Who We Are
Trinh Foundation Australia (TFA) was established in 2008 as a voluntary, non-profit, non-government organisation dedicated to helping the people of Vietnam establish Speech Therapy as a profession in their country.
TFA is governed by our board of Directors who, along with the support of our volunteers, are committed to improving the quality of life of Vietnamese people with communication and swallowing disorders. Each member of the board brings extensive professional experience and expertise from a variety of backgrounds to achieve our organisational goals.
Our sources of funding are from grants, fund-raising activities, philanthropic donations and collaboration with other Australian aid organisations. The directors and the secretary are fully self-funded in all their activities associated with Trinh Foundation Australia.
Trinh Foundation Australia Ltd abides by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct, which provides standards on management, communication with the public and, most importantly, how funds are spent.
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Trinh Foundation Australia is registered with the Australian Government Charities and Not-for-profit Commission, having received the Registered Charity tick. Please email info@trinhfoundation.org to request a consolidated financial statement from the Secretary. |
Organisational Structure
Current Directors
- Dr Marie Atherton
PhD, BAppSci(Sp Path), GradDip(IntDevt)
Senior Advisor Professional Standards, Speech Pathology Australia Speech Pathology Lecturer, Australian Catholic University.
- Ms Bronwyn Coop (Co-Chair)
BA(Hons)
Governance and Private consultant.
- Dr Anne Hill
PhD, BSpThy, CPSP
Honorary Associate Professor, The University of Queensland Speech Pathology Australia,
Accreditaton Assesor, Accreditation and Curriculum Consultant
Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy.
- Dr Kate Margetson
B App Sc (Sp Path)(Hons), CPSP
PhD Candidate, Charles Sturt University.
- Ms Carla Mira
B Sp Path (CPSP) M.Education (special inclusion) grad cert Intensive Interaction, DPC
Senior paediatric Speech Pathologist and Intensive Interation Practitioner/Trainer.
- Ms Katie Walker-Smith (Co-Chair)
B Sp Path, Grad Cert Dysphagia, Grad Cert Health Management, MBA Director of Speech Pathology, Children’s Health Queensland.
Founding Directors (Retired 2023)
- Professor Emerita Lindy McAllister
PhD, MA (Hons) (Sp Path), BSpThy, Life Member SPAA
Professor and Associate Dean of Work Integrated Learning Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney and founding director of TFA.
- Mrs Sue Woodward
DipSpThy, Speech Pathologist Private Practice, Central Coast, NSW.
Conjoint Fellow in Speech Pathology, University of Newcastle and founding director of TFA.
TFA Contractors
Finance Manager, Linley Schaller
Linley began contracting with TFA in July 2021 to manage our financial matters. Linley is a qualified Bookkeeper with over 20 years’ experience across many different industries. Linley has brough extensive financial management experience, which has been particularly important due to the number of projects we are engaged in, each with reporting and acquittal requirements across currencies and jurisdictions.
Volunteer Coordinator, Megan Nevell
Megan has been involved with TFA since 2022 and has completed in country volunteer clinical educator roles in Da Nang and Hai Duong, as well as online supervision for students in Hoi Chi Minh. Megan began contracting with TFA in January 2024 in a project officer role as volunteer coordinator. Megan is a certified practising speech pathologist, currently working as a Senior Speech Pathologist at the Child Development Service, Gold Coast Health across multidisciplinary team assessment clinics and single stream intervention clinics. She has over 10 years clinical experience working across a range of paediatric caseloads.
Senior Administrator, Sue Le-Tran
Sue began contracting with TFA in February 2023 to assist with board support, compliance reporting and the management of corporate records. Sue has experiences in Program/Project Coordination and Grants Management, spending most of her professional career in the not-for profit and government sector.
Translators/Interpretors
TFA renewed our partnership with Ms Linh Ho, owner of Enjoyable English (EE) based in Hue in 2023; to source, train and provide interpreters and translators for our academic and mentoring programs. The continued partnership has assisted TFA to have a ready source of experienced interpreters and translators, who are available in Vietnam and online, and for interpreter training to be coordinated and scheduled as necessary.
Our Volunteers
Since our founding in 2008, volunteers have remained central to helping TFA achieve our goals. TFA has resourced in excess of 120 volunteers from Australia, UK, New Zealand and US to assist with programs in Vietnam. Volunteers assist across a broad scope of work including: teaching students, mentoring speech therapy graduates, coordinating projects and courses, and liaising closely with our Vietnamese partner organisations.
Some volunteers travel to Vietnam for a short stint, while others have committed two or more years to the development and coordination of courses. Our long-term volunteers have been supported by Australian Volunteers International. We are fortunate to also work with many remote volunteers, who have provided their time and expertise through our online mentoring programs.
To find out more about volunteering click here .