CEH Staff

Bernice Murphy

Manager

Bernice is a project manager with experience in both the government and non-government sectors. At the Department of Human Services (DHS), Bernice worked in homeless and family violence, primary health and managed the Primary Health Programs team comprising women’s health, counselling in community health, family planning and school nursing. Equitable access to services has been a theme throughout her career. Bernice has been at CEH since May 2014 and has recently been appointed Manager.   

Piergiorgio (Pier) Moro

Co-ordinator Multicultural Health & Support Service (MHSS)

Pier is the co-ordinator of the MHSS team. MHSS works with people from a migrant and refugee background as well as international students. His projects include the areas of sexual health/STI’s, blood borne viruses, healthy relationships, cultural competence and stigma. Pier has worked in the community sector for over 30 years in diverse areas such as human rights, international development, labour rights, community radio, blood borne viruses and health promotion. Pier is an experienced trainer, with a Diploma of Education, a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Science (Hons).

Siri Gunawardana

Capacity Building Coordinator

Siri coordinates CEH’s practical and specialist training courses which specialise in language services, cultural competence and health literacy. These are delivered in the traditional face to face method and more recently as an online service as well. Courses are informed by participants’ feedback and new developments in the field.  Siri has over 15 years of experience in migrant and refugee settlement, training and health promotion. She holds a Master in Public Health, a Bachelor of Arts-Community Development, and Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment and Training.

Antje Tillack-Benton

Health Translations Coordinator

Anni is a passionate and experienced events & fundraising professional. Her experience, over the last 10 years has been in the areas of event management, fundraising and experiential marketing productions in Melbourne and overseas. In these roles, she has continuously delivered successful and innovative results for clients including the Department of Education, World Vision Australia and Health Workforce Australia. Anni has a Bachelor of Media Studies (Honours). She has a professional interest in employing her strong planning skills and experience in a role where she provides strategic and logistical support. Anni is involved in marketing and online engagement projects that focus around the areas of cultural competence and health literacy.

Natalia Okelo

Policy, Research & Evaluation Officer |Multicultural Health & Support Service (MHSS)

Natalia joined CEH in 2021.  Natalia has extensive experience in delivering health programs, developing strategic and operational plans, and monitoring and evaluating health programs including STI/HIV programs. Natalia also has experience in supporting the management of primary health care services, community health education, and the application and use of health data in decision making and capacity building roles. Natalia holds a medical degree and has a  Master of Public Health degree.

Tere Dawson

 Project Officer

Tere has more than 30 years’ experience in research and practice in community consultations and engagement, and more than 20 years as an accredited trainer. She has conducted research in her country of birth, Chile, and in Australia on areas of culture, religion, and health. She started her career as an Anthropologist and holds a Master in Sociology, a Master of Public Health, a PhD in Sociology and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. She joined CEH in July 2023 and is working towards enhancing migrant and refugee communities’ access to health care programs.

Aditi Sharma

Community Engagement & Projects Officer

Aditi is a Community engagement and projects officer working with International students to improve their general health and well-being. This includes providing information around Sexual Health, Mental Health, and access to information around unplanned pregnancies for international students. Aditi is also an overseas-trained Dentist, with clinical and oral health promotion experience overseas and has a Master’s degree in public health.

Eudia Kipsuto

Community Engagement & Project Officer

Eudia is a Community Engagement and Project Officer working with Refugee and Migrant Communities. She is responsible for a number of projects with a focus on Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD), the Youth Health Clinic and Sexual Health. Eudia is a Registered Nurse with experience in the area of Drug and Alcohol, Mental Health, Aboriginal Health and General Nursing. She holds a Master of Public Health (Primary Health Care), Bachelor of Nursing and Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Business Administration.

Tapuwa Bofu

Community Engagement & Projects Officer

Tapuwa Bofu hails from Zimbabwe where he worked as a high school teacher for 14 years.
He also taught in Australia for 1 year before moving into the community development sector where he’s been involved over the last 11 years. Organisations include Jesuit Social Services, The Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY), The Alcohol & Drug Foundation, Victoria University, Melton City Council and Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health (CEH). He holds a master’s degree in Social Science (Addiction Studies), BA, Grad Cert in Education, Certificate in Refugee Law & Humanitarian Support, as well as a Cert IV in Training and Assessment.

Dianne Armstrong

Health Translations Project Officer

Dianne brings an extensive 19 years of experience in education, specialising in teaching humanities and literature at universities in the Philippines and the University of Melbourne’s pathways program for international students. She also possesses valuable administrative support skills gained during her tenure with the Leadership, Culture, and Learning team at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In the final stages of completing her postgraduate studies in Information Management (Library Services), Dianne is excited to contribute her expertise to the Health Translations library. Outside work, Dianne actively volunteers in Filipino and CALD communities, focusing on preventing family violence and supporting programs at the Maribyrnong Toy Library and neighbourhood house.

Mary Gavranic

Senior Project Officer

Mary is a qualified social worker who has worked in aged care and settlement services. For a number of years, she also managed an ethno-specific service that provided settlement, domestic violence, language and aged care services. At CEH, she was the manager of the Multicultural Gambler’s Help Program (MGHP) from 2006 to 2010. The work of the MGHP focused on improving responses to problem gambling for migrant and refugee communities. Mary is currently a senior project officer at CEH working on strategic projects.

Spase Veljanovski

 Program & Project Coordinator

Spase has over 20 years’ experience in access and equity work across mental health, local government and community health. He started work as a bilingual worker and has found this position to be a widely misunderstood.  At the Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health he is a trainer and project worker in language services, health literacy and organisational cultural competence.  He holds a Master of Public Health, Bachelor of Arts (Multicultural Studies) and Certificate IV, Training & Assessment.

Blossom Ah Ket

Project Officer | Health Translations

Blossom has over five years of experience as a NAATI-certified Spanish interpreter and translator, having worked in legal and community health settings. Her passion for language and interpreting stems from her family’s legacy, with her great-grandfather, William Ah Ket, being a prominent interpreter. During her two-year stay in Colombia, Blossom focused on mastering Spanish for her Masters in Interpreting and Translating and obtaining NAATI certification. She has also expanded her repertoire by studying sociolinguistics, French, Portuguese, and Arabic. This background informs her ability to facilitate culturally safe, confidential and accurate communication to ensure equitable services for a diverse range of clients.

Yuqian He

Community Engagement & Project Officer

Yuqian joined CEH in August 2022, with 5 years’ experience in social work, in educational settings and community organisations.  She is particularly interested in working with people from CALD backgrounds and applying cultural competence into practice.

As an accredited translator and bilingual health educator, Yuqian will bring her community knowledge and health promotion experience for people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, to the Multicultural Health and Support Service (MHSS).

Yuqian will focus on BBV/STI prevention and management, sexual and reproductive health, harm reduction, healthy relationships and behavioral change. Her hobbies include reading, writing, watching films, camping, and hiking.

Andrea Gaddie

Training Officer

Andrea is a specialist trainer, educating groups in cultural competence and health literacy.

Andrea is a people person who connects with her dynamic communication style. She has 10 years experience in health services, with a passion for education.

Andrea holds degrees in arts and health sciences and spent many years in the natural health industry training health care practitioners.

Brigitte Costelloe

Admin Support

Brigitte joined CEH in 2021 as Administrative Support across all CEH programs. Having owned and operated hospitality businesses for over 20 years, she has a broad skill set and enjoys supporting the teams and improving administrative efficiencies. Brigitte likes being surrounded by colleagues with a shared passion for equity and approaches the role as an opportunity to learn from her peers.

Babin Mahat

Community Engagement & Project Officer

Babin joined CEH in January 2023. He has qualifications in public health and pharmacy. Babin brings to this role experience working in public health in Nepal and most recently working on the COVID-19 response in Melbourne, Australia. He has also worked in engaging multicultural communities in environmental programs. Babin’s passion is to simplify health and health-related information for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Tristan Pagniello-Priolo

TRAINING Officer

Tristan grew up in a multicultural, multilingual household, and has always been eager to learn more about communication and culture.
She has a variety of experience, studying linguistics and translation, teaching English to children in Spain, and working in the translation industry, retail, and health services. This experience gives Tristan a unique perspective, having crossed paths with people of such varied backgrounds.

Tristan is passionate about communication and making information accessible to everyone through clear, intentional communication, and is eager to continue developing her knowledge at CEH.

Genevieve Chen

Genevieve Chen

Sales Coordinator

Genevieve holds a degree in Health Sciences and has worked across different health areas including pharmacy, mental health, and plain language. She is passionate about achieving positive health outcomes at both individual and population levels through providing equitable accessibility for all. Outside of work, she loves to explore new cafes and go to the gym