About the Foundation
Foundation Board
The Foundation Board for the Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life is made up of a group of people who have a strong desire to work for the benefit of humanity. The five board members come from a wide range of backgrounds bringing with them a kaleidoscope of skills and experiences.
The role of the Foundation Board is to fulfil the vision, mission and purpose of the foundation.
The 5 Board Members
Steve Shortis
Karen Dickson
As a CPA (Certified Practicing Accountant) with a Bachelor of Business, Karen has 16 years experience in international management consulting and has been responsible for running subsidiary businesses for two of Australia's largest professional services firms. In 2003, Karen embarked on a career transition into complementary medicine and set out on a path that combined her passion for natural medicine and business development to build a successful health & wellbeing clinic in Melbourne.
David Wren
David Wren has spent his life as a professional golfer; he played the Australasian Tour for six years and has worked professionally in the golf industry since 1990. In 2005, he set up his own golf travel company called Chasing Birdies. He has sat on a number of professional golfing association boards and been part of the Professional Golfing Association mentoring program since 2000. David has an adventurous spirit and enjoys cycling in remote parts of the world. He became involved with Spark of Life in 2010 as his mother has dementia and he decided to dedicate his ride half way around the world to raise funds for Spark of Life. You can read more about his ride by clicking here
Christine Borg
Christine Borg is a General Practice Consultant in Community Health Care with the Central Highland General Practice Network. She has a Degree in Health Science- Nursing and has extensive experience in both the Acute and Community setting. She has recently completed a Dual Diploma in Management and Business. Christine’s focus is mainly on Aged Care, Mental Health and Palliative Care. Her passion lies with the philosophy that reigniting one’s spirit touches the soul. She brings to the Foundation Board a wealth of experience and knowledge of aged and dementia care in Australia. Christine is based in Melbourne and is married with three children. She loves spending quality time with her family and friends and her other passions include cooking, following her favourite football team and unwinding with a good book.
Anne Langworthy
Associate Professor Anne Langworthy, Academic Director of University of Tasmania (UTA), and previously the Director for the Centre for Regional Development at Swinburne University, has a strong record of research and development in the area of sustainability and community engagement. A feature of Anne’s work has been the facilitation of collaborative partnerships between the university and key regional stakeholders, including business, local government and community organisations. In particular, Anne has worked to build partnerships with schools and the wider education sector in order to raise aspirations to enthuse and guide students towards higher education. Anne oversees the development of the UTAS College model as the key driver for wider and more equitable participation in higher education for all Tasmanians.
Paul Bailey
Paul Bailey is CEO and Director of Design for Global icons Pty. Ltd, a company whose mission is to enhance the recognition of Sydney, NSW and Australia as the 'go-to' destination for business, investment, creative enterprise and cultural excellence worldwide. Global Icons designs, develops and creates iconic pieces of high-value conversational art. One of the community engagements associated with Global Icons is to utilize business enterprises that support the intellectually disabled.
Chasing Birdies Cup
Steven Shortis B.Bus, FCPA, has a background in Public Accounting and has been in his own business, SVS Management based in Melbourne since 1976. Steve is a Registered Tax Agent and was made a Fellow of the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Australia in 1997. He is also a Fellow of the National Tax and Accountants’ Association (NTAA), a member of the Financial Planning Association and a Director of a number of small companies. Steve has a generous nature and is a Rotarian actively involved in supporting many local initiatives He brings a diverse wealth of knowledge, talents and experience to his position on the Foundation Board.