Our people

Chair of the RMHNF since 2023, Trustee since 2013

Director of Neurosurgery, The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Head of Central Nervous System Tumours, VCCC

President, Asian Australasian Society of Neurological Surgeons

Chair, PANGEA Global Health Education

Co-Editor in Chief, Journal of Clinical Neuroscience

Editorial Board Member, Journal of Neurosurgery

Trustee of the RMHNF since 2022

Director of Neurology & Head of Stroke, The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Member, RMHNF Scientific Advisory Committee

Professor of Neurology, The University of Melbourne

Telestroke Neurologist, Victorian Stroke Telemedicine Program

Co-Chair, Australian Stroke Clinical Registry Reperfusion & Telemedicine subcommittee

Trustee of the RMHNF since 2023

Former Senior Investment Manager, Victorian Funds Management Corporation

Former Head of International Equities, Telstra Super Pty Ltd

Founding Trustee of the RMHNF in 1992

Member, RMHNF Scientific Advisory Committee
Director, Melbourne Brain Centre, RMH and University of Melbourne

Professor of Translational Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne 

Co-Chair, Australian Stroke Alliance

Former President, World Stroke Organisation

Former Director of Neurology, The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Trustee of the RMHNF since 2021

Chief Executive Officer, The Unconditional Love Foundation

Executive Director, Fullbridge Capital

Partner, Pilgrim Private

Owner, Seed Marketing

Former Head of Marketing, Copia Investment Partners

Trustee of the RMHNF since 2007

Executive Chair, Fullbridge Capital

Partner, Learmonth Investment Advisory

Partner, Pilgrim Private

Former Executive Director, Copia Investment Partners

Former Partner / Executive Director, Clay Finlay Inc. NY / Clay Finlay (Australia) Pty Ltd

Former Member, Investment Policy Committee, The Baker Medical Institute

Deputy Chair of the RMHNF since 2023, Trustee since 2021

Director, Orygen Limited

Member, IP, Commercialisation & Technology Transfer Committee, One Basin CRC

Director, Homes for Everyone Foundation Pty Ltd

Director & Chair, The Australian Ballet School

Trustee of the RMHNF since 2017

Member, RMHNF Scientific Advisory Committee

Professor of Medicine and Neurology, UNSW South Western Sydney Clinical School

Professor of Neurology, University of Melbourne

Former Director of Neurology, The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Former Director of Acute Stroke Service, John Hunter Hospital

Trustee of the RMHNF since 2023

Managing Director and Head of Melbourne, Gresham Advisory Partners Limited

Director, Gresham Partners Limited

Former Vice President Investment Banking, Dresdner Kleinwort (London)

Former Solicitor, Phillips Fox

Trustee of the RMHNF since 2004

Chair, 'Friends' of the RMHNF (Fundraising Committee)

Member, RMHNF Scientific Advisory Committee

Director, Tourism Australia - Australian Tourism Commission

Former Director, Tourism Victoria

Director, Various private companies

Former Partner, Allens - Intellectual Property Group

Former Reporter General, International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property

Almost 55 years ago, Denis Walter arrived on the Australian entertainment scene via Young Talent Time and New Faces.  It was the beginning of a diverse and celebrated career which continues to shine today with radio, television, corporate work, recordings, endorsements and keynote speaking.
 
From an early age, Denis knew that he wanted to do more than just entertain with his music, and behind the scenes worked towards one day being involved with talk radio and television news, both of which came to fruition via 3AW, Nine News and WIN News through regional Victoria.

Denis believes that if you are lucky enough to have a public profile, you should use it to support charities and community organisations as much as possible.  

In 2016, he received a Queen's Birthday Honour, Denis Walter OAM.

Jamila Rizvi is a diversity, equity and inclusion expert, best-selling author, and sought-after public speaker. Following her rare brain tumour diagnosis, multiple surgeries, radiation treatment and adjustment to life with new disabilities, Jamila became a proud Ambassador for the Foundation.

An experienced leader and sought after public speaker, with a track record across the public and private sector, Jamila works as Deputy Managing Director at Future Women. Future Women champions gender equity in Australian workplaces through professional development, community and advocacy.

A best-selling author for adults and children, Jamila is also a columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. She has hosted podcasts including The Briefing, Future Women, CommSec Invest, The Secret Life of Carers and the soon-to-be-released, Find and Tell. She was previously Editor-in-Chief at the Mamamia Women’s Network.

Prior to entering the media, Jamila advised the Rudd and Gillard Governments on gender, early childhood education, media and employment participation. She was named in Culture Amp’s 25 Emerging Global Culture Creators 2024, Women and Leadership Australia’s Victorian award winner 2020 and included in the AFR’s 100 Women of Influence.

Jamila is a board member of the Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas, and an ambassador for PLAN International. She and her husband Jeremy continue to support the Foundation whenever they can and are eternally grateful to the neurosurgical teams at Royal Melbourne for saving Jamila’s life.  

Mr Anthony Howard AM KC is married to the former Governor of Victoria, the Hon. Linda Dessau AC CVO (2015-2023).  He was born in Melbourne and educated at Xavier College.  He graduated with Bachelors of Laws and Jurisprudence from Monash University, and a Diploma of Criminology from the University of Melbourne.

In 1973, Mr Howard was articled to Frank Galbally CBE in the firm  of Galbally and O’Bryan where he then worked as a solicitor  before  signing   the  Victorian  Bar  Roll  in  1975.  At the Bar he read with John Walker KC, and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1992.

Other than almost three years in Hong  Kong where, with the former Governor, Mr Howard was prosecuting criminal trials in the Attorney-General’s Chambers from 1982 to 1985, he remained at the Victorian Bar, specialising in criminal law, until his appointment as a Judge of the County Court of Victoria in October 2006.

Mr Howard was actively involved in the life of the Victorian Bar. He was Chair of his list of barristers, and was a member of the Bar Council from 2001 to 2004. He chaired the Legal Assistance Committee (the Bar’s pro bono legal service), contributed to the development of the Equal Opportunity Briefing Policy to promote the advancement of women advocates, and chaired a committee to create a dining and networking space for members of the Bar and a committee to assist new barristers as they started out in their careers.

As a Judge of the County Court, Mr Howard was, at different times, a member of the Court’s Executive and Management Committees and chaired the Media and Communication Committee. He was also a member of the Bar’s Indigenous Lawyers’ Mentoring Program. Mr Howard retired as a Judge of the County Court in late 2016 and continued working on the Community and International Program at Government House.

Mr Howard has also been involved in various community and not-for-profit organisations, including as a Trustee of the Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuroscience Foundation for 10 years, founding Chair of the Essendon Football Club Lawdons coterie and as a Board member of the youth mentoring organisation Big Brothers, Big Sisters. In 2023, Mr Howard was appointed a board member at Diabetes Victoria.

Mr Howard was made a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2019 for significant service to the law, to the judiciary, to professional standards, and to the community of Victoria.
The former Governor and Mr Howard married in 1982 and have two sons, both of whom graduated from Monash University with Bachelors of Law and Art.