The Health Promotion team work to support all areas of EACH, as well as the wider community, through a settings based approach to health promotion. 

The team includes:

 

Maggie Palmer - Health Promotion Program Manager

Maggie migrated from "sunny" Scotland in February 2003 with her husband and two sons. Maggie began life as a Registered General Nurse working in acute hospital settings before very quickly moving in to Health Promotion. She has been a Health Promotion Practitioner for the last sixteen years, along with her family, love of food, travel and wine is her great passion for health promotion.

Maggie has worked as a volunteer with breast cancer care services and also as a Sexual Health Advisor with Gay Men’s Health services. 

Her Health Promotion career has included working across all of the health promotion settings education, health community, workplace and prisons. Her passion lies in working with others to “spread the health promotion message”. Maggie enjoys reading and writing (romance but don’t tell any one) caravanning, great Aussie food and wine but could do without the Aussie wildlife especially the eight legged kind.

Desiree Terrill - Workplace Health Promotion Co-ordinator

Desiree has a passion for upstream health promotion and has been working in the field for just over a decade. Following completion of a Bachelor of Applied Science (double major in Health Promotion / major Human Resource Management) at Deakin University, her health promotion experience commenced in General Practice and Divisions of General Practice. 

Desiree joined the Health Promotion team at EACH in 2008 and has the portfolio of workplace health promotion, with a special interest in working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Strengthening community action, increasing capacity to empower individuals, and expanding partnerships for health are some of the key health promotion action areas of focus.  Desiree enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, and loves the theatre and travel.

Last year Desiree completed a Master of Public Health with a major in Public Health Research.  Her research thesis was titled "An Australian perspective of workplace health promotion strategies that promote the health of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds" of which she continues to build upon the research in her workplace role at EACH. Her continuing position on the Knox Council Multicultural Advisory Committee for the last three years is one example of health promotion advocacy promoting greater awareness of cultural diversity in a local region. In 2010, Desiree received the Victorian Health Promotion Association Postgraduate Student of the Year Runner Up Award.  Desiree looks forward to ongoing teamwork in health promotion that strives to improve health for all people.

Maria Nicolaou (Loupetis) - Health Promotion Officer

Maria completed a Bachelor of Nursing and a Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Promotion) at Deakin University in 2002. She enjoyed three years of cardio-thoracic nursing at Cabrini and Monash Hospitals. In 2005, Maria ventured into the Health Promotion Field as a volunteer at Boroondara Local Government before becoming a Health Promotion Officer at Women’s Health East and discovering her passion for Health Promotion.

Maria has now been working at EACH since May 2008 in the Health Promotion team and is enjoying her focus on improving health inequities and capacity building for health promotion. To further develop her skills in this field, Maria, commenced her Masters in Public Health in 2008. Her commitment to health promotion is also carried out through her involvement with the Australian Health Promotion Association’s Victorian Branch. With her work at EACH, study and an casual nursing shifts, Maria makes sure she has time for her other passions, spending time with her family and friends and lets not forget any events that revolve around food and conversations!!

Elizabeth Senior - Health Promoting Schools Co-ordinator

Liz has been working in the public health area for almost 30 years. This includes time working as a Dental Therapist for School Dental Service, a Social Worker in the mental health field, and as a Health Promotion Officer.  Liz is passionate about affecting health outcomes through changing people’s environments.

Liz has completed a Diploma Applied Science (Dental Therapy); Graduate Diploma Health Promotion (Deakin); Bachelor Social Work (Monash); and Masters Public Health (Deakin). Liz’s main areas of responsibility are: Schools and Community Renewal. In 2009 the Health Promotion Team plan to work with a number of schools in the area. The aim is to initiate and support schools to adopt a broad view of health consistent with the Ottawa Charter for Health and to work towards addressing social and environmental issues within schools that affect health status of the parents, teachers and students. Community Renewal is part of A Fairer Victoria, the Victorian Government’s $1.6 billion plan to address disadvantage and create opportunity.  Liz will be working with the Community Renewal team at Maroondah Council and local residents to help them transform their community.

 

Meg Scolyer – CaLD Health Promotion Officer  

Meg joined the Health Promotion Team at EACH Social & Community Health in January 2010, after returning to Melbourne from sunny Far North Queensland where she was working with remote Indigenous communities. Since joining the team, Meg has been working with, and advocating alongside, culturally & linguistically diverse (CaLD) communities, which is a key focus of the CaLD portfolio.

Meg has completed studies in Nursing, Health Promotion and Community Development. She is currently enrolled in a Master of Health Promotion which she expects to finish in 2012.

Meg has been a member of the Australian Health Promotion Association (AHPA) since 2007, and in 2011 became a member of the AHPA Victorian Branch Committee. This volunteer position provides Meg with an opportunity to contribute to the direction of health promotion at both a state and national level.

Meg’s health promotion work is based on her strong commitment to social justice, and is underpinned by the principles and values of modern health promotion. Alongside Meg’s passion for health promotion, she enjoys adventures, good food, and pottering in the garden.    

 

Dr Andrew Joyce- Health Promotion Evaluation and Research Support

Andrew works with the health promotion team at EACH focusing on evaluation and research support. He also works at Monash University teaching health promotion within the Department of Occupational Therapy and conducts evaluation consultancy projects for health services in the southern and eastern regions. His background includes working in community health, primary schools and academia specialising in mental health promotion and settings based approaches.