OUR PEOPLE
JCTS National Team
Anthony Paulson
Anthony is a proud Aboriginal man; his people are saltwater people from the Worimi and Mununjali nations. He previously held senior management roles in an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS) and has extensive experience working respectfully with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Throughout his career, he has undertaken senior roles with government and non-government organisations, working with rural and remote communities in NSW.
Anthony welcomes the opportunity to support the delivery of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Training strategic plan funding to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and support growth in GP registrar numbers training in Aboriginal health training facilities.
CONTACT
Debra O'Brien
Debra is a seasoned Executive Assistant with extensive experience in the health sector, providing high-level support to senior executives and board members. She excels in managing complex schedules, coordinating major events, and ensuring smooth operations in fast-paced settings.
Throughout her career she has successfully organised conferences, forums, and internal events, handling logistics and vendor coordination with precision. Debra supports boards and committees with clear communication, accurate documentation, and seamless meeting facilitation.
Known for her reliability, adaptability, and calm demeanour under pressure, Debra brings a professional and efficient approach to every task she undertakes.
Alexandra Govan
Colleen Johnstone
Colleen has extensive experience as an executive and senior manager. She was CEO of a Tasmanian not-for-profit health organisation for eight years, where she successfully led the development and delivery of education and training for primary and allied health providers, advocated for service improvement, secured tens of millions of dollars in sector funding, and led significant sector workforce development strategies to address the long-term challenges of growing service demand and an ageing workforce.
Previously, Colleen was Manager, Regional Development for the Tasmanian Government, where she worked closely with businesses and key stakeholders to grow regional economic opportunities, and in Tasmania’s workplace safety regulator, where she was responsible for developing the nation’s leading compensation scheme for occupational asbestos-related diseases.
Colleen has also led several business-focused programs for the Australian Government in the areas of biotechnology, foreign direct investment and industry development. She is also an experienced Director, holding board positions in the areas of mental health, women’s health, and social services.
Rhiannon Petricevich
Rhiannon is an experienced HR professional with a strong background in the community sector and not-for-profit organisations, including work within an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO).
Proud of her Māori heritage, she is committed to embedding cultural safety and inclusion into all aspects of her work.
Kate Silvey
Kate is a creative and strategic content professional with a strong background in marketing and communications. She brings experience across both the agency and not-for-profit sectors, with a particular passion for creating content that’s clear, engaging, and purpose-driven.
Kate is deeply committed to promoting health equity, with a strong focus on supporting and amplifying the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Kate is passionate about using storytelling as a tool to drive awareness, foster inclusion, and contribute to better outcomes across communities.
GET TO KNOW OUR STATE & TERRITORY TEAMS
JCTS Heads of Medical Education
Dr Kathryn Dalmer
Dr Kathryn Dalmer is a proud Wiradjuri woman, General Practitioner and medical educator, with a background in management, social work and a passion for Indigenous health and education. Recently appointed as Head of Medical Education at Joint Colleges Training Services (JCTS), she continues serve her community as a GP in a small rural clinic on the Sunshine Coast and as a Regional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medical Educator for the RACGP in NSW.
In her pre-medical career, Kathryn amassed extensive experience in psychosocial health through roles in child protection, foster care, counselling and education. Her leadership in psychosocial health included managing multidisciplinary teams and development and delivery of core training in both child protection and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Education.
She is passionate about Indigenous Health and supporting our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors in training as well as providing clinically applicable cultural support and education to non-Indigenous GP trainees and their supervisors.
Outside of medicine, Kathryn is an accomplished Aboriginal artist and active community volunteer.
Dr Jacinta Power
Dr Jacinta Power is a Juru woman from the Birri Gubba nation in North Queensland and also has strong cultural connections to her Australian South Sea Islander peoples.
Jacinta graduated from the JCU School of Medicine and is a Fellow of the RACGP. In addition, she has worked as a Cultural Mentor and subsequently an Indigenous Medical Educator within the GP training space. Since mid-2024 she has been part of the JCTS team as a Medical Educator in Queensland. She is passionate about supporting the learning and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural commitments and responsibilities across all areas of General Practitioner education.
JCTS Governing Board
The JCTS Governing Board is comprised of seven directors, three from RACGP, three from ACRRM and an independent Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander chairperson (Professor Peter O’Mara).
Professor Peter O’Mara
FRACGP, FARGP, MBBS, GradDipRural
Professor Peter O’Mara is a proud Wiradjuri man from northeast Wiradjuri Country who completed his medical degree at the University of Newcastle. Since completing his degree, Peter has worked as a GP at Tobwabba Aboriginal Medical Service and played a small role in setting up the Werin Aboriginal Medical Service. Whilst still working at Tobwabba and Werin, Peter is also employed as a Professor and Assistant Dean of Indigenous Health at the University of Newcastle. Peter is committed to the ongoing training of Indigenous medical doctors to improve health disparities and continuously advocates for better health and education outcomes in Indigenous communities.
Georgina van de Water
MBA, GAICD
Georgina van de Water is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RACGP. She previously held the role of Chief GP Training Officer at RACGP and has broad experience across the primary healthcare sector. Prior to this, Georgina served as CEO of GP Synergy until 2022. Georgina has also held senior leadership positions including Chief Operating Officer and Deputy CEO at WentWest and GP Synergy respectively. She brings extensive national and international leadership experience, with a strong focus on strategic stakeholder engagement and service delivery through supporting and developing people.
Dr Karen Nicholls
B.Med, FRACGP, Dip Child Health, MAICD
Dr Karen Nicholls is a Torres Strait Islander woman who completed her medical degree at the University of Newcastle. She is the current Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Faculty at RACGP and represents the Indigenous medical workforce across a range of boards and committees, including JCTS, RACGP and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Council. Karen has extensive experience working within the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector as a General Practitioner. She is also committed to educating the next generation of doctors through her role as Senior Lecturer at the University of Newcastle and supporting the delivery of culturally safe learning environments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical students.
Kyra Moss
BA (Journalism), DipCommDev, Dip Proj Mgt
Kyra Moss brings more than fifteen years of leadership and management experience to the JCTS Board, gained across the health and social sectors and is the current General Manager, Education Services with ACRRM. She has worked in a range of management and executive leadership roles within the primary care sector, with experience spanning health services management, workforce recruitment, and business support for aged care services, general practice and primary healthcare providers. Kyra has also held board appointments across the GP training, aged care, housing and early childhood education sectors.
Dr Louis Peachey
B.Med, FACRRM
Dr Louis Peachey is a Girrimay and Djirribal man from the Djirribaligan language group (Rainforest People) of North Queensland. He is a Senior Medical Officer at Atherton District Hospital, where he works as a Rural Generalist Anaesthetist, and he also runs a regular clinic at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre. Dr Peachey was the founding President of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association and a former Board member of ACRRM. He served on the National Board of Headspace from 2012 to 2016. In 2021, Dr Peachey was awarded a Life Fellowship of ACRRM in recognition of his service to the College and his significant contribution to Rural and Remote Medicine and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.
Marita Cowie AM
BA(Clin Psych), BBus (Com), HonDMD, FGIA, MACID
Marita Cowie is the founding Chief Executive Officer of ACRRM. She has extensive leadership, governance and management experience across primary care and specialist medical education sectors.
She has held a range of board, committee, advisory and advocacy roles both within Australia and internationally. She holds an Associate Professor position with JCU College of Medicine & Dentistry, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Medicine from JCU for exceptional public contribution to the field of medicine in Northern Queensland communities, and regional and rural communities nationally and internationally. Marita has also been appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (General Division) in recognition of her contribution to community health in rural and remote medicine.
Dr Ramya Raman
FRACGP, MBBS, BSSc (Hons), Dip Childrens Health , Dip Women’s Health, GAICD
Dr Ramya Raman is a Specialist General Practitioner, medical educator, and health policy leader. Raised in Orange in Central West NSW, where she lived for over 15 years, she brings a deep, lived understanding of rural and community healthcare to her work.
Now based in Perth for nearly two decades, she is the Director of The Garden Family Medical Clinic in Piara Waters, where she continues in clinical practice and leads a modern, forward-thinking teaching practice. She is also Discipline Head of General Practice at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, leading the training of future doctors.
Dr Raman is an experienced board director with a strong focus on governance, strategy, and health system reform. She currently serves as Chair of RACGP WA and Vice President of the RACGP nationally. Recognised as RACGP WA GP of the Year (2020) and AMA (WA) Advocate of the Year (2024), her leadership is driven by a clear principle: strengthening general practice is essential to strengthening Australia’s health system.
Amanda Semertzian
BA UniMelb, GradDipACGRM, FGIA, FCG, GAICD
Amanda Semertzian is an experienced company secretary with a strong background in the education management sector. A Melbourne University alum, Amanda brings skills in business planning, management, performance management, and corporate and academic governance.