PROJECT TEAM
Directors
Robert McGuirk, RC Melbourne
Rob is a lawyer from Melbourne who has worked both in the UK and Australia, primarily in Commercial Law. He also worked as an evening volunteer lawyer for over 20 years at a community legal advice centre in Melbourne. Rob has worked in the financial services sector and was Company Secretary and Legal Counsel for an Australian ASX listed company. He owned and ran a software business specialising in computer security products for 10 years before selling it to a US listed company. He is a mentor for the Telstra Muru-D start-up accelerator program and is on the board of two tech start up companies.
Rob has been a Board member of the Not-for-Profit Youth Hostels Association both in Australia and on the International Board for many years including serving as International Vice President. He is currently Chair of YHA in Australia.
Because Rob is clearly not busy enough, in Rotary, he is a member and currently a Vice President of the Rotary Club of Melbourne and is Chair of the club’s Indigenous Programs Committee. He is also Chair of Nourish Our Communities Ltd, the not-for-profit company managing the End Trachoma by 2020 project.
rmcguirk@ozemail.com.au
Kerry Kornhauser OAM, RC Melbourne
Kerry commenced her career in the advertising industry, holding positions with major agencies Clemenger Harvie and George Patterson. She also spent time in the private health care and hospitality sectors, helping establishing Australian Health Resources and working as Marketing Director in a number of successful corporate accommodation hotels.
Having long been an active volunteer, Kerry joined the Rotary Club of Albert Park in 2008, where she received a number of awards and served as President (2011–12). In 2010, she founded Woman in Rotary, an Australia-and world wide initiative aimed at promoting and encouraging the participation and contribution of women in Rotary. While President of the Rotary Club of Albert Park, she took a team of Rotarians to the remote Indigenous community of Nganambala at Emu Point — 6 hours from Darwin in Australia’s outback— to install a water tank and kitchen garden and promote healthy eating and access to fresh food. Seven years later, the Club still receives messages with photos of how well the vegies are growing!
In addition to her work with Rotary and EndTrachoma, Kerry sits on the boards of Violence Free Families and Road Traffic Support Services Victoria, and is a project manager with the Bridge of Hope’s Bridging the Gap program. In 2017, Kerry received a Medal of the Order of Australia for her services to the community. A profile of Kerry from The Age newspaper is available at http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/lunch-with-kerry-kornhauser-20170509-gw15yr.html.
kerry.kornhauser@gmail.com
Dr. Murray Verso, RC Williamstown
Murray is a retired medical practitioner. In 2013, after a 40-year career, he sold his general practice in the seaside suburb of Williamstown. As well as running his own practice, Murray was very involved with organizing and facilitating post graduate education programs for his medical colleagues. He served on many professional bodies, including terms as Chairman of the Williamstown Hospital Medical Staff Group, Board Member of the Westgate Division of General Practice and as a representative on the AMA Victoria Branch Council. Murray also served on the Council of Trinity Grammar School, Kew for 27 years, including 9 years as Council Chairman.
Murray has been a member of the Rotary Club of Williamstown since 1981 and has had numerous roles within Rotary at club and district level. In 2012, he led a Group Study Exchange Team to Maharashtra State in India and, in 2014-2015, he was Governor of Rotary International District 9800. He is now Chair of the D. 9800 Club Vision program and is very involved with promoting the Rotary Foundation, Australian Rotary Health and Interplast. Murray sees the elimination of trachoma in our indigenous communities as a high priority for Rotary in Australia. He is one of the three directors of the End Trachoma by 2020 project and is a board member of Nourish Our Communities Ltd which manages the project.
verson@netspace.net.au
Manager
Lien Trinh
Lien wants to live in a world where avoidable forms of vision impairment don’t exist, where individuals are empowered, and human diversity is celebrated. She is one of 6 children; her parents were refugees who fled Vietnam by boat in the early 80s and founded a new life in Australia. Lien holds a Bachelor of Optometry from the University of Melbourne and Master of Optometry from the University of NSW. She has experience working in low-income settings internationally (Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea) as well as throughout Australia, providing eye-care services and building local eye personnel capacity through teaching, research and evaluation. In 2013 she was awarded the inaugural D9800 Global Grant from the Rotary Foundation to study a Master of Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She has since worked at Indigenous Eye Health (University of Melbourne), and now manages 2 delightful tots as well as our Project EndTrachoma by 2020.
lien@endtrachoma2020.org.au
Administration
Sandi Fulcher, RC Chadstone/ East Malvern
Sandi has been a Rotarian since 2003 when she originally joined the Rotary Club of Heathrow in England. Since returning to Melbourne, she has been Club President , Assistant Governor and District Secretary for a number of committees. She travelled with Rotary Chadstone/East Malvern to Papua New Guinea to help build a school, and to East Timor to complete the partially built School just outside Maubisse.
Sandi’s experience is a mix of retail management, insurance and administration. Sandi is our fabulous Administration Coordinator providing administration support to the team. She is the face behind the responses to your email/ Facebook/ Website enquiries.
sandi@endtrachoma2020.org.au
WHO IS YOUR ROTARY DISTRICT TRACHOMA CHAMPION?
Our incredible team of district champions can be found on the page: Rotarians. We are indebted to all Rotarians involved, particularly our Directors and District Trachoma Champions, for their commitment.