primary goal is to be informative but interesting with a particular emphasis on understanding the spectrum of Cerebral Palsy at all ages and stages.
Georgina Clutterbuck (PhD) is a physiotherapist, researcher and educator who is passionate about supporting children with disabilities to participate in life-long sport and physical recreation. She has worked clinically in government, not-for-profit and private practice, and is currently a researcher and lecturer at the University of Queensland, Australia. Georgina has led the working committee who operationalised the expansion of the Oceania Academy’s membership to include people with lived experience of CP and their families, and people working in the area of childhood disability. Dr Clutterbuck’s research in sports participation for children with disabilities includes the development of the SPORTS participation model and the Sports Stars intervention which supports children to transition from physiotherapy services into community sport participation. She was delighted to join the Oceania Academy board in 2022.
Professor Alicia Spittle (PhD) is the Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. She is a physiotherapist and clinician researcher who leads several grants focused early detection and early intervention for infants at high-risk of neurodevelopmental impairments including infants born preterm and/or with cerebral palsy. She has a brother with a disability and passionate about supporting families throughout the lifespan. Of Ngāi Tahu descent, she is the first Māori member of the Oceania Academy board.
Kirsty Stewart (PhD) is a senior occupational therapist in Kids Rehab at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, in Sydney and holds a clinical lecturer position at The University of Sydney. Kirsty has over 30 years of clinical, teaching and research experience in cerebral palsy, with particular interest in movement disorders and neuromodulation interventions. Other areas of interest include upper limb interventions, spinal surveillance for children with cerebral palsy and knowledge translation. Kirsty has been a member of the Oceania Academy since 2008 and has been involved on the conference and scientific committees of the Oceania Academy since 2014. She became a Board member of the Oceania Academy in 2018 and President from 2020 to 2022.
A/Professor Sian Williams (PhD. BSc (Hons), AEP) works within the School of Allied health at Curtin University in Western Australia. With a background in biomechanics, and an Accredited Clinical Exercise Physiologist (Exercise and Sports Science Australia), the primary focus of her research is related to paediatric disability (predominantly cerebral palsy), rehabilitation and physical activity, and muscle morphology and function.
Ann Jorgensen is a lawyer with broad experience in community law and policy. She is currently a Senior Research and Policy Officer at the Victorian Law Reform Commission. Prior to this she was the Principal Solicitor of the Mental Health Legal Centre. Ann is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has sat on the boards of a number of public sector and community organisations. She is currently a member of the Victorian Clinical Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity (CCOPMM).
Cathy Wang is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) with over twenty years of experience in management and financial accounting. Currently, she serves as the Senior Grants and Contracts Accountant at Cerebral Palsy Alliance, where she manages the research funding and grants program and oversees the financials for the research institute. In addition to her professional role, Cathy has gained valuable experience as a treasurer through her volunteer work with a community sports program. Dedicated to using her skills to help others, Cathy is also an avid animal lover and passionate advocate for wildlife protection.
Petra Karlsson (PhD, BS (OT); MHs (OT)) is the Program Lead for Technology at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Institute and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney. Dr. Karlsson is an occupational therapist with a PhD in assistive technology and cerebral palsy. Her research focuses on integrating allied health and biomedical engineering to support communication, cognitive assessment, and daily functioning across the lifespan for individuals living with severe cerebral palsy.
A/Professor Leanne Sakzewski (PhD) is a Senior Research Fellow at the Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Centre, The University of Queensland. Leanne is an occupational therapist leading clinical trials focused on improving motor, participation and social outcomes for children with cerebral palsy. She is passionate about evidence-based care including building caregiver capacity to advocate for the right interventions at the right time for their child with CP, and building clinician capacity to deliver evidence-based care.
A/Professor Fi Graham (PhD, PGCert HE, B Occ Ther) is an academic at the University of Otago, Dept of Medicine, Rehabilitation Teaching and Research Unit. Fi teaches postgraduate interprofessional rehabilitation specialising in paediatric rehabilitation. A core focus of Fi’s research is empowering communication with parents of children with disability including coaching and other autonomy supportive communication tools. Fi is passionate about improving access and equity in rehabilitation, underpinning her research exploring the use of tele-rehabilitation with people with physical disabilities, children and families. As tauiwi, she is committed to upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi in improving equity of access and outcomes in rehabilitation for all New Zealanders and applying its principles in all her work.
Alexandra Sorhage is a clinician‑researcher based at Starship Children’s Health in Aotearoa New Zealand. Her work has a strong focus on the use of population data to inform health system improvement, with particular emphasis on respiratory and musculoskeletal health across the life course of childhood‑onset disability (in particular cerebral palsy). Alexandra is committed to making research useful, understandable, and grounded in real‑world experiences, with equity at the centre of governance and decision‑making. She is a recipient of the competitive 2026 Health Research Council Clinical Research Training Fellowship. She has been a committee member of the Oceania Academy of Cerebral Palsy and other Childhood‑onset Disabilities since 2017
Rachel Toovey (PhD) is a physiotherapist, researcher, and educator at The University of Melbourne. Rachel’s work is driven by a belief in a just and equitable future for all, and core to this is working with individuals, families, and communities to make change that is important to them. Rachel has been a member of the Oceania Academy for 15 years, serving on various committees including as co-chair of the Equity Statement Working Group. Rachel brings this drive, alongside her leadership and governance experience and skills, to her role on the Oceania Academy board.
Prue Golland (Ba.App.Sc. (Physiotherapy); MPH) is a senior physiotherapist and founder of The Collaborative Physio, a mobile physiotherapy service for people with disability in Wagga Wagga and surrounds. Her mission is to positively impact people and their communities through the provision of high quality, respectful, safe and meaningful services. Prue has over 20 years’ experience as a clinical physiotherapist working in the field of disability. In addition to her work in clinical services, Prue has a keen interest in research and development of evidence-based interventions for people with cerebral palsy. In 2014, Prue completed her Master of Public Health focusing on international aid and development and in 2015, she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to investigate evidence based interventions for maximising gross motor outcomes in children with cerebral palsy. Prue is driven by a desire to support people with cerebral palsy, regardless of where they live and is particularly passionate about service equity in regional, remote, and low resource settings. Prue is an active member of the Oceania Academy and is involved in the International Affairs committee.
Clin A/Professor Giuliana Antolovich (BSc(Hons), PhD, MBBS, FRACP) is a paediatrician in the Department of Neurodevelopment and Disability at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne (RCH). She is a member of the Clinical Ethics Response Group at RCH, a Clinical Associate Professor, in the Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne and an Honorary Fellow at The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne. Giuliana’ clinical work over almost 30 years has focussed on the care of children and adolescents with complex disability and chronic medical conditions. She has a special interest in perioperative care and in the ethical issues that arise in decision making and communication for this children and adolescents in this group. She has a clear purpose to improve and expand the disability literacy and capacity, and the ethical competence, of clinicians to improve the experience and outcomes for children and adolescents with neurodisability as they engage in clinical care.