Executive team

Dr Jean-Frédéric Levesque joined the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation as Chief Executive in June 2017.

He was previously Chief Executive of the Bureau of Health Information between 2013 and 2017. Jean-Frédéric brings to the ACI leadership in healthcare system analysis and improvement, combining experience in clinical practice in refugee health and tropical medicine, in clinical governance and in academic research. He is an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity at the University of New South Wales.

Jean-Frédéric has a Medical Degree, a Masters in Community Health and a Doctorate in Public Health from the Université de Montréal, Canada. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada in Preventive Medicine and Public Health. He is a member of the Strategic Analytic Advisory Committee of the Canadian Institute of Health Information and a member of the HealthShare NSW Board.

Prior to joining NSW Health, Jean-Frédéric held senior positions responsible for publicly reporting information about the Canadian health system at the Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec and the Commissaire a la santé et au bien-etre du Québec and he was a Visiting Academic at the University of Melbourne

Ellen Rawstron is the Executive Director, PRISM at the Agency for Clinical Innovation.

Ellen joined the ACI in 2010 and has worked extensively across clinical networks, project management and in senior leadership roles across the organisation. Her previous experience encompasses supporting clinical training programs at the NSW Institute of Medical Education and Training (now the Health and Education Training Institute) and at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Ellen has worked in health for 14 years and is passionate about partnering with clinicians, consumers and health managers to design programs which deliver meaningful change. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University, and spends her time outside of work in volunteer and community organisations, including active service with the NSW State Emergency Service.

Richard Cheney is the Executive Director, CATALYST, at the Agency for Clinical Innovation.

Richard joined the ACI in October 2022, bringing extensive experience as a clinician, health manager, and educator. Working in health for more than 32 years, he has a particular focus on allied and rural health.

Richard has an undergraduate qualification in Medical Laboratory Science and postgraduate qualifications in Nutrition and Dietetics. Prior to the ACI, he was the Executive Director of Allied Health and Innovation at Western NSW Local Health District for 10 years. This involved leading virtual models of care in rural, remote and regional health practices. Richard has also held senior roles managing quality and risk management and allied health services in western NSW.

Richard holds key positions and chairing roles with several committees and working groups across NSW Health. He was previously involved in the ACI’s Rural Health Network as clinical co-chair.

Dr Kim Sutherland joined the Agency for Clinical Innovation in May 2018.

Her previous role was Senior Director, Performance Measurement & Reporting at the Bureau of Health Information.

Kim is a health services researcher with experience in performance measurement and reporting, evaluation and assessment of quality, and change management in healthcare organisations. She played a central role in the development of performance measurement frameworks in NSW and the UK and co-authored a series of reports on the English NHS quality agenda. Kim holds a Master of Science from London Hospital Medical College, a Master of Business Administration from Imperial College London and a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Lea Kirkwood commenced her career as a nurse specialising in emergency care.

Lea has held numerous education and practice change roles, including Clinical Nurse Consultant in Emergency and lead for several statewide projects at the NSW Ministry of Health, moving into the manager of the NSW Health Redesign program. In this role she led the transition of the redesign program into a Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Redesign and saw it win the Bond University prize for Sustainability in Healthcare in 2018.

Lea holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Psychology), Masters of Nursing and Graduate Certificates in Clinical Education and Clinical Redesign. Lea represents as a professional hearing member of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of NSW, Health Professional Councils Authority and is an Adjunct Lecturer with the University of Tasmania.

Lea completed a Hospital Alliance for Research Collaboration (HARC) scholarship in 2019 researching transdisciplinary innovation and is interested in how healthcare reform can be achieved through increased integration of design and partnerships.

Lea is passionate about the opportunity to influence health system innovation and developing consumer partnerships to progress healthcare reform.

Karen Perini joined the Agency for Clinical Innovation in May 2018.

She was previously the Director, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement at the Bureau of Health Information.

Karen has 20 years’ experience in corporate and internal communications, public relations, media and issues management. She has worked on community campaigns, high profile issues and has provided strategic communications advice to governments, Ministers and clients. Her experience spans across the business, health and environment sectors in Sydney and London. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Communications) from Charles Sturt University, Bathurst.

Nirav joined the Agency for Clinical Innovation in 2015 as the Finance and Business Partner and was appointed Director, Finance and Corporate Affairs in 2018. Nirav leads the ACI’s finance function including audit and risk.

Nirav has more than 12 years’ experience in corporate finance and risk management. His experience spans across the business, education and health sectors in Sydney and London. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Finance & Management) from Middlesex University, UK and is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, UK.

Mel Tinsley is the Associate Director, IDEA at the Agency for Clinical Innovation.

Mel commenced her career as a nurse specialising in stroke care over 20 years ago. She has held numerous clinical leadership roles including Clinical Nurse Consultant in Stroke, where she led statewide program areas to improve the outcomes of patients.

Mel joined the Agency for Clinical Innovation in September 2012, where she has worked extensively across implementation, project management, patient reported measures and digitally enabled programs.

Mel is passionate about bringing people, process and technology together to implement programs which deliver meaningful change. She holds a Bachelor of Nursing, Graduate Certificate in Neuroscience Nursing and an Executive Masters of Public Administration from the Australian New Zealand School of Government.