Board of Directors

The Board of Guide Dogs Victoria set and monitor our strategic direction and overall performance. The names and details of the company’s Directors are current as of 2011.

	RUSSELL A WALKER FCPA, MICD, DipBus(Acc), GradDip(Govt Acc) President Appointed to the Board in May 1997. Mr Walker is a consultant specialising in governance, auditing, and financial and performance reporting. He spent 20 years as Assistant Auditor General for Victoria, was a Commissioner on the Victorian Commission of Audit, and has undertaken a number of consultancies, including for the Victorian Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee. Mr Walker is currently a Board member of the Coliban Regional Water Corporation, a Board member of Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia, and is a member of the Audit and Risk Management Committee of the Macedon Ranges Health Services. He was also a former chair of a Western Bulldogs Football Club major fundraising group. Mr Walker is a Fellow of CPA Australia and a Member of the Institute of Company Directors. He and his wife have been contributors to Guide Dogs Victoria as Puppy Raisers since 1993.
	JOHN RAYNER B.Sc(HONS), Dip.Ed, Grad.Dip.Computing Vice President Appointed to the Board in November 2010. Mr Rayner is a consultant specialising in software development and IT education. He has worked with a broad range of private and government organisations both in Australia and internationally, including IBM and the Australian Defence Force. Mr Rayner has demonstrated a commitment to volunteer organisations for 35 years, and has a brother who is blind. He and his wife have been Puppy Raisers with Guide Dogs Victoria for 10 years.
	BETTY AMSDEN OAM Appointed to the Board in November 2010. Betty Amsden is an Honorary Life Member of RSPCA and past Chair of Capital Appeal for RSPCA. She is a post member of the Epworth Medical Foundation Board, founding Member of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Governor of the Art Centre Foundation, Trustee of More than Opera, Patron of the Youth Programme of Victorian Opera, Chair of the Private Giving Programme of The Australian Ballet School, Patron of Arts Bites (for children) at the Arts Centre, was the Patron of the Friends Programme of Orchestra Victoria and Board Member of Orchestra Victoria. In 2002 Betty was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia. Betty was also Chair of a Capital Appeal for 3MBS Community Broadcasting Station and now appointed Ambassador of 3MBS. Betty is Vice-Chair of the Board of The Australian Ballet School. She exemplifies the generous, involved philanthropist. Her contribution to the community, and especially to the arts, is truly inspiring. In 2010 she pledged $5 million to establish the Betty Amsden Arts Education Endowment for Children at the Arts Centre. She was acknowledged in the Melbourne Awards in 2010 for her work in the community.
	IAIN EDWARDS, B. App Sci (Physiotherapy) Appointed to the Board in June 2011. Iain is a physiotherapist who has worked for twenty years in the public health system in both rural and metropolitan health services. Currently Iain is the Director of Chronic Disease & Aged Services with Peninsula Health. Iain’s role involves managing a number of programs which aim to support people at risk of or who have a chronic disease to manage their illness and improve their quality of life. Mr Edwards has been involved with GDV since 1993. He completed his orientation and mobility instruction and trained with his first guide dog in 1995 and is currently partnered with his third guide dog ‘Fritz’. His extended family is also very involved with GDV, his brother is partnered with a guide dog and the Edwards family have been involved in several fund raising initiatives including sponsoring guide dog puppies. During Mr Edwards' 18 year association with GDV he has also assisted with a number of PR, fundraising and promotional events.
	GARY WILLIAMS Appointed to the Board in November 2010. Mr Williams has had a career in finance, marketing and retail. At present, he is a Director of a family business engaged in party supplies. Previously he was a stockbroker for 24 years, specialising in equities research and sales to Australian and International institutions and worked in Melbourne, London and Brisbane. He was a member of the Australian Stock Exchange. Mr Williams is a Director of the Rotary Club of Eltham and has other private charity interests. Together with his wife, he is a Guide Dog Puppy Sponsor and they have volunteered for 10 years.
	BRUCE C PORTER FCA, FCPA, B.Com Mr Porter was appointed to the Board in October 2011. Mr Porter has extensive experience in external financial reporting, external auditing and corporate governance. He retired from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in May 2011 where he was an audit partner and he led of the firm’s National Accounting Technical Group for over 15 years. He is a past member, deputy chairman, and acting chairman and CEO of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, a member of the Urgent Issues Group, and a member of the Victorian Divisional Council of CPA Australia. He is currently a member of the Audit Committee of Uniting Church in Australia Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, and a director of Resource Underwriting Pacific Pty Ltd.
	VICKI SHIELDS Vicki has an MBA from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand and is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. She is a founding member of the Chief Customer Officer Forum, is an Ambassador for International Customer Service Professionals and is also a Board Member with Ronald McDonald House Monash. Vicki has held General Management positions in Customer Contact and Engagement at Coles Myer Limited and in Retail Banking with ANZ Bank. Vicki was a finalist in the Telstra Business Woman of the Year 2005. She was awarded the ICSP National Outstanding Customer Service Award 2004 and 2005, the ATA Contact Centre Leadership award 2005 and CCMA National Award for Contact Centre Leadership 2004.
	GRAEME HOUGHTON Graeme is a BSc from the University of Melbourne, a Master of Health Administration from the University of NSW and a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Management. He has held appointments as Chief Executive Officer of Fairfield Hospital, Austin Hospital, Repatriation General Hospital (Daw Park) and The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. He also has experience in the private hospital sector and as Hospital Standards and Accreditation Adviser to the National Department of Health in Papua New Guinea. He is an accreditation surveyor for the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at La Trobe University and a member of the Board of Management of Mayfield Education Centre.