Our Board

Merrilyn Strohfeldt

EMPA, BSpeechPath

Current term: 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2030
(Appointed to the Board in 2024; Chair from April 2026)

Merrilyn is an experienced public sector executive with expertise in health, community services and governance. She’s worked at deputy director‑general level in the Queensland Government and in senior national roles with the Australian Government.

Merrilyn is Chair of the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service Board and the Board Executive Committee. She has previously chaired the Audit and Risk Committee and been a member of the Finance Committee.

Merrilyn is also Board Chair of General Practice Queensland (CheckUP Australia). After retiring as CEO of Darling Downs West Moreton PHN in 2022, she continued working in health consulting and board roles.

Her background includes leadership in service delivery, commissioning and system reform, with a focus on mental health, domestic and family violence, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing.

Dr Ross Hetherington

MBBS, DRANZOG, FACCRM, PGDipPallMed, FAICD

Current term: 26 September 2024 - 31 March 2028
(Appointed to the Board in 2012; Deputy Chair from 2024)

Ross is a medical practitioner with extensive experience in rural and regional health and health service governance.

He is Deputy Chair of the Darling Downs Health Board and Chair of the Safety and Quality Committee. He is also a member of the Executive Committee and Finance Committee.

Ross is Chair of RHealth and a board member of Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited. He’s a foundation member of the Regional Health Board in Longreach.

His previous governance roles include chairing Rural Health Workforce Australia and holding directorships with national organisations supporting primary care and rural workforce development.

Ross brings clinical expertise and a strong focus on quality, safety and rural health systems.

Emeritus Professor Julie Cotter

PhD, BCom(Hons), FCPA, CA, GAICD

Current term: 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2028
(Appointed to the Board in 2017)

Julie is a chartered accountant with expertise in financial governance, audit and risk management. She has held senior leadership roles in higher education and public sector organisations.

Julie is Chair of the Board Finance Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. She is also a past member of the Board Executive Committee.

Julie is a board director at AgriFutures Australia and a member of its Audit Committee. She has held board roles with West Moreton Hospital and Health Service, Exercise and Sports Science Australia, and Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise.

Julie held senior management roles at the University of Southern Queensland, including Head of School and Research Centre Director. Across her career, she’s contributed to strategic and operational decision‑making through board and committee roles in education and health.

Professor Maree Toombs

PhD, GCEF, BPED

Current term: 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2028

Professor Maree Toombs is Chair of the Board Health Equity Committee and a member of the Board Safety and Quality Committee.

Maree is an Aboriginal woman with cultural linage to the Kooma people of Western Queensland and Euahlayi People of North Western New South Wales.

She was the first Aboriginal person to be awarded a PhD from the University of Southern Queensland.

Maree is a Professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney. Her focus is on implementing their Reconciliation Action Plan as well as ensuring the continued support of Indigenous students at the University.

Maree is recognised nationally and internationally for her research work around mental health outcomes for Aboriginal people with multiple comorbidities.

She also holds the following positions:

• Member, Expert Advisory Committee for Indigenous Health to the Medical Deans of Australia and New Zealand

Maree is a Churchill Fellowship recipient with over 20 years’ experience teaching and developing curriculum relating to Indigenous education and health.

Maree has published several journal articles related to improving the way people culturally work with Indigenous Australians in regional and remote areas.

She is also the co-author of ‘Indigenous Australians and Health’ published by Oxford Press.

Dr Brodie Quinn

BSc (Neuroscience), MBBS, MClinEd, FACEM

Current term: 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2030
(Appointed to the Board in 2026)

Brodie is an emergency physician at Toowoomba Hospital with a focus on health equity, system performance and access to care in rural and regional communities.

He is a member of the Board Safety and Quality Committee and the Health Equity Committee.

Brodie’s clinical experience spans rural and regional hospitals, tertiary care, retrieval medicine and telehealth emergency services. He currently works as a staff specialist in the Toowoomba Hospital Emergency Department, supporting clinicians across geographically dispersed settings.

He’s also the Clinical Lead for the New Toowoomba Hospital Project, contributing to the planning and design of future health infrastructure for the region.

Brodie brings frontline clinical insight and a strong systems perspective to board decision‑making.

Professor Victoria Brazil

MBBS, MBA, PhD, FACEM, GAICD

Current term: 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2030

Victoria is an emergency physician, educator and academic with extensive experience across clinical care, education and health systems. She completed specialist training in emergency medicine and worked in emergency departments in Queensland and the Northern Territory for more than 30 years, including aeromedical retrieval services.

She’s a highly experienced health professions educator, with postgraduate training in education from Harvard and Stanford universities. Victoria previously held the role of statewide director of medical education and training with Queensland Health.

Her work focuses on improving emergency care, strengthening interprofessional teamwork and supporting workforce capability. She’s internationally recognised for her leadership in translational simulation, including its use to improve quality and safety, support service redesign and strengthen system performance.

Victoria is a Fellow of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Brendan Baulch

BCom, LLB, FCA, MAICD

Current term: 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2030
(Appointed to the Board in 2026)

Brendan is a chartered accountant with expertise in audit, taxation and financial governance. He is the principal of a Toowoomba‑based accounting practice.

Brendan is Chair of the Board Audit and Risk Committee and a member of the Finance Committee and Health Equity Committee.

His career includes roles in corporate tax and finance in Australia and the United Kingdom, working across banking, telecommunications and insurance sectors.

Brendan is a director of People First Bank, where he also chairs the Audit Committee. He’s previously served as board chairman of Toowoomba Grammar School and as a director of a public offer superannuation fund.

Brendan brings strong governance experience across regulated industries and complex organisational environments.