ABOUT PORTLAND DISTRICT HEALTH
Executive Team
The leaders responsible for the day-to-day running of our health service and the wellbeing of our patients, residents and staff.
LEADERSHIP
Our Executive Team
The Executive Team leads our clinical, community and corporate divisions, reporting to the Board of Directors.
Karena Prevett
Chief Executive Officer
Qualifications: GAICD BBus - Major Accounting
Karena was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Portland District Health (PDH) in February 2025, following 18 months in the Interim CEO role. She commenced with PDH in August 2017 as Director of Corporate Services.
With a Bachelor of Business/Accounting, Karena brings extensive financial, governance and corporate leadership experience across both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining PDH, she spent 13 years working in local government, developing a strong understanding of governance, accountability and the importance of delivering meaningful outcomes for local communities.
Karena is passionate about improving health and wellbeing outcomes for the Portland and surrounding communities. Her leadership is grounded in strong values, collaboration and a commitment to making a positive difference to the people and communities PDH serves.
As CEO, Karena is committed to PDH’s purpose of “Your best health and wellbeing, close to home”, and to ensuring the organisation continues to deliver safe, high-quality and compassionate care that meets the needs of its community.
Jenny Roberts
Acting Director of Primary Care
Qualifications: RN
Jenny has worked at PDH for over 25 years in various roles with the Manager of Chronic and Complex Care being her current position. Jenny is a Registered Nurse with post graduate qualifications and extensive experience in managing health and primary care teams. Jenny with be the Acting Director of Primary Care for the interim.
Ian Martin
Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Services
Qualifications: CPA, FCMA, CGMA
Ian commenced with PDH in June 2025 in the newly amalgamated role of Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Services. Since relocating to Australia from the United Kingdom with his family in 2018, Ian has held senior finance and corporate services leadership positions within the rural health sector in Victoria. Having spent many years in the education sector in Scotland, Ian is passionate about lifelong learning and developing the skills and potential of all staff across the organisation. Collaboration and teamwork are Ian’s main drivers for success and a thriving organisation. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA), a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), and a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA), Ian brings extensive experience in financial leadership, strategic planning, change management, and leadership development across the private, public, and third sectors.
Adam Leonard
Executive Director People & Wellbeing
Qualifications: Bachelor of Administrative Leadership, Master of Human Resource Management (Employment Relations)
Adam joined PDH in 2026 after a 20-year career in the Australian Regular Army, followed by 25 years in private and public health, community services, aged care and disability services. Adam has held senior executive positions with NSW Health, Anglicare, Anglican Retirement Villages and Hope Healthcare, specialising in human resource management. He has led successful workplace culture transformations, mergers and innovation in workforce technology. Adam is especially passionate about organisational development and helping leaders create highly-engaged team environments where people can do their best work. He has been a keynote speaker for Gallup on transforming organisational culture and views valuing people, hiring well and leading well as the key drivers of team and organisational performance. Adam enjoys family, music, reading and baseball.
Carolyn Shaw
Executive Director Governance & Strategy
Qualifications: MBA, GAICD, CPHR
Carolyn joined Portland District Health as Executive Director Governance & Strategy in 2026. She brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across the health, aged care and education sectors, with extensive experience in governance, strategic planning, risk management, finance, human resources and organisational performance.
Prior to joining PDH, Carolyn held senior executive and leadership roles across rural health and education, including eight years as Director of Corporate Services at Beechworth Health Service. She holds a Master of Business Administration and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Certified Professional with the Australian HR Institute. Carolyn has also completed postgraduate studies in clinical governance, psychology and ESG leadership.
Carolyn is passionate about strong governance, continuous improvement and working collaboratively to support safe, sustainable and high-quality services for the community.
Bernadette Hammond
Interim Executive Director Clinical Services / Chief Nursing & Midwifery Officer
Qualifications: RN, RM, CCRN, BN, MHSM
Bernadette is a registered nurse and midwife and has worked in executive roles across rural and regional health, predominantly in Victoria for the past 20 years. Previous to this she worked in nursing, critical care and midwifery roles progressing to education and management positions over time. Prior to commencing at PDH she held Executive Director of Clinical Operations and Chief Nurse & Midwife role at Northeast Health Wangaratta and Bairnsdale Regional Health respectively. Bernadette currently provides locum services to support rural health facilities where temporary vacancies exist in Executive Clinical Services and Nursing roles.
John Robson
Executive Director Medical Services
Qualifications: FRACMA FRACGP
John joined Portland District Health in August 2026 as Executive Director Medical Services, bringing extensive experience in both rural general practice and medical leadership across Australia and New Zealand. He trained and worked as a rural GP in North West Queensland, with a background spanning general practice, emergency medicine and hospital medicine. Most recently, he worked with WA Country Health Service in the Kimberley region, including at Broome Hospital.
One of the key factors that attracted John to Portland was the vital role that general practice plays in supporting the health and wellbeing of the local community. He is a strong advocate for integrated healthcare and believes that patients should experience healthcare services as one connected system rather than a collection of separate organisations. Throughout his career, he has been committed to building strong partnerships between hospitals, primary care providers and community health services to improve patient outcomes and service delivery.
A key focus of his role at Portland District Health is strengthening communication and collaboration between PDH and local general practitioners. He is passionate about improving the flow of clinical information, streamlining referral and discharge processes, and creating opportunities for GPs to contribute to service development, clinical governance and innovative models of care. He is particularly interested in hearing from local GPs about what is working well, where challenges exist, and how PDH can better support them and their patients.
John looks forward to working closely with general practitioners across Portland and the wider region and to building strong partnerships that support the health needs of the community.
About Us
GET IN TOUCH
(03) 5521 0333
Main reception, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Bentinck Street
Portland VIC 3305
