Our Board & Staff

Ross Passalaqua - Chair

Ross Passalaqua is a Company Director and business consultant with broad leadership, commercial, operational, and technical experience ranging across multiple sectors including the tourism, safety, services, transport and logistics, oil, gas, and chemical industries in both Australia and internationally. Following an early career in consulting engineering and project management, Ross worked in corporate business roles in Australia and overseas primarily with the Shell Group of Companies. He later developed tourism management and development skills as CEO at Falls Creek Alpine Resort prior to taking up several Board positions.

Ross wears many hats and is also currently Chair of Tourism North East and a Director of Disabled WinterSports Australia. He also provides independent safety management consulting and coaching services.

Alison Hill - Managing Director

Alison Hill is a passionate advocate for connecting people to nature for both health and wellbeing, and environmental outcomes, recognising that access to nature is a health equity issue, and something we all need to protect and promote wholistic health – “Healthy Humans Need Healthy Habitats to Survive and Thrive.”

An experienced executive in the For Purpose sector, Alison works for positive change by ensuring organisations have clear and inspiring visions with the structure, resources and culture needed to deliver highly effective programs, campaigns and partnerships that make a real difference in the community. Alison’s key strength is aligning organisational purpose, design and markets for high impact outcomes. Her passion is engaging stakeholder groups internally, across programs and externally towards a shared vision of ‘doing things better to make things better’.

Alison has worked nationally engaging federal and state governments, media, philanthropy, corporates, education sectors and social welfare organisations. Alison also has senior experience in business development and marketing communications in the commercial consultancy sector working with a wide range of businesses. She has over 10 years’ experience as a non executive director on For Purpose boards.

Professor Andrew Vizard - Director

Professor Andrew Vizard is a Principal Fellow and former Director of the Mackinnon Project at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne. Andrew is an experienced company director and has served on the board of numerous companies, statutory bodies and scientific organisations. He is currently a board member of Parks Victoria, a Director of Ridley Corporation Ltd, a trustee of the Australian Wool Education Trust and Chair of The Vizard Foundation.

Professor John Stanley - Director

John joined the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) at University of Sydney in July 2008 as Adjunct Professor and Bus Industry Confederation Senior Research Fellow in Sustainable Land Transport. Prior to taking on this role, he had nine years as Executive Director of Bus Association Victoria, after eight years as Deputy Chairman of the National Road Transport Commission.

John is former Chair of the ADC Forum, has been a member of the Committee for Melbourne’s Transport and Climate Change Task Forces, the Vicurban Board, the Urban Renewal Authority Victoria Board, the Victorian Alpine Resorts Coordinating Council and is now a board member of Road Safety Inspections, an Australian leadership development group. In 2012-13 he was a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee advising Victoria’s Minister for Planning on Melbourne’s new Metropolitan Planning Strategy. John is also a member of the ITLS and Monash ITS Advisory Committees. He was awarded a Centenary Medal for services to public transport and conservation.

Sam Giannikos - Operations Coordinator (part time)

Sam has over 25 years experience in the Financial Services in both Sydney and Melbourne, predominantly in the Industry Super sector.  She has worked as a project manager overseeing the delivery of a broad range of projects including mergers, delivery of digital forms and systems, workflow and procurement management systems.  Sam has also worked with executive stakeholders to develop key strategic planning documents and events such as business plans and management off-sites.  As a risk specialist, she has worked closely with businesses to embed risk management frameworks and strategies into their organisations.

Sam commenced with the Foundation as Operations Coordinator in October 2023 in a part-time capacity. Her main areas of focus are finance and payroll management, stakeholder and partner engagement, governance and regulatory compliance, marketing and communications, and other support activities on behalf of the Foundation.