RANZCOG Board

CONTACT

Email: board@ranzcog.edu.au

Board activities

RANZCOG is governed by a nine-member Board who who are the directors of the College. The Board manages the financial, legal and business operations of the organisation and is supported in its activities by the Council and a range of committees.

The Board meet a minimum of six times a year. Each iteration of the Board serves a 2-year term before elections are once again held.

Board composition

The RANZCOG Board of Office Bearers and Elected Directors are elected from members of Council, in accordance with the processes set out in the Regulations. The Diplomate Board Director is the Diplomate appointed to Council, and the Independent Board Director is appointed by the Board.

The composition of the Board comprises:

President

Three Vice-Presidents

Three Board Directors

Diplomate Board Director

Independent Board Director

RANZCOG BOARD

Dr Benjamin Bopp

President

MBBS FRANZCOG

Ben has been a specialist Obstetrician Gynaecologist for more than 20 years. He is currently the Director of Obstetrics at Gold Coast University Hospital, a position he has held for the last three years. Previously, he worked as a generalist (obstetrics, gynaecology and IVF) in private practice.

In addition to previous involvement with the College Women’s Health Committee, Continuing Professional Development and Revalidation Committee, and Education Strategy Committee, Ben has been actively involved with the SIMG Assessment Committee, which he currently Chairs, and is also Chair of the College’s Australian Workforce Working Group.

Ben has been a RANZCOG Councillor since 2010 and Board Director since 2016.

Dr Gillian Gibson

President-Elect

BSc(Hons) MBChB Dip Obstet MRCOG FRANZCOG

Gill has been a RANZCOG Fellow since 1997. She was a New Zealand representative on the 9th and 10th RANZCOG Councils 2014 -2018 and member of the O&G Magazine Editorial Advisory Group 2011-2018. She is ex-officio member of Te Kāhui Oranga ō Nuku, an elected member 2005–2011 and Chair of the New Zealand committee 2008–2010.

She is a Generalist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) with a special interest in outpatient gynaecology including hysteroscopy, colposcopy and sexual & reproductive healthcare. She is Clinical Director of the Auckland regional first trimester abortion service. She has a private gynaecology practice and was a member of a private obstetric group practice in Auckland for 18 years (1997–2016).

This is Gill’s second term as a Board Director.

A/Prof Boon Lim

Vice-President

MBBS FRCOG FRANZCOG

Boon trained in O&G in Scotland, and upon completion, he held consultant positions in New Zealand, Scotland, England and Tasmania before moving to Canberra. He has held senior clinical academic positions with the Universities of Auckland, Aberdeen, Cambridge, Tasmania and currently with the Australian National University.

Elected to Council in 2012, Boon has been on several committees of the College and is currently Chair of the RANZCOG Continuing Professional Committee. He has a keen interest in training and education and is on the Board of Examiners as joint Co-ordinator of the Short Answer Questions for the FRANZCOG Examination.

Boon is Clinical Director of the Division of Women, Youth and Children at Canberra Health Services. He is a member of the ACT Board of the Medical Board of Australia, Specialist Adviser to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the Executive Committee of the Australian Preterm Birth Alliance and the Steering Committee of the Stillbirth Baby Bundle.

This will be Boon’s first term as a Board Director.

Dr John Regan

Vice-President

MBBS FRANZCOG

John is a practising Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in Melbourne with his principal public appointment being Head of Obstetrics at Monash Medical Centre in Clayton.

He has been involved with RANZCOG for many years, and has been a RANZCOG Councillor since 2012. He is currently the Chair of the Subspecialties Committee, having previously been involved with the Women’s Health Committee, the Continuing Professional Development Committee, the Finance and Risk Management Committee and the SIMG Committee. John has also been instrumental in RANZCOG’s recent move to College Place.

First elected to the Board in 2018, this will be John’s second term as a Board Director.

Dr Susan Fleming

Board Director

MBChB FRANZCOG EMBA

Susan is a New Zealand medical graduate. She undertook her O&G training and early years of clinical practice at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. In 2002, after a period in North America, she returned to New Zealand where her latter professional life has been focused on leadership within O&G.

From 2013 to 2017 she was Director of Women’s Health at Auckland DHB. One of her many interests has been the use of information technology to support care delivery. Although no longer clinically active she remains professionally engaged and is a New Zealand Councillor on Te Kāhui Oranga ō Nuku and the RANZCOG New Zealand representative for the Asian Oceania Federation of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (AOFOG).

This is Susan’s first term as a Board Director.

Dr Nisha Khot

Board Director

MBBS MD FRCOG FRANZCOG AFRACMA

Nisha is a Victorian obstetrician working at The Royal Women’s Hospital, Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Bacchus Marsh Hospital. She also holds clinical educator positions at University of Melbourne Medical School and Notre Dame University. She trained in India and the UK before moving to Australia. Nisha has a special interest in simulation-based education especially in rural and low resource settings. She is a past PROMPT trainer and a member of the Gandel simulation service based at RWH. As an educator with ONE-Sim program, she provides inter-professional training for maternity care providers in India.

Elected to Council in 2018, she is a member of the Women’s Health and SIMG committees. She is the deputy chair of the Gender Equity and Diversity working group for RANZCOG. She has been an examiner for both advanced diploma and Fellowship examinations. In addition to her role within RANZCOG, Nisha is a board member for the Victorian Rural Doctors Association and represent salaried medical officers at AMA Victoria. She is a passionate advocate for equitable and diverse representation in healthcare leadership, sexual and reproductive rights of women and equitable access to healthcare & health literacy for migrant and refugee women.

This will be Nisha’s first term as a Board Director.

Dr Jared Watts

Board Director

MBBS(Hons) MPHTM MHM MIPH FRANZCOG

Jared is currently the Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the Kimberley of Western Australia, and the Co-Director of Obstetrics and Gynaecology for the WA Country Health Service. He also works as a medical coordinator for the WA Rural Clinical School. Jared is a WA Clinical Senator and previously been a Regional RANZCOG Councillor, and the chair of the CCDOG and Regional Fellows Committees.

He has completed further studies in medical administration, public health and tropical medicine and has worked internationally in several low resource settings including Nigeria, Cambodia, Laos and Syria.

Jared is passionate about Indigenous and rural medicine and the role of generalists and the essential part they play in ensuring all women have access to high quality clinical care close to their home, family and support networks.

This will be Jared’s first term as a Board Director.

Dr Judith Gardiner

Diplomate Board Director

MBBS(Hons) DRANZCOG(Adv)

Judith is an advanced RANZCOG Diplomate and the current Chair of the RANZCOG Diplomates’ Committee and Vice Chair of the Conjoint Committee for the Diploma of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. She has been a GP Obstetrician since 1980 working in regional, rural and remote locations. She is also a DRANZCOG examiner and the Diplomate representative on the NSW State Committee.

She is a passionate advocate for GP Obstetrics and, understanding the difficulties of juggling an obstetric career with raising a family, excited to be working with Dr Gillian Gibson on the Gender Equity and Diversity Working Group.

Julie Hamblin

Independent Board Director

B.A., LL.B (Hons) (Syd), LL.M (McGill), FAICD

Julie Hamblin has worked for more than 25 years as a lawyer and policy consultant in health law, clinical risk, disability and international development. A former partner of HWL Ebsworth, she has served on numerous government and other advisory bodies in the health sector, including the Australian Research Integrity Committee, the NSW Clinical Ethics Advisory Panel, the MBS Review Clinical Committees for Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Attorney-General’s International Pro Bono Advisory Group.

She has a particular interest in global health having worked with the United Nations Development Programme and other organisations on projects relating to public health and HIV/AIDS in more than 20 countries in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Eastern Europe.

Julie is an experienced non-executive director. In addition to her RANZCOG role, she chairs the Boards of AVI and Maluk Timor Australia and is on the Board of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.