Meet Our Team

Alicia Eugene

Principal Consultant

A sought after strategist and highly regarded sector innovator, Alicia has held a number of senior management and C-suite executive roles across government, private and not-for-profit sectors.  She has lead high performing teams, overseen complex change management and delivered award winning projects across the justice, disability and aged care.  

Alicia’s recent executive role in a large national NFP aged care and disability service has given her a unique insight in to both the challenges and opportunities many organisations are facing during this period of significant sector reform. Her portfolio included strategy and market positioning, business development, stakeholder engagement, research and development, and marketing.  Despite the changing sector environment, she helped to oversee a period of more than 100% growth in the business and expansion in to three new states and territories in Australia.

Her background in government procurement and tendering gives her a unique insight into how to help you position your business for new opportunities and to stand out from the crowd in tenders and grant applications.  Alicia has been directly responsible for gaining more than $20m in funding for a range of projects.  She offers particular expertise in managing the innovation pipeline from ideation right through to project management and publication of research findings.

With formal qualifications in Justice (majoring in law and public policy) and post-graduate qualifications in criminal justice, education and project management, Alicia has overseen a number of award winning innovation projects, including the design and implementation of a new statewide program in the criminal justice system for which she received an individual Australia Day award medallion for excellence in public sector service.

Most recently, Alicia managed a federal government funded project which was awarded the prestigious Asia-Pacific Eldercare Innovation of the Year in Singapore.

Alicia specialises in facilitating strategic planning, supporting businesses in the full innovation lifecycle from ideation to funding applications, project management and oversight; and a range of business development and research activities.  

Alicia is passionate about “thinking outside the box” to develop innovative solutions that better empower vulnerable individuals and that build community capacity, especially in regional and rural areas.

She also works as a Board director – currently supporting a not-for-profit organisation delivering housing and wrap-around support services to vulnerable women and children, particularly those escaping family violence.

Dr Deb Selway

Lead Researcher

Dr Deb Selway is currently focused on consulting in the fields of NDIS workforce development (training and employment) with a focus on rural and remote / place-based and grassroots initiatives.  She is also a specialist researcher with a particular interest in women’s issues, housing and homelessness, and regional and rural aged care and disability issues.

Deb holds a Masters of Journalism (UQ), Masters of Guidance and Counselling (JCU) and a PhD from Griffith University specialising in women’s leadership.  She has worked as an assessor on the National Panel of Assessors (Disability) and currently leads a wholistic National Disability Services workforce development planning project in Far North Queensland, involving extensive stakeholder engagement and collaboration with Indigenous councils, regional councils, training providers and community organisations.

She is a highly skilled communicator and experienced researcher.

Equity, human rights and fairness drives Deb’s passion for her work on behalf of vulnerable people.  Whether it’s seeking service delivery solutions for people in some of Australia’s most remote communities, or advocating on behalf of homeless people’s right to dignity and shelter, Deb focuses her efforts on working directly with people and communities to find and enact creative solutions.

Eloise Touw

Clinical Consultant

With over six years experience in a variety of roles in the aged care industry, Eloise is dedicated to the provision of quality care for older people, grounded in empathy and clinical excellence; and leveraged by a willingness to embrace change.

Eloise holds a BA, is a Registered Nurse and will shortly complete her Graduate Certificate in Aged Care Management.

She has worked for more than four years in a residential aged care setting, providing comprehensive nursing care, including complex wound management, recognition and management of deteriorating residents, outbreak management and infection control, medication management, auditing and continuous improvement to meet regulatory compliance, and liaison with medical professionals including general practitioners, consultants and allied health.

Eloise spent two years leading improvement projects for Feros Care, including implementation and management of continence assessment technology to assist resident care outcomes, acting as an AFCI champion guiding RACF RN led comprehensive assessment, and overseeing the introduction of video conferencing between GPs and the residential homes to decrease hospital admissions in regional areas.

Most recently, Eloise has been a Care Manager and then General Manager at Opal Aged Care Austral House, including provision of quality and safe care for residents, coordination of meaningful activity to enhance resident wellbeing, human resources, profit and loss management and commercial sustainability.  Eloise was specifically brought in to lead the transformation of a non-compliant residential aged care facility on a TFI Plan to meet and exceed the standards set by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, which she achieved within three months.  

Eloise joins the Harvest team as a warm, empathetic and person-centred practitioner with extensive practical experience in residential aged care service delivery and quality improvement.

Jo Day

Clinical Consultant

Jo is an RN and qualified midwife with a postgraduate certificate in Critical Care Nursing and 13 years experience across a range of clinical roles.  These have included permanent access nurse in the Intensive Care Unit and Nursing Unit Manager for the Medical Assessment Unit / Surgical Short Stay Unit at the Royal Prince Alfred hospital.

Jo has also spent two years as a Nurse Educator (overseeing two Clinical Nurse Educators) in the Centre for Education and Workforce Development for the Gradate Nurse Transition program at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.  This role involved coordinating approximately 150 first year graduate nurses and providing high quality educational support and clinical guidance through organised clinical development packages, structured educational teaching sessions, and competency assessment.  

Since 2014, Jo has been a Nurse Manager for Acute and Sub-Acute Care Units, coordinating a multidisciplinary health team to ensure the effective delivery of clinical health care at the Caulfield Hospital.  In this role, Jo was also responsible for coordinating the review and change in service model for the Medical Assessment Unit, implementing new risk management strategies, and leading the case review, case coordination and planning for patient journey and staff development.

Since 2018, Jo has been in the role of Senior Project Nurse Manager in the Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit at Caulfield Hospital to implement the Safer Care Victoria review recommendations, ensuring the nursing team had strong leadership and support – clinically, emotionally and psychologically.  This involved leading a range of quality improvement activities and a complementary staff wellbeing program to improve clinical development and education, occupational health and safety and interdisciplinary culture.

Jo is a highly respected clinician, performing a range of governance roles, such as the chairing the Nursing Management Meeting, the Medical Assessment Unit Working Party and the Clinical Nurse Educator Committee.  She has also been a member of the Whole of Hospital Committee, the Nursing Clinical Council Committee and the External Auditor for Performance Management.

Jo’s commitment to continuing professional development has further developed her skillset, including the Leadership and Management program through the Australian School of Applied Management (2018), the School for Change Agents (2017), a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and a Diploma of Project Management.  

Jo is passionate about aged care service delivery and quality improvement projects and brings extensive clinical, project management and educator skills to the Harvest team.  

Jo Higgins

Consultant and Grant Writer

Jo has worked in the media sector and in the public service, with over 30 years experience in the (now) Department of Human Services.  Some of her key roles have included managing Centrelink services across the ACT and southern NSW, executive level policy roles with a particular focus on families, older Australians and carers; and national management of the Family Assistance program.  

With a postgraduate Diploma in Public Sector Management from Flinders University, Jo has led a number of projects, such as the national implementation of digital services for families in Department of Human Services, multiple service delivery modernisation projects and large government policy implementation programs.

She has been awarded an Australia Day public service achievement award for her management of the Department’s response to the Canberra Bushfire Disaster in 2013.  

Jo is a skilled communicator who excels at distilling complex information in to an easy to understand format for a range of audiences.  She supports a range of business development functions for Harvest’s clients, including strategic policy design and grant and tender writing.

Jo has a fundamental belief in the ability of individuals and communities to overcome adversity and achieve great things. Her ‘blue sky thinking’ and positivity enables her to problem solve for the present and develop unique solutions for the future.

Michelle Govan

Educational Designer and Lead Trainer

Michelle Govan brings a wealth of experience across education and training, disability services and therapeutic services.  These form a strong foundation for her understanding of human behaviour and development in the management and care of individuals and their families.

With a degree in Special Education, Michelle was employed with the Queensland Department of Education and Training for 28 years, where she liased with a multidisciplinary team of education specialists and Allied Health personnel in assessment and individual programming focussed on special education intervention. Her roles included Teacher and Advisory Consultant assisting communities in Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands. 

Michelle flourished in this work supporting the well-being of families and furthered her interest by gaining a Master of Counselling. In recent years, Michelle has honed her skills as a skilled trainer, facilitating the Diploma in Counselling to adult students, supervising practicum placements and delivering counselling services in both private practice and residential rehabilitation settings.

Michelle’s current consulting work encompasses education design, training, facilitation and general aged care and disability business development research.  She is particularly skilled in educational and communications design work that is accessible for a range of audiences, including Easy or Plain English for people with low literacy or impaired cognitive functioning.

Isaiah Eugene

Trainer and Junior Project Manager

Having worked in the health services and tourism industry for over 7 years in senior management, business development, project management and quality assessor roles; Isaiah has recently joined the Harvest team.  Isaiah is highly regarded for his excellent communication skills and his ability to develop rapport with people from a range of backgrounds.  Having lead teams of over 30 people, Isaiah is adept at working with peoples’ strengths, meeting them “where they’re at” and making them feel comfortable.

Isaiah holds a Cert IV Training and Assessment (including units TAEASS502 and TAELLN411) and has successfully delivered training to more than 300 students.  He has a strong auditing and quality improvement focus, with a demonstrated ability to develop packages of policies and procedures and to train staff in their application across a range of relevant legislation. 

He is currently studying a B Laws part time and brings excellent stakeholder management and customer service skills to the team.

Kerrie-Anne Bennett

Graphic Designer and Media Specialist

Kerrie-Anne has been immersed in the graphic design industry for over 14 years. During those years, she has worked in advertising agencies and for TV.  In 2012, she launched her own freelance business where she worked on a range of creative ventures, supporting a number of businesses from start-ups to corporates to enhance their visual communication and media presence.

Kerrie-Anne supports the Harvest team to deliver tailored and customised communication pieces for clients, including business reports, research reports and management of social media channels.

Along with her husband and two young children, Kerrie-Anne has recently undertaken a photojournalism tour across regional and remote Australia.

Kerrie-Anne is passionate about creating and conveying messages through her design work, using visual and social mediums to tell human stories. She focuses her attention on aligning her design with issues that hold true meaning and purpose. 

Carlie Martin 

Administration assistant

Carlie helps to make magic behind the scenes – coordinating administration for the Harvest team.  She is a great people person and effective communicator and helps the team keep on top of administration tasks, record keeping and correspondence.

Carlie says she was lucky enough to spend a number of years growing up in Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory – where she worked, studied and played representative sport with the local Yolngu people.

Carlie is currently studying her Bachelor of Primary Education and intends to go back to her roots and teach in an Indigenous community when she finishes her degree.

Carlie enjoys playing sport and giving back to the local community as a volunteer touch football coach for junior teams.