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Our Board
headspace Board member since 7 May 2018. Board Chair since December 2025.
MBA, PhD, BSc (Hons) Genetics, BSc, FAICD.
John has had an extensive career as a Board Director and brings a broad range of generalist skills and experiences to the headspace boardroom. A scientist by trade, John worked as a researcher in the health and agriculture sectors prior to managing the Australian wine industry’s national Research and Development Corporation as Executive Director.
John is currently Chair of the Studio Nine Group of Architects, Stellan Capital, Foodbank SA/NT and the Australian Wine Research Institute's board nominations committee. He is a Non-Executive Director of Helping Hand Aged Care, Foodbank Australia and Revenir Winemaking, as well as a Trustee for the South Australian Grains Industry Trust.
Chair of Finance and Audit Committee
Member of the Quality and Clinical Governance Committee
Member of the First Nations Cultural Governance Advisory Committee
Board member since 23 November 2021.
Ben is a senior-level professional with twenty years of corporate strategy, strategy execution and transformation experience.
In his corporate career and as a consultant, Ben has worked throughout Asia (China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Japan), the US and UK, primarily in the areas of growth strategy, mergers and acquisitions strategy, commercial & operational due diligence and strategy execution and organisational transformation.
In his community role, Ben is a passionate believer in the importance of empowering young people to reach their potential and is a Board member of PCYC NSW and an active coach of youth athletics, cricket, AFL for more than a decade.
He is a highly analytical decision-maker with extensive experience in building, turning around, and operating companies, along with proven history of commercialising new ideas and leading in dynamic and diverse circumstances.
Ben has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Australia and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Board member since 1 November, 2025
BMed, FANZCA, MHPol, GAICD, Churchill Fellow
Tracey has had an extensive career in health care as a clinician, medical leader and executive director. She has deep experience in clinical redesign and leading change across health and care systems.
She is a current board member of The Healthy Communities Foundation of Australia and Chair of its Board Clinical Governance Committee.
Tracey is passionate about creating a world where all people see hope in their future, a community that cares and respect for their agency and dignity
Board member since 26 November 2019.
Ms Robbie Sefton AM is a respected leader and influencer in regional and rural Australia and possesses a wealth of experience in stakeholder engagement, strategic planning and communications. Ms Sefton is currently the Managing Director of Seftons, a national communications and marketing company in business for more than 25 years, and is also a partner in a New South Wales farming enterprise.
Ms Sefton is a strategic adviser and non-executive director within the government, corporate, education and not-for-profit sectors, with a range of experience in business management and cultural change. She has successfully managed and implemented major economic, social, cultural and environmental projects and campaigns that have contributed substantially to Australia’s rural and regional communities.
Recognised as a well informed and knowledgeable rural leader and advocate, Ms Sefton is consulted by a range of sectors wishing to utilise her extensive knowledge of and involvement in regional community issues and priorities, agriculture and the nation’s unique economic, social and cultural assets. Her expert advice and opinions are sought by federal and state government agencies, and corporates in Australia. Ms Sefton is regularly approached by print and broadcast media for comment, or for appearances on national radio and television panel programs.
In January 2023, Robbie received an Australia Day honour (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for her contribution to agriculture.
Board Member since October 2022
Ms Burns is a proud Wiradjuri descendant from Central NSW
She has a Bachelor of Nursing from the University of Western Sydney and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Network, and an Affiliate Member of the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives
More than twenty five years’ experience in the healthcare sector, with a strong focus on organisational change management for the past decade. Her professional experience includes time as Deputy CEO with The Healing Foundation, and as Organisational Change Management Specialist and Director of her company, Optimism Consultancy Group, and is currently the CEO of Australian Indigenous Doctors Association.
Ms Burns is also a Non-Executive Board Director for Q-bital Healthcare Solutions, and previously Non-Executive Board Director for Huntington’s Queensland.
She is passionate about executive leadership, sound governance and cultural competency.
Professor Andrew Chanen is Chief of Clinical Practice and Head of Personality Disorder Research at Orygen in Melbourne, Australia. He is also a Professorial Fellow at the Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne.
Andrew established and directs an internationally recognised program of research, treatment innovation, and service development in youth mental health and early intervention for severe mental disorders in young people. Andrew established the field of early intervention for personality disorder and is a leading global advocate for effective, evidence-based policy. He has produced over 220 scientific publications in high-impact international journals and has received over $30 million in competitive grant funding.
Andrew serves on the Editorial Boards of several journals, and expert national and international groups. He is a Past President of the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders. His work has been recognised with several awards for advancing healthcare, including the 2023 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ Ian Simpson Award and the 2017 Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Field of Severe Personality Disorders from the Borderline Personality Disorder Resource Centre and Personality Disorder Institute, New York.
Emma is a passionate advocate, peer worker, researcher and lived experience leader dedicated to ensuring mental health and wellbeing systems centre the voices, needs and rights of the people they serve. Growing up in rural New South Wales while navigating complex mental illness and neurodivergence without access to appropriate youth mental health supports, Emma developed a strong commitment to improving accessibility, equity and quality of care for young people and their families across Australia.
Emma currently works as a Lived Experience Project Coordinator at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, partnering with children, young people and families to embed lived and living experience within child and youth mental health research. Working from a rights-based, bioethical and participatory approach, Emma is passionate about strengthening partnerships between communities, services and research to ensure systems are relevant, safe, responsive and meaningful to those who rely on them.
Since 2019, Emma has been involved with headspace as a member of hY NRG (headspace National Youth Reference Group). Emma has also worked across frontline, public health, advocacy and research settings, including peer work and project coordination roles both locally and internationally. Emma is deeply committed to ensuring all children and young people are supported to lead full and meaningful lives. She brings a holistic perspective to wellbeing, advocating for approaches that recognise the many ways individuals connect, cope and thrive within their communities. Emma holds a Bachelor of Health Science and a Master of Public Health and is a qualified peer worker.
Outside of work, Emma can usually be found embracing her ever-evolving list of hobbies, most often running with her Kelpie, Pippa, cycling, swimming, surfing, or creating slightly wonky bowls and cups on the pottery wheel.
Sarthak Gandhi is a junior doctor, researcher, and national youth mental health advocate who works at the intersection of clinical care, research, and governance, driven by a passion for creating systems that better support every child and young person to live well. His journey in mental health began through his own experiences navigating care as a young person, inspiring a commitment to prevention, early intervention, and more compassionate, responsive health systems.
Now commencing paediatric training, Sarthak brings a child- and family-centred approach to his clinical care, grounded in empathy, curiosity, and equity. He is particularly interested how healthcare teams can respond earlier and more effectively to the wellbeing needs of children and adolescents. Alongside his clinical work, Sarthak is a researcher at the Centre for Community Child Health at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, where he focuses on strengthening mental health support in community and primary care settings and translating evidence into practice and policy. His research explores how schools, GPs, and families can work together to recognise and respond early to changes in children’s wellbeing.
Sarthak’s involvement with headspace reflects his deep interest in youth participation and lived experience leadership in mental health systems. He previously served as a member of hY NRG (the headspace National Youth Reference Group), contributing to national campaigns and programs that embed young people’s voices in service design and policy.
Guided by a belief in collaboration and the power of young voices to drive meaningful change, Sarthak is committed to helping build a health system that listens with empathy, acts early, and values the whole wellbeing of every child and young person. Beyond his work, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, exploring night markets, and cheering on the Geelong Cats!
Jason Trethowan commenced as CEO of headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation in January 2017. Since then, he has overseen an expansion of the headspace network of digital services for young people, school-based programs, and an ongoing commitment to over 160 headspace centres nationally. With strengthened community and government support for headspace, Jason understands the importance of embedding and integrating national models of service delivery in communities to ensure all young people across Australia can benefit from headspace services in the areas of mental health, general health, work and study, and alcohol and other drugs.
Prior to working at headspace, Jason held previous CEO positions from 2007 which included being CEO of Western Victoria Primary Health Network.
Jason was a Board Director of Barwon Health from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2023.
He is a Board Director of Gforce Employment Solutions, and has achieved qualifications in Health Information Management, Health Informatics, and master’s in business administration.
Jason has been a Director on the headspace Board since March 2024.
Appointed as inaugural Patron of headspace in 2023.
Board member between 2009 - 2023.
AO, MD, BS, PhD, FRCP, FRANZCP, Australian of the Year 2010.
Patrick is Executive Director of Orygen and Professor of Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne. He is a world-leading researcher in the area of early psychosis and youth mental health. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Wiley journal "Early Intervention in Psychiatry".
Patrick has also played a major role in mental health reform in Australia and many other countries. He led the successful consortium bid to the Department of Health and Ageing, on behalf of Orygen, University of Melbourne, APS and BMRI/University of Sydney, to design and implement from 2006-2009, prior to it forming an independent company in 2009.
Patrick is President of the Society for Mental Health Research 2013-2015; acting Chair of the Steering Committee of the International Association for Youth Mental Health. He is a former Director of Headstrong, Ireland's National Youth Mental Health Foundation; past-president and treasurer of the International Early Psychosis Association; a former member of the National Mental Health Advisory Committee; and a former member of the Victorian Government's Mental Health Reform Council.