About Us
Our Story
WHIN is a leading feminist, not-for-profit organisation advancing the health, safety and wellbeing of women and gender diverse people.
Since 1991, Melbourne’s north has been at the heart of everything we do. We work across seven local government areas: Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Merri-bek, Nillumbik, Whittlesea and Yarra.
As part of Victoria’s Women’s Health Services Network, our work extends statewide and has national influence.
Everything we do is driven by our vision of a region where women and gender diverse people live free from violence, with voice, choice and power to lead healthy, safe and thriving lives.
Our Values
We bring our values to life through the way we work every day:
- Feminist
- We challenge inequality and unequal power to advance gender equity and improve the health, safety and wellbeing of women and gender diverse people.
- Bold
- We act with courage, conviction and accountability.
- Creative
- We approach challenges with curiosity, imagination, and openness to create responsive solutions to complex problems.
- Collaborative
- We share knowledge, build capability, and create opportunities for participation and leadership.
- Connected
- We centre the voices, experiences, and strengths of women and gender diverse people.
Strategic Plan 2026-30
WHIN is a leading feminist, not-for-profit organisation advancing the health, safety and wellbeing of women and gender diverse people across Melbourne’s north and beyond.
Our Strategic Plan 2026-2030 outlines the priorities and actions that will guide our work through to 2030.
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Read our strategic plan in the format that works for you: full plan, in Easy Read or a one-page summary.
Our Vision
Women and gender diverse people in the north and beyond are free from violence, with voice, choice and power to lead healthy, safe and thriving lives.
Our Purpose
To advance gender equity and promote the health, safety and wellbeing of women and gender-diverse people.
Our Mission
We advance gender equity and health justice through prevention, advocacy, partnerships and systems change. We centre lived experience to improve health, safety and wellbeing for women and gender-diverse people.
Our Strategic Pillars
Annual Reports
Our annual report highlights the progress we’ve made in advancing gender equity and health justice to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of women and gender diverse people across Melbourne’s north and beyond.
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Read our annual report below.
Our Board
WHIN’s Board provides strategic leadership, governance and oversight, ensuring the organisation operates lawfully, ethically and in line with our purpose, values and constitution.
Board members guide WHIN’s long-term direction, monitor organisational performance and risk, and support sustainable impact for women and gender diverse people across Melbourne’s north and beyond.
Our directors bring expertise spanning health, law, policy, finance, governance, clinical practice, advocacy, and community leadership. Together, they provide stewardship of the organisation and a strong commitment to gender equity, health justice and safer, healthier communities.
Meet our Board
Dr Cirila (Lilac) Limpangog
Board Chair
Cirila is a transformational leader with over 20 years of experience across community development, academia and the public sector.
Drawing on lived experience and an intersectional feminist lens, she advances equity and social justice through programs, partnerships, organisational change and structural reform. Ciriala consults in these areas and champions holistic health and wellbeing.
Helen Coleman OAM
Deputy Chair
In 2019, Helen was awarded an Order of Australia for service to the community. She has spent much of her professional and personal career working with local communities improving many aspects of neighbourhood and community life.
This includes being the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Nillumbik Shire Council. Helen’s particular strengths are networking and the development of local partnerships.
Felicity Young
Treasurer
Felicity is experienced in working in local and state government on gender equity and the prevention of family violence and for the past 7 years has worked at La Trobe University as a researcher and senior project and operations manager, focusing on reducing gender-based violence. She holds expertise in funding acquisition and administration, stakeholder engagement and knowledge mobilisation.
Felicity strongly advocates for an intersectional feminist approach to public health and addressing gender inequity.
Tracey Cabrie
Board Member
Tracey is the General Manager of Cabrini Outreach’s Asylum Seeker Health Services. She has a diverse nursing and public health background in women and children’s health, asylum seeker and refugee health, infectious diseases and international health.
For over 20 years she has been working with people seeking asylum, internally displaced populations and refugees both domestically and overseas within not-for-profit community organisations, community health and in the tertiary health sector.
Lucy Farmer
Board Member
Lucy is a regulatory lawyer with over 10 years of experience in legal and regulatory frameworks. Lucy brings strong governance and compliance expertise to the Board, with experience advising and presenting to boards on regulatory and legal matters.
She has volunteered in roles supporting women affected by family violence, including providing pro bono legal advice through the Caxton Legal Centre and assisting with protection order applications at the National Centre for Domestic Violence.
Rebecca Woodyatt
Board Member
Rebecca has over 20 years’ experience leading policy and projects in the health sector, local and Commonwealth governments. She brings substantial governance, compliance, strategic planning, risk management and community engagement experience to the board. Rebecca is passionate about fostering environments where women and gender diverse people of all ages, cultures, sexualities and abilities can thrive.
Rebecca Woodyatt on LinkedInCara Rose
Board Member
Cara has over 15 years’ experience working in local government is currently employed as a Gender Equality Advisor at Brimbank City Council. Cara has come to know many WHIN staff through her work. She has a strong personal passion in seeing women and gender diverse people have voice, choice, and power in all aspects of their health, safety and wellbeing.
Cara Rose on LinkedInZeina Zogheib
Board Member
Zeina brings over ten years of experience in the community and social justice sector, driven by a deep passion for equity and justice. Working alongside refugee and migrant communities, women and young people at the Brotherhood of St Laurence, she has championed access, inclusion and self-advocacy, turning lived experience into real systems change. Zeina joins the WHIN board with a clear personal mission – to ensure women and gender diverse people have genuine choice, power and the ability to drive change in their own lives and communities.
Zeina Zogheib on LinkedInOur Executive Team
WHIN’s Executive Team brings together deep expertise in public health, clinical practice, health promotion, family violence, advocacy, gender equity and organisational leadership. Together, they provide strategic leadership for WHIN’s work, influencing policy, systems and practice to advance gender equity and improve the health, safety and wellbeing of women and gender diverse people.
Meet the Team
Carolyn Gillespie
Chief Executive Officer
Carolyn has over 15 years executive experience in health and social justice across the not-for-profit, community-controlled and public sectors. Carolyn brings an unwavering commitment to feminist principles and intersectional practice to her role driving strategic direction and strengthening WHIN’s impact and partnerships across Melbourne’s northern metropolitan region and beyond. Carolyn joined WHIN in July 2025.
Carolyn Gillespie on LinkedInTracy Taylor-Beck
Director of Prevention, Strategy and Communications
Tracy is responsible for leading the work of the Health Promotion Teams at WHIN. Tracy also provides strategic advice and leadership in the development of programs and services, advocacy, and policy direction. Tracy joined WHIN in October 2024.
Tracy Taylor-Beck on LinkedInAdriana Uteda
Manager of Corporate Services
Adriana is responsible for providing on-going coordination of WHIN’s administrative, human resources, IT and financial services/systems, and managing staff and projects within the Corporate Services team. Adriana joined WHIN in October 1991.
Adriana Uteda on LinkedInReconciliation
Acknowledgement of Country
WHIN acknowledges Victorian Aboriginal people as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we provide our services, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.
We acknowledge that Aboriginal sovereignty was never given up and that we stand on stolen land. We are committed to Aboriginal self-determination and to supporting Treaty and truth-telling processes.
We recognise the ongoing leadership of Aboriginal communities in advancing gender equality and the health, safety and wellbeing of women and gender diverse people. As First Peoples, Aboriginal Victorians are best placed to determine a culturally appropriate path to these for their communities.
Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan
WHIN believes that reconciliation is everyone’s business.
Developing our own Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is an important part of this process as well as an important way for is to stay aligned with our principles.
WHIN staff and Board members were all encouraged to take part in a cultural safety audit, training, workshops and contribute to writing our first RAP. As a result, all of WHIN understand our individual and collective responsibilities to reconciliation and consider our RAP to be an opportunity for effective, collective action.
The RAP cover design is created by Artwork by Kiewa Austin-Rioli, a proud Gunditjmara and Tiwi Islander woman.
The image represents WHIN and the connections we have through all our work with other organisations. Communities are in the centre. It shows that WHIN has built strong connections with these groups and has support, shown by the people sitting around in the semi-circle. The connections that WHIN have built are protected by being in that strong circle.
The beautiful artwork featured in our Reconciliation Action Plan was created by Kiewa Austin-Rioli, a proud Gunditjmara and Tiwi Islander woman.
‘This design represents WHIN and the connections they have through all their work with other organisations.
Communities are in the centre. It shows that WHIN have built strong connections with these groups and have support, shown by the people sitting around in the semi-circle. The connections that WHIN have built are protected by being in that strong circle.’
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Read our Reconciliation Action Plan below.
Reflect 2024-2025
