Our Staff
Our Staff
Jennifer Beveridge
Danielle Laurence
Megan O’Connor
Rebecca Wickham
Eve Bowtell
Leigh Hanham
Natalie Wild
Marilyn Amendola
Caroline Golden
Jennifer Beveridge - Chief Executive Officer
Jennifer commenced as Chief Executive Officer at EDV in February 2012. Working for over 20 years in public health and community sector organisations, she has gathered extensive experience in clinical services, family support, consultation and education to professional staff. For the past 10 years Jennifer has held senior management roles overseeing early years, community development, settlement, mental health and drug & alcohol services.
Jennifer’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech pathology), Master of Business Administration (MBA) and she is currently completing a Master of Management (Strategic Foresight).
“I am pleased to lead the team of staff at EDV to continue the important work undertaken by this dynamic organisation”. She loves to learn, contribute to a making the world a better place, and seeks to find the joy and adventure in every day.
Danielle Laurence
Chatroom Coordinator
Danielle first started volunteering with EDV as a Helpline advisor in 2004. She had always been interested in the area of eating disorders and was studying psychology at university and thought it would be a good opportunity to gain some experience. Her first shift on the Helpline, when I actually took a call, was memorable. She was very nervous, but the feeling she experienced when the person on the other end thanked her and said she was a great help was overwhelming. It felt extremely rewarding to help someone who was going through a difficult time.
After volunteering as a Chatroom Moderator for over a year, she became the Chatroom Coordinator.
The thing she loves the most about the Chatroom is that the regular users not only log in when they need support, but they come even when they are going strong, to support the other users. Danielle feels privileged to be able to witness such acts of support and compassion among those who use the service.
The essence of EDV is to support those experiencing an eating disorder, whether they are a sufferer or a carer. Danielle loves being a part of the organisation, and will continue to be for as long as possible.
Megan O’Connor
Communications and Media Officer
Megan joined Eating Disorders Victoria in November 2007 and loves being part of such a dedicated and passionate team. Before joining EDV, she spent 12 years in a variety of corporate communications roles spanning a wide range of industries such as telecommunications, beverage, insurance and IT.
Turning her focus to the not-for-profit sector has been extremely rewarding. She was struck by the passion of the people at EDV from the moment she walked through the door and finds the 'vibe' of a volunteer based organisation so contagious.
Megan has a young family and feels passionate about promoting positive body image amongst school aged children so they can grow into confident young adults with a healthy body image.
Rebecca Wickham
Family Support Officer
Rebecca joined the EDV team as a part-time Family Support Officer in 2010, having been involved with EDV in a voluntary capacity since 2005. She is passionate about people in our community feeling valued and having access to appropriate and timely support. It is rewarding to see people take steps toward feeling more in control of their lives and experiencing life more fully. Alongside the work at EDV, she is studying toward completion of a Professional Doctorate of Psychology at Swinburne University where she is learning a great deal, meeting lots of interesting people and enjoying the beginnings of a career in psychology.
Rebecca is currently researching the experience of the therapy process for women addressing binge eating problems, with a particular focus on mindfulness as a guiding framework. Working in the 'helping profession,' it is easy to see the interconnected nature of people, and I realise the value in fostering healthy relationships within friendship circles, families, organisations and the broader community.
She feels very privileged to be in a position where she can help, in some small way, empower people to find appropriate avenues of support and the resources and courage necessary to take the next step.
Eve Bowtell
Family Support Officer
Eve joined the EDV team in 2011 in a part-time capacity working on the Building Hope workshops and putting the revised ‘information for carers’ book together. She feels very privileged to be involved with such a great team and working in area that assists families going through difficult times.
A psychologist and teacher by training, Eve is also currently working towards a PhD researching the interface between the health and education sectors. Specifically she has been interviewing parents and key informants about service provision for young people in high school who have one of three chronic conditions; cancer, anorexia nervosa and cystic fibrosis.
Working at EDV while undertaking this challenge in her life has allowed Eve to feel as if she is contributing in a minor way to recovery for people of all ages, something that she is passionate about.
Leigh Hanham
Office Administrator
Leigh joined Eating Disorders Victoria in August 2007 and there is not a day goes by that she is not awe-struck by the commitment of our volunteers at EDV – people who eagerly give up hours of their busy week to help others – their dedication and commitment is inspirational!
Her role is to meet and greet those who visit our office; she oversees the library, manages memberships, sends out our e-bulletins and perform other miscellaneous administrative duties. She is looking forward to another life changing year of service to the team at EDV.
Natalie Wild
Recovery Support Officer
After completing her studies as a counsellor in September 2005, Natalie joined Eating Disorders Victoria as a volunteer on the Helpline and as an active member of speakers bank. During her 2 years as a volunteer she had so many invaluable experiences, both personally and professionally. In this time and since, she has extensively broadened her knowledge, not only on eating disorders, but on the importance and growing need for support and resources, relationship dynamics and its effects on recovery, related mental health issues, and the need for awareness in our community.
The role of Recovery Support Officer was developed in October 2007. Natatlie was fortunate enough to obtain this role and feels a great passion for what she does at EDV. Her role is to assist and support people recovering from an eating disorder. This includes individual appointments, either face to face or by phone, hospital visiting programs and maintaining and expanding our support groups throughout Victoria. The greatest reward is watching restoration of hope and determination in a person’s eyes when they decide for themselves that recovery is worth fighting for.
Marilyn Amendola
Volunteer Services Coordinator & Information Officer
With a Bachelor degree in Applied Science (Human Movement) and further studies in Science Nutrition, Marilyn brings her educational background, first hand experience of living with a mental illness and passion of helping others to EDV. She has been a part of the team since March 2005. Her role has changed over time with her current main responsibilities being to manage the volunteer services and assist with developing and maintaining EDV’s information resources and collating our statistics.
Working at Eating Disorders Victoria has been a learning experience where Marily has gained further understanding, knowledge and insight into the lives of those affected by eating disorders. This is also a rewarding experience when EDV can make a positive difference in someone's day. She is passionate about supporting our volunteers, helping people and contributing to the growth and development of an important non-profit organisation such as EDV, so that it can continue to make a difference in the lives of those affected by eating disorders.
Caroline Golden
Website Coordinator
Caroline joined EDV in June 2011 as the Website Coordinator. Her background is in IT and web development, and she has worked in a variety of areas including education, government and private industry. This is her first foray into the non-profit sector and she is very much enjoying being part of such an enthusiastic and important organisation.
Last revision date: Monday, 14 May 2012 11:28
