Steering Group

AVA Fellow, Warwick Vale, is an experienced equine practitioner who has practised in the Northern Suburbs of Perth for over 30 years. He has held numerous positions on the Equine Veterinarians Australia executive, including President, and during this time was involved in issues such as Hendra, Equine Influenza, Racing Licensing and governance change. Warwick has previously owned and managed a five-veterinarian equine hospital and has previously owned mixed and small-animal based practices. He currently works as an independent clinician and veterinary business consultant and is the Immediate Past President of the AVA. He is passionate about veterinary wellness and during his presidency ensured that this was at the top of AVA’s strategic priorities.

Anna is currently the Assistant State Inspector in the specialist Psychological Health and Safety Team at SafeWork NSW. A large part of Anna’s role as an Inspector is to provide advice and support to industry on how to achieve compliance with the work health and safety laws around psychological health. Anna is an Organisational Psychologist with significant experience in workplace mental health, having worked as a clinician as well as managed the mental health and wellbeing function at a strategic and operational level within a large organisation. She has deep knowledge of the types of psychosocial hazards in the workplace that have the potential to cause occupational stress and advocate for focusing on good work design to minimise the risk of psychological injury. Anna is keen to collaborate with the steering committee to develop innovative solutions, reduce the impact and causes of mental ill-health with a focus on targeting preventative strategies to eliminate and minimise work health and safety risks impacting Veterinary practitioners.

BVSc (Hons), Grad Cert. Management Improving the health and wellness of the veterinary profession has been a key focus for Debbie in the many projects that she has undertaken during her career. Debbie is the current President of the ACT Veterinary Practitioners Board and a member of the AVA NSW Division committee. Debbie has previously served the profession in several roles within the AVA, including as the AVA National Strategy Manager, AVA Policy Manager, AVA National Membership and Strategy Manager, Executive Officer of the NSW Division and Executive Officer of the Australian Veterinary Practice Management Association (now the Veterinary Business Group). Prior to this Debbie, owned three successful small animal practices. As the AVA National Strategy Manager in 2014, Debbie prepared a Veterinary Health and Wellbeing Strategy including the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework for the AVA; part of this strategy was adopted by the Board. Debbie became responsible for the development and introduction of the current AVA Graduate Mentoring Program, the AVA’s gate keeper training using the Mental Health First Aid Training program and improving the AVA online VetHealth resources. Through her work, particularly as the Executive Officer of the AVA business group, Debbie developed an appreciation of the fact that improving wellness within the profession requires prosperous practices, long term career satisfaction and good client-veterinarian relationships.

Rosie Overfield is well-known and well-respected in the Australian veterinary profession as an experienced counsellor, HR advisor and mental health and well-being programs facilitator. With over 20 years of experience in the industry, she has a strong focus on consultancy and training in mentally healthy workplace design and practices, HR and leadership models for psychological safety and psychosocial factors. Rosie is a nationally registered counsellor with a Bachelor of Communication, a Graduate Diploma of Counselling and a Master of Human Resources and Organisational Development. Rosie is proud to be the Australian Veterinary Association’s Principal Master Mental Health First Aid Educator since 2016. Her engaging and warm style has seen her train over 800 veterinary professionals to proactively support each other. Rosie is also a practice owner and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors course, giving her a unique perspective and diverse skillset to positively contribute to the AVA’s Veterinary Wellness Steering Group. Rosie feels privileged to promote the THRIVE principles – prevent harm, promote the positives of the veterinary profession, and protect those in crisis. B. Communication, Grad Dip Counselling, MHROD, GAICD, Cert IV VN

Michael is a University of Queensland graduate who worked in private veterinary practice, in Australia and the UK. He joined the then Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia in the 1984. Gained Australian College of Veterinary Scientists qualification in epidemiology in 1989. He led a team studying the epidemiology of Caseous Lymphadenitis (CLA) in sheep and has published two book chapters, 21 scientific papers and 41 international and national conference papers and his PhD on CLA and other topics. He was a Councillor and Honorary Treasurer of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists and President of the Animal Welfare Chapter. He was WA AVA President in 1991 and 2017/18 and is currently a policy councillor. He has been an AVA mentor since 2005 and assisted the development of the AVA’s National Mentoring Program. Michael has been a member of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s Professional Wellness Group since 2018. This group was formed as a focus to address the wellness challenges in the global veterinary family. He has a strong background in strategic planning and prioritisation skills in all his work and volunteer activities, but particularly promoting the benefits of a national wellness approach within the AVA and internationally, using epidemiology principles in animal welfare science and in major research projects on chronic sheep disease. BVSc., MACVSc (Epidemiology), Grad Cert Animal Welfare, PhD

Ben graduated from The University of Queensland in 1996 and obtained his ANZCVS Surgery Membership in 2002. He completed an MBA at Deakin University in 2019 and is currently completing an AICD Directors Course. He has been a part-owner and managing director of a multi-vet mixed practice in Warragul, Gippsland for the past 18 years. Together with the team, they have supported many of the staff through their mental ill-health challenges and have developed a supportive and psychologically safe culture that fosters a healthy work-life balance. Ben is a voluntary director with a local Bendigo Community Bank, and engages with a variety of community stakeholders to provide funding and support for local organisations and programs. BVSc, MANZCVS, MBA

Cathy graduated from Murdoch University in 1989 as a veterinarian. She worked as a clinician, trainer and manager in private, university and corporate practices for 25 years, mostly in the pressure cooker environment of Emergency and Critical Care. Cathy’s experiences, and those of the people around her, clearly demonstrated how veterinary work can be both rewarding and enjoyable, as well as stressful and emotionally exhausting. There were times in her career where the rewards predominated and others where burnout prevailed. In 2014, Cathy realigned to focus on the concept of well-being in the veterinary industry. She now sees her role as creating the space and safety to have conversations that explore the big questions of our lives as humans working in the veterinary industry. The experiences and training that inform Cathy’s work are her long involvement with the industry and a humanistic outlook intermingled with training in positive psychology, coaching, group work, spiritual care and meaning-centred therapy. Cathy is also a Mental Health First Aider. BSc, BVMS, MVS, TAA, Dip Pos Psych and Well-being