Meet our Board

Lance has been the General Manager of Tilly’s Crawler Parts Toowoomba since 2017. Having worked in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, in both operational and general management roles, he brings a wealth of business experience to the Hope Horizons leadership team. Lance also holds the position of President on the board of the Independent Distributors Association based in Dallas, USA.

He was originally trained as an accountant but completed an MBA in 2014 through the University of Canterbury, NZ with a focus on business strategy, marketing and growth planning and implementation.

Lance’s mum has fought cancer and has fortunately been in remission for may years now, however, the experience both short and long term has made him acutely aware of the importance of the solid support structure required. This support is necessary for all affected and should be available to anyone who needs it.

Harry is a Medical Oncologist and Director of Oncology at Toowoomba Base Hospital. He was born in the United Kingdom and completed his medical studies at Kings College London in 2011. He emigrated to Australia in 2013 in order to continue his career and was admitted to Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians with specialisation in Medical Oncology in 2019.

From 2019-2021, Harry undertook a clinical fellowship at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, where he was involved in an award winning research project examining staff well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. After this, he moved with his family to Toowoomba, to take up a full-time role as a Consultant Medical Oncologist in the public hospital. The welfare of colleagues, patients and friends are central to his philosophy in healthcare. It is through his passion for this that he became involved with Hope Horizons.

Harry brings compassion and understanding to care of patients with cancer. He seeks to understand the wider impact of a cancer diagnosis on all those affected by the disease. His research activities include a focus on better care of families who are caring for patients with cancer and managing patients in regional and remote settings.

Anna is the secretary for the Hope Horizons Management Committee. She was born and raised in Toowoomba, has worked in the education sector and now works for the State Government in Sport and Recreation.

Anna has always admired people - including her sister and fellow Board member Karen - who work and volunteer to help others with a cancer diagnosis. Anna considers herself fortunate to be a cancer survivor. She learnt that treating the cancer is just one aspect of the journey - looking after yourself mentally, emotionally and physically also assists greatly with recovery, and this is where the Hope Horizons Wellness Centre is an important facility for many people in our community. Anna wishes for a world without cancer, however until that day she looks forward to continuing being a part of Hope Horizons and diminishing the impact of cancer.

Chartered Accountant, Change Manager, Business Operations and volunteer.

Jaime joined Hope Horizons in 2022. He is a chartered accountant and experienced financial controller. He has had over twenty years’ financial experience across a number of areas including tax, management accounting, change management, strategy and project management. He has strong capabilities in areas of managing complex corporate structures ,analysis and governance of financial statements and compilation of management reports for internal stakeholders. Outside Hope Horizons, Jaime is Business Operations Manager for E & E Waste Pty Ltd in Toowoomba and generally a keen cyclist and outdoor adventurer.

Sadly, Cancer has been a strong contender in Jaime’s family. His belief in the offerings Hope Horizons gives to our community has made the opportunity to be part of this board a priority on a personal and professional basis. Jaime is currently the Board Treasurer.

Community, collaboration and connection are three words very strong in Jo’s vocabulary. Jo has spent 30+ years raising funds professionally for local charities including The Cancer Council Queensland, RSL, St Vincent’s Hospital and LifeFlight.

Jo has been acknowledged for her capacity to surpass fundraising targets, leading volunteer and community groups across South Western Queensland and mediating existing marketing plans for Not-for-profit organisations enabling them to achieve bigger results.

She has been awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship, won the Downs Region Women in Business Community Dedication award and was a finalist in the Queensland Regional Rural and Remote Women’s Leadership Awards.

In 2016 Jo published her first book called Four Hot Chips – a raw account of her son’s fight against bone cancer and how the disease nearly claimed him and her marriage.

Jo is ‘big picture’ directed, open to new ideas and insightful when working with her community. Her passion to support families going through the trials of a cancer diagnosis is very close to her heart, so Hope Horizon’s vision is closely aligned with her goals.

Pete has been married to Jill for 53 years and has two daughters and six grandchildren.

Pete was raised in the country town of Goondiwindi and participated heavily in sports such as Rugby League, Rugby Union, Cricket and Athletics. He went on to join the RAN and later became involved in the retail and wholesale industries, having spent the last 40 years in Insurance before retiring in 2019.

Pete has been enthusiastically involved in Hope Horizons since its inception and manages the day-to-day running of the Centre. He is also still a keen gardener.

Kate has been a cancer nurse for more than 25 years. She has worked across all areas of cancer care including acute haematology and oncology, day chemotherapy units, radiation oncology and palliative care in both metro and regional Queensland. Kate has completed further studies in cancer care, completing her Masters of Health in 2016 and is a member of the Cancer Nurses Society Australia.

Kate is the founder of Hope Horizons, being driven by a need to make access to services to help people during and after their cancer treatment easier and equitable. She feels that being in regional or rural Queensland should not disadvantage people with their health outcomes, and will continue to try and find ways for people to access services in their hometowns, where their families and support systems lie.

Karen began her nursing career more than 35 years ago and she feels very lucky and privileged to have chosen a profession that she loves and finds so rewarding. Her career began at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. She then completed her Bachelor of Nursing at USQ and is currently the Radiation Oncology Nurse Manager at Icon Cancer Centre at St. Andrew’s Cancer Care Centre where she has worked for the past 16 years. Previously Karen worked at St Andrew’s Hospital for 19 years in positions including Clinical Nurse Manager of Palliative Care.

After working as an Oncology Nurse for over 25 years Karen has seen many changes in the management of patients with cancer and more positively many people surviving cancer. Whilst Toowoomba has amazing oncology facilities and medical professionals, she saw that there was a needs gap not being met for our patients.

While patients are having treatment and once it is completed there is so much more they can do to improve their quality of life and live well with cancer, but often they are unaware or find it too difficult to access these services. Over the past few years Hope Horizons has strived to fill this gap.

As a founding Committee Member of Hope Horizons Karen’s aim has been to provide a cancer wellness centre that meets the needs of cancer patients and their carers - services that people in metropolitan areas take for granted.

Stef commenced working life as a physical therapist in the health industry. For the past (nearly) 20 years however has held positions in the legal industry in Aboriginal Legal Aid, In-House positions advising in Australia & overseas, was the Project Lawyer for the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing & opened a private boutique law firm in Toowoomba. She is currently the In-House General Counsel at a global mining company. Stef is known for her non-traditional delivery of legal information to clients, value-adding, down-to earth attitude as well as her assistance with not-for-profit groups.

Stef has numerous national legal accolades but counts amongst her greatest achievements her family and assisting the continued growth and development of Hope Horizons that supports out-patient care services.

In her spare time Stef can be found cycling, hiking, rock-climbing, abseiling, in the garden tending hundreds of roses, or restoring vintage Landrovers.