An elected volunteer executive group, known as the Board of Management, controls the operations of the association.
The Parkinsons WA Board of Management meets on a monthly basis with our CEO Yasmin Naglazas. They provide a wealth of knowledge and experience to oversee the running of Parkinson’s WA.
The Board oversees the various activities of the association by appointing volunteer conveners or co-ordinators, each of whom takes responsibility for a designated activity, often with the assistance of a committee (e.g. Research Committee, Support Group Coordinator).
VIEW OUR ANNUAL REPORT 2021 - 2022
View our Annual Report 2020 – 2021
Parkinson’s WA Board Profiles
John McDonald
President
John has been the President of Parkinson’s WA for many years and has extensive business management experience gained both in Australia and overseas. John was also a Board member and President of Parkinson’s Australia for many years. John was re-elected as President for Parkinson’s WA and has personal family links to Parkinson’s. John is a well-deserved figurehead of our organisation.
Professor Natalie Gasson
Vice President
Registered Psychologist, (MAPS, MAAPi), PhD
Natalie is the Deputy Head for the School of Population Health at Curtin University. She is also the Level Two Psychology Program Director and has been teaching psychology for over 30 years. She is a Fellow of the Curtin Academy and member of the Australian Evaluation Society. Natalie is a member of the Curtin Neuroscience Laboratory, and a Founding member of the ParkC Research Collaborative. Her research focusses on the heterogeneity of Parkinson’s and subsequent impact on cognition, sleep, quality of life, depression, and anxiety; and Mental Health Stigma. Natalie has been on the Board of Parkinson’s WA for over 25 years and is also Chair of the Research Advisory Committee and a member of the Professional Advisory Panel. Natalie joined Parkinson’s WA following completion of her PhD on how to best test cognition (thinking skills) in Parkinson’s and having received support from Parkinson’s WA members for her study, offered her services to the organisation in return.
Alastair Hope
Board Member
BA, LLB
Alastair practiced Law for over 20 years and was inspired to join Parkinson’s WA after hearing of our good work. Alastair has a close friend and also a neighbour with Parkinson’s.
Keith Geers
Board Member
B.Bus (WAIT), FCPA, AFAIM
Keith is an Accountant and was a partner in 1981 at Geers & Pusey, later commencing the GeersSullivan practice with his son-in-law, who have always been active in the not-for-profit sector. In the past, Keith has been Chairman of the Public Accountant Committee for CPA, Board Member of MercyCare Ltd and on the Santa Maria College Board. Keith is currently the Board Representative on the Research and Risk Committees, in addition to Parkinson’s WA. Keith joined the Parkinson’s WA Board after being involved in organising the annual Golf fundraising day.
Don Bolto
Board Member
Don graduated in 1967 and worked as a private practice Dentist for 40 years in Subiaco until retiring in 2011. In 2012, Don began working part-time as a Dentist in communities in the Northern Territory before retiring again in 2016. Don has family members and friends with Parkinson’s, including his mother in law and wife’s cousin. Don chose to join the Parkinson’s WA Board to help in some way.
Alan Gray
Board Member
BA (Hons)
Alan has been a practicing urban planner in Australia and UK for over thirty years. Alan’s mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in her late 60s and Alan himself was diagnosed in his mid 50s. Alan’s decision to join the Board was prompted after receiving support from our nursing staff and seeing the important role the organisation plays in the lives of people living with the condition.
Tamlyn Lennox
Board Member
Tamlyn graduated from UWA in 2006 with a combined degree in Health Science and Commerce and went on to become a Chartered Accountant in 2009. She currently works as the Manager of Risk and Compliance within the Corporate Governance team of the Telethon Kids Institute. Prior to joining the Institute in 2020, Tamlyn worked in Professional Services for 14 years, gaining risk, compliance, corporate governance and internal audit experience across a variety of industries and sectors including within the health, education, not for profit and the public sector. Tamlyn has family connections with Parkinson’s and was inspired to join the Parkinson’s WA Board after learning of the various support roles and services offered to the Parkinson’s community.
Ryan O'Connor
Board Member
Ryan has extensive experience within the allied health sector through exercise rehabilitation within the compensable system as well as health and wellness initiatives and programmes targeting an ageing population and the comorbidities associated.
Ryan is and continues to strive to be a leader in allied health. He has gained national recognition within the field of Exercise Physiology via its governing body ‘Exercise & Sports Science Australia’ (ESSA) as the inaugural winner of the Australian Exercise Physiology ‘Graduate of the year’ award in 2009, as well as being published as a regular ‘Ask the Expert’ columnist in ‘Australian Men’s Fitness Magazine. Ryan is an industry pioneer and advocate in his position as Board Member for ESSA WA from 2008-2012 and has been invited to present at many professional forums about his innovative means for reducing injury and chronic disease as well as improved long-term health outcomes for clinical populations within the community.
Dr David Blacker
Board Member
Dr David Blacker is a neurologist and stroke physician at Sir Charles Gairdner and Hollywood Private Hospitals, medical director of the Perron Institute and Clinical Professor of Neurology at the University of WA. He trained in Perth, before undertaking a stroke fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester USA. He returned to Perth in 2003 and established the acute stroke service at SCGH, building it into one of the busiest and largest interventional stroke centres in Australia. He has been active in clinical stroke trials for many years, and has also worked closely with the stroke research lab at the Perron Institute, where he has been the Medical Director since 2014. Their focus has been on neuroprotective strategies, and the lab has developed a neuroprotective peptide, ARG-007, which is currently in a phase 1 clinical trial, funded and supported by Argenica Therapeutics, where David is the chair of the clinical advisory committee. Some years after developing an exercise induced foot dystonia, he was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's, and from 2018 has shared this with the public. He has great interest in exercise as an intervention for Parkinson's, and developed a non-contact boxing exercise program, FIGHT-PD, in conjunction with former Golden Gloves Champion, Rai Fazio and a team of exercise scientists at ECU.