The Advocacy Committee
Joe Brooks (Chair)
Joe Brooks is a Hobart-based podiatrist. He works in private practice and considers himself a generalist across the podiatry field. Joe is Chair of the Nominations Committee and is a previous past president of APodA Tas who was instrumental in the One Podiatry project and transitioning to a national association.
Joe is an approachable and passionate person with a problem solving mind and is very much focused on outcomes.
As chair of the APodA Advocacy Committee Joe’s aim is to work to increase opportunities of podiatrists across Australia, to make sure podiatry has a voice within the health landscape of Australia and move podiatry towards being regarded as the foot and lower limb experts we are.
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Helen Banwell
Helen has broad experience with many facets of podiatry and service. She has been a lecturer in podiatry (at the University of South Australia) since 1999, having previously worked as a clinical podiatrist in public and private positions, in both metro and rural settings.
Helen continues to manage a private practice part-time and is employed as a senior therapist working with children and disability within the NDIS arena.
Postgraduate study saw Helen achieve her Master’s Degree in 2010, with a Doctorate of Philosophy (Ph.D) conferred in 2016. Her research interests include; the use of foot orthoses in children and adults with flat feet; assessment and management of gait and lower limb concerns in children; development of proforma's or templates to direct podiatric practice, and; investigations of podiatric practice and academic support for podiatry students.
Helen was the academic representative for the Podiatry Board of South Australia (2008 to nationalisation), a member of the Prescription Rights Advocacy Group (South Australia) and is co-chair of the Paediatric Special Interest Group (South Australia).
Jason Dunn
Prior to the formation of the national Australian Podiatry Association, Jason has served on the Australian Podiatry Association (Victoria) Board for 5 years, 3 of those as President.
During this time he was involved in advocating on behalf of members to private health funds, Ahpra, TAC and Work Safe.
Jason has practiced in private practice as well as the public sector in a community health setting over the past 10 years. He currently works in a leadership role within a community health service providing strategic and operational management of a multidisciplinary allied health and nursing service that provides health promotion services and chronic disease management to the community.
Jason’s professional areas of interest are clinical governance, service evolution and implementation, and best practice models of care for the management of chronic diseases.
Dr Angela Evans
Angela Evans is a clinician in Adelaide, senior lecturer at La Trobe University, and a volunteer and ambassador with Walk for Life – the sustainable club foot project in Bangladesh. Dr Evans has many journal publications, book chapters, and authored the podiatry textbook ‘Paediatrics’.
Dr Evans current research interests and investigative projects focus on the paediatric flat foot, and paediatric club foot. Further collaborative work and supervision includes paediatric growing pains, Down syndrome foot posture, Achilles tendinopathy, obesity and osteoarthritis.
Dr Evans’ main interest is the nexus between research and clinical practice, such that paediatric patients become recipients of best available evidence based care.