NT Divisional Council

Deborah Roe (Chair)

Debbie is a long-standing member of OTA and is currently Acting Occupational Therapy Manager at Royal Darwin Hospital and the Professional Occupational Therapy lead across the Top End Health Service. She has been fortunate to work in a variety of acute care settings across the UK and Australia in a variety of acute and community clinical roles.

Debbie is passionate in working with older people and delivering quality services to clients through patient centred care and has completed research in this area and a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology. She also holds a Diploma in Leadership and Management which has also assisted with Debbie interest in leadership development and high performing work practices for OT. She enjoys the rich diversity her current position brings. As part of the Divisional Council Debbie aims to support the wider OT profession to engage in sustainable work force development.

Lori graduated in 2012 and has worked in various clinical contexts across the lifespan. Approximately eight years of Lori’s clinical experience has been in the Northern Territory (NT).

She has completed a Masters of Public Health and focused her research thesis on the role of therapy assistants in private practice. Lori has a particular interest in research and population requirements.

Lori continues to work clinically in the disability sector and is a lecturer at Charles Darwin University in the Master of Occupational Therapy course. As part of the Divisional Council, Lori aims to advocate for the unique workforce and population needs in the Northern Territory.

Rachel graduated as an Occupational Therapist from the Australian Catholic University in North Sydney in 2017. She started her early career in the mid north coast of NSW in Paediatrics predominantly working within NDIS in a large multidisciplinary team.

Rachel relocated to the Northern Territory in early 2020 working in private practice to increase clinical knowledge and training. She now works across not-for-profit and private supporting children and young persons across Darwin with a variety of conditions.

Rachel has a strong passion in the area of capacity building and education for parents, carers, and educators for supporting young persons with disabilities. She also enjoys sharing knowledge and supporting early career OTs by being a clinical supervisor and mentor. Rachel was nominated in 2022 for a Flinders NT Supervisor Recognition Award.

Vanessa represents OTA in 2024 as a final year student representative.