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Our Leaders

Our leaders are responsible for providing strategic direction and governance, ensuring effective financial and risk management oversight and continued organizational viability and sustainability. Also, and perhaps most importantly, they’re custodians of Fred Hollows’ legacy and reputation.

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USA Board of Directors

The Hon. John Brumby AO (Chair)

Former Premier of Victoria

John was elected Chair of The Board of The Foundation on 1 February 2016. Before that, he was a member and active supporter of The Foundation and joined the Board in 2013. John is well known from his roles as the Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010 and as Treasurer from 2000 to 2007. He was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2017. 
 
Since retiring from the political arena, John has become the Chair of MTAA Super, the Chair of Citywide Solutions Pty Ltd and a Professorial Fellow at both Melbourne and Monash Universities. John is the Chair of the Board’s Governance & Nominations Committee.  The Hon. John Brumby AO (Chair)
Former Premier of Victoria
John was elected Chair of The Board of The Foundation on 1 February 2016. Before that, he was a member and active supporter of The Foundation and joined the Board in 2013. John is well known from his roles as the Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010 and as Treasurer from 2000 to 2007. He was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2017. 
 
Since retiring from the political arena, John has become the Chair of MTAA Super (now Spirit Super), the Chair of Citywide Solutions Pty Ltd and a Professorial Fellow at both Melbourne and Monash Universities. John is the Chair of the Board’s Governance & Nominations Committee.  

Brian Doolan

Chair, The Australian Centre for Social Purpose

Brian Doolan is an international development and For Purpose industry leader. He Chairs the Board of the Australian Centre for Social Purpose and provides strategic support to The Fred Hollows Foundation.   

Brian was CEO of The Fred Hollows Foundation from 2005 to 2017. Prior to joining The Foundation Brian directed factory worker support programs in East Asia and South Asia in conjunction with Nike and Gap, was Country Director of CARE International in Iraq and Vietnam, served as a senior executive and acting National Director of CARE Australia, was an Advisor to Australian Government Ministers on employment, education and training, and worked with a range of Australian Indigenous organizations. In 2004 the President of Vietnam awarded Brian the prestigious Friendship Medal for his "significant contribution to the economic and social development of Vietnam." 

Emma Hollows

Director since April 2, 2024

Emma has had a lifetime of association with the world of eye health. With Fred and Gabi Hollows as her parents, Emma has witnessed the growth of The Fred Hollows Foundation from its inception around the family dining table to it becoming the highly regarded international development organization that it is today. Emma has seen first-hand the transformative work that The Foundation does in places such as Nepal, Eritrea, South Africa, Bangladesh, and in Australian Indigenous communities. Emma has been a Member of The Fred Hollows Foundation U.S. Advisory Council since 2019, and Chair since 2021. 

Emma is an environmental lawyer and consultant who has worked with the international research and development non-profit WorldFish on USAID funded projects focusing on sustainable fisheries for poverty and hunger reduction in Malaysia, Bangladesh and Zambia, and on public interest environmental law projects related to sustainable ocean management practices in Pacific Island Countries. Prior to moving overseas, Emma coordinated an Australian environmental non-profit focused on river conservation and water policy reform. 

Emma holds a Juris Doctor specializing in Environmental Law from Macquarie University, a Master of Environmental Science and Law from the University of Sydney, Bachelors degrees in Science (specialising in Ecology) and Arts (majoring in Politics and International Relations) from the University of New South Wales, and is a Fellow of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership.

Nicki Anderson FAICD

Director since 2022

Nicki joined the Board in May 2022 with a strong link to Hollows through her uncle, an ophthalmic surgeon who specialized in cataract surgery and corneal grafting, and throughout her childhood would talk about sight changing surgery he’d done at the eye camps in Bihar India and about Fred Hollows. 
 
Nicki has over 25 years’ experience working in Oceania, Asia, Europe and America and has hands on leadership experience in strategy, sales/fundraising, marketing, customer experience and innovation within the humanitarian, food, beverage, consumer goods and agribusiness sectors. In addition to her significant leadership roles in the commercial sector, she was the Head of Major Donor Partnerships for over three years at Australian Red Cross and won the Persia Porter Scholarship in 2018.  
 
Nicki is currently a Non-executive Director of ASX listed Graincorp and Collins Food, Deputy Chair of the Australian Made Campaign Limited, and Non-executive Director of the Craig Mostyn Group and Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. She is former Chair & Member of the Monash University Advisory Board for the marketing faculty. 
 
Nicki holds an Executive MBA from the University of NSW (AGSM), a Bachelor of Business (marketing major) from the University of Technology Sydney and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Nicki is a member of The Board’s Governance, People and Culture Committee.

Zachary Tan

Director since April 2, 2024

Zachary Tan, MD is an Australian physician and General Partner at Aegis Ventures. Aegis Ventures invests and builds new health technology companies that transform the quality, access, and cost of healthcare. At Aegis, Zach led the development of Optain that leverages AI and the eye as the window to the body to improve access to early disease detection and better visual outcomes. Dr. Tan was previously a researcher at the Centre for Eye Research Australia and has published 30+ articles in public health and healthcare AI. He is a graduate of the Schwarzman Scholars program and has been recognized by Forbes as 30 Under 30 for Healthcare & Science.

Officer of The Fred Hollows Foundation Board of Directors

Andrea T. Sanseverino Galan

As a respected and renowned executive in the global nonprofit sector, Andrea T. Sanseverino Galan is recognized for her ability to drive growth to significantly expand an organization’s impact and for transforming organizations into more equitable and inclusive enterprises. Leveraging her deep expertise in organizational growth, fundraising, marketing and communications, she has worked with organizations to make a lasting difference in the lives of vulnerable populations in the US, UK, Europe, Latin America and China.
 
As Chief Growth Officer & Head of North America for The Fred Hollows Foundation, Andrea is bringing her wealth of experience to deepen the impact of this global, Australia-founded nonprofit dedicated to preventing avoidable blindness.  Prior to stepping into this role in January 2022, she held the role of Global Director of Development and Communications and member of the executive leadership committee at Lumos Foundation, the international children’s charity founded by J.K. Rowling, where she focused on meeting the needs and improving the outcomes for the millions of children living in institutions and orphanages around the world.
 
Andrea’s career includes leadership roles in both the nonprofit and private sectors, including serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer at China Institute in America; Vice President for Advancement at Manhattan School of Music college conservatory; and Senior Director of Development at Americas Society/Council of the Americas.  Additionally, she has inspired and educated a new generation of changemakers as an adjunct professor at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service and has also served as a consultant for UNESCO.
 
She holds a Master of Arts degree from The University of Warwick (UK) and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Goucher College (US).

Global Leadership

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Founding Director

Gabi Hollows

Meet the heart and soul of The Foundation, Gabi Hollows. She is an extraordinary woman: a national treasure, an Order of Australia recipient, a skilled orthoptist and the champion of The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Gabi knows a little about having eye problems. She had eye surgery when she was three years old and while it sparked her interest in medicine, little did she know this was the beginning of what was to become her lifelong work.   

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CEO

Ian Wishart

Ian Wishart is one of Australia’s most experienced international development leaders. He has spent the past 28 years involved in virtually every aspect of aid and human rights including emergency relief operations, long term development and influential policy and advocacy initiatives. 

Ian joined The Fred Hollows Foundation as its new CEO on March 5, 2018. 

Executive Leadership Team

Ian Wishart is one of Australia’s most accomplished CEOs in the global humanitarian sector, having dedicated his 30-year career to helping people in poverty.

He is one of the few people who has worked at virtually every level of international development, including emergency relief operations, long term development and influential policy and advocacy initiatives.

Ian joined The Fred Hollows Foundation as its new CEO on March 5, 2018. Prior to this, he had been the CEO of Plan International since 2001, helping to improve the lives of children and equality for girls across the world.

Ian’s experience growing up in pre-independence Papua New Guinea in the 1970s kindled a lifelong passion to support those impacted by poverty, disaster and disease.

Ian has also been a leader in the sector as a former Vice President and Director of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the peak council for Australia aid and development organisations.

Ian holds a Science Degree from the Australian National University, a Graduate Diploma in Education from Canberra University and an Executive MBA from Mt Eliza Business School. He is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the AsiaLink Leadership Program.

As Business Operations Executive Director, Claire leads The Foundation’s Finance, People and Organizational Development, Technology, Business Services and Legal, Governance, Risk and Compliance teams.

Claire joined The Foundation in 2022 and brings with her 27 years’ experience across multiple business disciplines including Finance, IT, Risk, Compliance, Franchising, Business Integration and Project Delivery. Her expertise is in professional services however also spans to retail and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in ASX listed, chartered, commercial and partnership settings and includes corporate roles as Chief Financial Officer at Dentons, Chief Financial Officer at Freedom, Director, Transaction Services at Deloitte Australia and Financial Controller at Herbert Smith Freehills.

Claire has delivered continuous improvement projects for large finance functions including decision support, financial control, transactional finance and change management. She is CA qualified with Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma.

Claire leads the Business Operation team, which provides opportunities to contribute to the Foundation’s work through business enablement and improvement.

Jennifer has extensive experience working in government and the not for profit sector, leading a wide range of social marketing campaigns aimed at raising awareness, changing behaviour and influencing key decision makers. She has worked across the health, disability and international development sectors and has a reputation for fostering collaboration and delivering results by applying innovative strategic approaches to advocacy.

Under Jennifer’s leadership, Vision 2020 Australia was transformed from an aspiring peak body to a highly respected and successful organisation with a reputation as an international leader in the eye health and vision care sector.

Jennifer joined The Foundation in 2016. In addition to managing global partnerships and leading advocacy efforts across The Foundation, she is a champion for gender equity.

Jennifer is a Trustee on the Board of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness where she continues to promote positive action towards gender and inclusion, chairing the Gender Equity Work Group. Jennifer also chairs the Diabetic Retinopathy Work Group.

As a senior fundraising professional, Nicola Stewart has more than 20 years’ experience in major Australian charities including The Fred Hollows Foundation, The Heart Foundation and Mission Australia.

In her current role of Executive Director of Public Affairs at The Fred Hollows Foundation, Nicola heads up fundraising in Australia and internationally.

Supported by a talented fundraising team, Nicola has lifted annual fundraising income from $8 million to over $70 million in 14 years, with a diverse fundraising portfolio including face-to-face, direct marketing, telemarketing, major donor and corporate programs, digital fundraising and community campaigns.

Jon has previously held senior positions in international organizations around the world. Some of these include Global Program Director at CBM International, Program Director at Marie Stopes International South Sudan, Manager, Public Health & Advocacy Projects at the FDI World Dental Federation and Regional Director for Mexico, Central America & the Caribbean at Amigos de las Américas.

Jon also founded an NGO called Digital Roots, an organization that empowers communities to document their history by using digital technologies to create virtual museums.

Jon holds a M.Sc. Health, Community & Development from The London School of Economics and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics.

Kelvin Storey joined the Foundation in 2014 following a very successful 10 years’ experience in leading the design and delivery of comprehensive development and health programmes across Africa and beyond. Kelvin has served in several local and international capacities and roles including CEO, Research & Policy Director, Economist, Technical Advisor and Consultant with local, regional, and global organizations. 

Kelvin is currently The Foundation’s Director of Global Programs Implementation and is responsible for providing front line leadership and strategic support to the global network of The Foundation's country programs covering over 25. He brings expertise in strengthening program implementation modalities for greater efficiency and impact; capacity building and developing project winning teams and culture; and strengthening country and global partnerships to tackle the current burden of avoidable blindness and building systems for sustainable comprehensive eye health services for the future. 

Joanna is an experienced Human Resources professional with a wealth of expertise across finance and health sectors having started her career in not-for-profit organisations including Royal Flying Doctors and Mater Health Services. She also brings invaluable commercial experience in law and financial services and now welcomes the chance to return to a mission-based organization with The Foundation.

Joanna has a well-rounded skillset in building inspiring teams and creating world class talent development programs. She also has a strong operational base in employment law, governance and compliance in multiple global jurisdictions, and a successful track record of influencing and coaching boards and executive teams. She has a passion for working with leaders to drive and improve the performance of their business through their people. 

Joanna has a Bachelor of Business degree majoring in Human Resources Management, is a Certified Member of the Australian Human Resources Institute and is a Certified Practitioner Coach, Europe Mentoring & Coaching Council. 

Alison Hill joined The Fred Hollows Foundation in 2015 after a career as a newspaper journalist and editor, a media adviser and chief of staff to State and Federal Government Ministers and working as a communications and government relations specialist.

She oversees the global team which is responsible for telling Fred Hollows’ inspiring and life-changing stories and maintaining the strength of The Foundation’s brand.

Alison is passionate about The Foundation’s mission to end avoidable blindness and championing equity for women to access eye health care and to be leaders in the sector. She has taken a leading role in helping other NGOs understand the value of communications through various sector-wide working groups.

Alison is often called on as a guest lecturer at universities in Sydney and Brisbane to speak about crisis communications, how to ensure good policy is not swamped by poor communication and how to use media and social media to campaign for people in the legal system.