Our People - Juniper
Home / About Us / Our People

Our People

We are a community of carers with a genuine passion for supporting older Western Australians.

2000 + employees
86% identify as female, 12% identify as male
74% of Juniper employees were born overseas
190 + volunteers

Meet our Board

Driven by our core values of Welcome, Respect, Compassion, Hope and Courage, our Board members bring a diverse range of skills in governance and leadership to help steer Juniper’s future strategic goals in line with our mission and vision.

Grant Robinson
Independent Board Chair
B.Com UWA; FCA; FAICD

Grant is the Assistant Auditor General Financial Audit at the Office of the Auditor General in Western Australia. Grant has a wealth of experience across a range of industries, including as a partner with KPMG in the Audit, Assurance and Risk Consulting division with a focus in the health, ageing and human services sector. He is a board director of Bethesda Health Care and has relevant experience as a previous board member of numerous organisations including the North Metropolitan Health Service, Zoological Parks Authority and Netball WA. Grant’s skills include financial analysis, compliance, governance, and risk management along with his sector experience. Grant is Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and a member of the Juniper Finance and Property Development Committee and the Juniper Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Helen Cook
Independent Board Member
BSc UWA; Grad Diploma Applied Finance FINSIA; CPA (Honorary); Member CEW; FAICD

A former KPMG Partner with extensive executive experience, Helen has over 25 years experience as a Director and Chair on numerous organisations in the commercial, Government and not-for-profit sectors. She is a Deputy Chairman of the Minerals Research Institute of WA, Councillor of the National Gallery of Australia, WA Divisional Councillor of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a member of Australia Council’s Finance and Governance Panel for all its Multi Year Partnerships and Advisory Panel member for UWA’s Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law. Helen is a member of the Juniper Finance and Property Development Committee and the Juniper Audit and Risk Committee. 

Dr Arthur Criddle
Independent Board Member
MBBS; FRACP

A retired Physician in geriatric and general medicine, Arthur was formerly head of the Department of Rehabilitation and Aged Care at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Western Australia. He has served as a policy advisor to the WA State Health Department in aged care. His clinical practice focused on acute care and rehabilitation of the elderly. Arthur is the Chair of the Juniper Care and Clinical Governance Committee and a member of the Juniper Audit and Risk Committee

Rev David de Kock
Independent Board Member
Bcom; MBA; BTh; GAICD

Retiring as the General Secretary of the Uniting Church in Western Australia in 2021, David currently serves on the Governance Committee of the Uniting Church National Safe Church Unit and is a member of the Nominations Committee of UCA Redress Ltd. He is also a member of the Committee for Discipline in the Uniting Church Synod of Western Australia. David is an ordained minister and has served the church in this role in Southern Africa and Australia. David is a graduate of the AICD Company Directors Course. He is a member of the Juniper Finance and Property Development Committee. 

Karen Gullick
Independent Board Member
MSc(Nsg); RN; FACHSM; CHE; GAICD

Karen has more than 40 years’ experience in the healthcare industry, having worked in a range of senior and executive roles in both public and private hospitals and previously in the education sector. She completed a 10-year appointment to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Western Australia in 2021 and was appointed to the North Metropolitan Health Services Board in August, 2022. She is also a member of the Finance and Safety and Quality Committees. Karen has a Masters Degree in Nursing and is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Service Managers, a Certified Health Executive, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Council Member of the ACHSM (WA). She holds Adjunct Associate Professorial positions with both Edith Cowan University and Curtin University of Technology. Karen is a member of the Juniper Care and Clinical Governance Committee.

Barry Honey
Independent Board Member
BBus; FCA

An experienced board director, Barry is a Chartered Accountant with roles that have included chairing HBF Health Limited, the Bethanie Group Inc and Bethanie Housing Ltd and Churches of Christ in WA. He was a board member with Plan B Group Holdings Limited, Plan B Trustees Ltd, HBF Insurance Pty Ltd, Westcare Incorporated and major not-for-profit sports associations Barry sits on various committees of the Uniting Church in Australia, the board of The Finance Brokers Association of Australia Limited and is a Governor of the Ron Tough Yachting Foundation. Formerly a partner in the Corporate Recovery Division of KPMG, Barry is presently a partner at Chartered Accountants Honey & Honey. Barry brings a high level of governance and financial analytical skills as well as expertise in the oversight of aged care undertakings in a ‘for purpose’ environment. He is the Chair of the Juniper Finance and Property Development Committee and a member of the Juniper Audit and Risk Committee. 

Angela Edwards
Independent Board Member
BSc Mgmt (Dublin) Grad Dip Ed & Training (Melbourne)

Angela is currently the Chief People Officer with The Kids Research Institute Australia and has a strong track record in Human Resources and Industrial Relations. She has a deep understanding of people-focused businesses, particularly where a balance is required between successful commercial strategy, and People, Culture, and Engagement strategies. Angela is a board member of the North Metropolitan Health Service, chair of their People Engagement and Culture committee and also a Board member of Blue Dot Army, a cancer support charity. Angela is a member of the Juniper Audit and Risk Committee.

Penny Knight
Independent Board Member
Bcom; MBA; GAICD

Penny has worked as a Principal Consultant with KPMG London and PWC Hong Kong before returning to Perth to work with the State Treasury to establish a database business. She has over 25 years’ experience in organisation analysis and strategic planning and is the Managing Director of consulting firm, Baxter Lawley. She is a Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia, where she is also undertaking PhD studies in governance and reporting. She has 15 years’ experience as a board director and serves on the board of Trinity Residential College. Penny is a member of the Juniper Care and Clinical Governance Committee, Juniper Finance and Property Development Committee and the Juniper Nomination and Remuneration Committee.

Ben Edwards
Independent Board Member
BA

Ben has over 20 years’ experience in senior leadership roles focused on the healthcare sector.  Currently the Group Chief Operating Officer for St John of God Health Care, Ben has previously been the CEO of several large and medium sized hospitals.  Ben began his career with operational management roles in the UK’s NHS, then spent 10 years as a management consultant with Ernst & Young and PWC working globally.  He was a Non-Executive Director on the St John of God Foundation Board until 2022.  Ben is a member of the Juniper Care and Clinical Governance Committee.

Meet our Executive

Championing Juniper’s mission and values, our Executive Leadership Team provides leadership and guidance to staff and oversee operations to ensure Juniper delivers the best possible care and services to our customers.

Russell Bricknell
Chief Executive Officer
MBA; BSc; Dip Ed; FAICD

Russell was appointed as Chief Executive Officer in December 2022. Russell has an extensive background in the aged care and community services sector. He was previously the Chief Executive of a faith-based aged care provider serving metropolitan and regional Western Australian communities. Prior to this role, Russell was Chief Executive of an Aged Care education provider, overseeing operations in Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand. Prior to this role, Russell held several senior executive and CEO roles in not-for-profit and faith-based aged, disability and community services organisations in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. Russell has worked in the aged and community services sector since 2001. Russell is a member of the Juniper Finance and Property Development Committee and Juniper Care and Clinical Governance Committee.

David Fisher
Executive Director Corporate Services
BCompt(Hons), CPA(SA), GIA(Cert), MAICD

Having been in an executive role at Juniper since 2007, David is a highly innovative, results driven and achievement orientated Executive Director. With over 25 years’ of post-graduate experience in business, he has demonstrated a track record of success in small to large organisations across property management, intellectual property, information technology and aged care. His role focuses on Juniper’s commercial and strategic business objectives, by ensuring that operational executives and managers have the resources to deliver services to residents and clients and by providing strong commercial and financial leadership. He analyses the organisation’s business and information needs and develops systems, processes and procedures to meet those needs, all in a highly regulated environment with funding constraints and increasing demand for services. David holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science (Honours), various other qualifications recognised by CPA Australia, and is a member of the Governance Institute of Australia.

Eve Currie
Executive Director People & Strategy
MBA, GAICD

Joining Juniper in November 2018, Eve was appointed to the role of Executive Director Planning and Strategy Support in August 2019. Eve holds a Master’s in Business Administration and has over 20 years’ experience working in the not-for-profit sector in aged care, healthcare and community services in middle management and executive roles. Eve has extensive experience working with leadership teams and boards, facilitating strategic planning and organisational reviews. She has successfully led several significant organisational change management initiatives and is an effective team leader, motivator and communicator with skills in project management, business planning and process improvement. At Juniper, Eve is responsible for people, culture, work health and safety, organisational strategy and projects.

Jo Wilkinson
Executive Director Community Business Development

Joining Juniper in August 2021, Jo has more than 20 years’ experience in community health across aged and community care, disabilities and mental health, having worked in across Australia in various national roles. Jo recently managed the largest portfolio of aged care home services for a major not-for-profit home care provider, before moving to a national role.  She has extensive experience in retirement living, affordable housing planning, service marketing and innovation, together with business development, including mergers and acquisitions and business transformation and growth. She has an outstanding record of leading teams to achieve full compliance with the Aged Care Quality Standards. A member of the WA Divisional Council of ACSA, Jo is currently completing a Master of Business Administration. The position of Executive Director Community Business Development oversees Juniper’s home care, independent living units, serviced units, affordable housing, sales and marketing, and consumer engagement areas.

Daniel Norgard
Executive Director Residential
MBA, GIA Cert

Dan joined Juniper as Executive Director Residential in October 2021. With a focus on sustainability and meaningful reform, Dan is committed to comprehensive quality care provision whilst improving resident, family, staff and volunteer experience. In addition to extensive health, aged and community care sector experience, Dan has held multiple senior leadership roles with highly regarded, purpose driven national organisations where he has proven his ability to lead and improve complex business, service delivery and clinical operations. The skills and experience Dan has in areas such as performance improvement, business intelligence and analytics, operational excellence, change management, growth and transformation of businesses are well-suited to Juniper and residential care settings. His professional qualifications include a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Western Australia as well as certifications in strategy, leadership, governance, risk management, and process improvement. The position of Executive Director Residential oversees Juniper’s residential aged care services.

Philippa Wharton
Executive Director Governance and Quality Improvement
RN, MBL

Part of the Juniper team since 2016, Philippa was appointed Executive Director Governance and Quality Improvement in October 2021. A Registered Nurse, Philippa has a Diploma in Mental Health Nursing, Executive Certificate in Health Management, Certificate in Gerontological Nursing and a Master of Business Leadership. The position of Executive Director Governance and Quality Improvement is responsible for leading and directing clinical and operational governance, infection control, compliance, quality and risk for all Juniper services to promote and safeguard high standards in customer care.