- About
- Governance and stewardship
- Trustees
Trustees
Our Trustees have overall responsibility for St John of God Health Care. They bring a wealth of skills and experience to the organisation.
The Trustees exercise a range of authorities, including the appointment and evaluation of Governing Board members and ensuring that our ministry remains faithful to its role within the Catholic Church.
The Trustees meet 11 times a year.
Hon Neville Owen AO, KCSG - LLB (Hons), LLD (Hon) 
Trustee Chair since 1 January 2022.
Trustee since January 2020.
- Extensive legal experience spanning more than 40 years’ including almost 20 years as a judge of the WA Supreme Court
- Exceptional corporate governance expertise as judge and later as the Royal Commissioner reviewing the collapse of the HIH Insurance group
- Current member of Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors appointed by Pope Francis in 2018, member of the Australian Catholic Bishops Commission’s Implementation Advisory Group and Chair of the Church’s Governance Review Project
- Former Chair of the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Commission Truth Justice and Healing Council
- Trustee and former Chancellor of The University of Notre Dame Australia
Rev Dr Joseph Parkinson – STL PhD
Deputy Chairman since January 2014
Trustee since October 2009
- Ordained for the Archdiocese of Perth in 1981
- Postgraduate in Moral Theology from the Alphonsian Academy in Rome (STL) and The University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle WA (PhD)
- Director of LJ Goody Bioethics Centre in Perth WA since 2003
- Concurrent appointments: Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Philosophy and Theology, University of Notre Dame Australia (Fremantle Campus); Non-executive director, Loving for Life (WA) Inc.; Member of WA Department of Health Reproductive Technology Council; Clinical Ethics Consultancy, Perth Children’s Hospital; St John of God Health Care Human Research Ethics Committee

Mr Frank Cooper – AO B.Com (UWA)
Trustee since January 2015
- Extensive business experience spanning more than 30 years and an outstanding record of community service
- Member of the Senate of the University of Western Australia and Chair of its Strategic Resources Committee
- Current Director of Woodside Petroleum Limited and South 32 Limited, and Chairman of the Insurance Commission of Western Australia
- Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
- Awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2014 and West Australian of the Year – Professions category in 2015
Ms Danielle Cronin - BEcon, MPPP, MAICD, MACEL
Trustee since January 2018
- Extensive senior leadership experience in Catholic education at state and national level, including extended terms on the NSW and National Catholic Education Commissions
- Member of the Australian Catholic Council for Pastoral Research and member of the Catholic Church’s Royal Commission Implementation Advisory Group and member of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Education Council’s Data Strategy sub-group
- Current Director of Jesuit Education Australia and Good Samaritan Education
- Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Australian Council of Educational Leadership
- Awarded Australian Churchill Fellowship in 2008
Ms Celia Hammond – LLM, BJuris (Hons) LLB
Trustee since January 2023
- Served as MP for the Federal Electorate of Curtin in Western Australia from 2019 to 2022
- Originally appointed as a St John of God Health Care Trustee in 2018 but resigned in 2019 following her election to the House of Representatives
- Previously Vice Chancellor of The University of Notre Dame (2008 to 2019), and was one of five foundation academic staff members in the University’s School of Law
- More than 20 years’ experience as a legal practitioner and legal lecturer at the University of Western Australia and The University of Notre Dame
- Member of the Universities Australia Plenary Council, The University of Notre Dame Australia Board and Law Society of Western Australia
- Awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Portland in 2016 and a Fellowship from St Catherine’s College (UWA) in 2010.
Mr Mark Murphy – LLB (UWA), BJuris (UWA), FLWA 
Trustee since January 2014
- General Manager for the Australian Region of the Sisters of St John of God
- Previously General Counsel and Company Secretary St John of God Health Care
- Affiliate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, member of the Law Society of WA, member of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association and an alumni of Leadership WA’s Signature Leadership Program
Adjunct Professor Susan Pascoe AM - BA, Dip Ed, GDSE, M Ed Admin (Hons), FAICD, FIPAA, FACE 
Trustee since May 2018
- Wide-ranging experience in government and not-for-profit sectors focused on consultancy regarding governance, review, strategic planning and leadership on top of early career experience in education
- Represented Australia at the highest levels including at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United National World Education Form and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Former Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Board and current President and Chair of the Australian Council for International Development, and Chair of the Community Directors' Council
- Inaugural Commissioner for the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission from 2012 to 2017, former Commissioner of the State Services Authority in Victoria and Commissioner for the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Black Saturday Bushfires
- Awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2007 and winner of the National Leadership in Government award in 2016
- Adjunct Professor at the University of WA