Team & Governance
OTA is led by a team of dedicated professionals who seek to protect and progress the profession.

Executive Leadership Team

Samantha Hunter
Chief Executive Officer
Sam has led OTA as Chief Executive Officer for over four years, commencing in September 2018, and was appointed by the Board to steer and position OTA to represent, support, strengthen and resource the continually evolving occupational therapy profession. Over the past four years Sam has led, developed and grown a highly skilled team who have successfully achieved solid growth and increased awareness and representation of the profession with key stakeholders, agencies and government agencies and ministerial portfolios. Sam has over 25 years of experience as both a senior leaders and Board Director working across corporate, professional services and not for profit organisations. She has a breadth of experience collaborating with multi disciplinary teams across sectors and understands the nuances of complex and competing political environments. Sam strives to work with members, government and stakeholders to create collaborative solutions for an engaged and resilient profession. Sam is a natural communicator with high level business development skills demonstrating consistently strong growth, with a strong focus and belief in continual learning and development and looks for opportunities to develop her team to be inspired leaders and to be at the forefront of innovation in their sectors. In her spare time Sam is an enthusiastic but inconsistent golfer, sings in a choir, collects art and has her hand full wrangling office dog Rosie, the wild dog Poppy, and the real boss Kitty. She is the very proud mum of Tom.

Alexandra Reynolds
Chief Operating Officer
Alex Reynolds is an accomplished executive and people leader with over 15 years of experience in management and executive leadership positions. With a background in operations, education and membership across both private and not-for-profit sectors. Alex’s most recent role was leading business transformation at the Australian HR Institute. During her professional career, Alex has driven change and transformation through a focus on organisational growth, this encompasses technology solutions and evolution, change management, process improvement and cultural shift to deliver agile and customer-centric organisations. With a proven track record of effective relationship building and communication to build individual, team and organisational capability Alex has also successfully fostered cultures of high performance and meaningful engagement. Alex is passionate about health and wellbeing, prioritising her daily run, sporadic attempts to practice yoga and ensuring her two active girls make it to their sporting, and many social, activities.

Michelle Oliver
Chief Occupational Therapist
Michelle is a passionate and focused occupational therapist with extensive experience within clinical and professional leadership roles, working for over 15 years within the public mental health sector in South Australia. Michelle has a Master of Occupational Therapy from the University of South Australia. Michelle has been working for OTA since 2021 in several positions including Lead Mental Health Advisor and Manager, Professional Practice. As Chief Occupational Therapist, Michelle is the lead professional and clinical expert at OTA, leading a team responsible for the provision of professional practice. This includes professional standards, scope and endorsement programs, as well as being responsible for the learning and development program. Outside of work, Michelle is a mother of three children and enjoys playing netball, listening to podcasts and spending time with family.

Cynthia Noh
Finance and Risk Manager
Cynthia began her journey with OTA in 2018 as an Accountant and has since evolved into the pivotal role of Finance & Risk Manager. With five years of unwavering commitment to OTA's success, Cynthia's responsibilities extend beyond traditional finance functions.She now oversees compliance, financial planning, and budgeting, showcasing her comprehensive understanding of organisational dynamics. As a qualified CPA, Cynthia brings a wealth of expertise to her role, contributing significantly to OTA's financial stability. Cynthia has recently incorporated risk management into her portfolio, demonstrating her proactive approach to ensuring the association's resilience. Cynthia's dedication to continuous improvement is evident in her commitment to enhancing financial transparency and governance within OTA. Under her guidance, the association now adheres to a higher standard, setting a benchmark for excellence in financial practices. Her role as Finance & Risk Manager reflects her passion for contributing to OTA's success and her commitment to maintaining the association's financial health and strategic objectives. Cynthia is a foodie and coffee lover and loves to explore new cafes and restaurants around Melbourne. She is the go-to person for coffee advice for new starters in the office and she loves travelling interstate and overseas.

OTA Board
Occupational Therapy Australia is governed by a Board of Directors elected by members and/or through the Nominations Committee. There can be up to ten Board Directors, which includes provision for external non-member and non-occupational therapists as directors.

Divisional Councils
Divisional Councils are advisory groups of OTA members from across states and territories to bring voice to local and state-based issues affecting occupational therapists and communities.
Councils provide pivotal intelligence to inform OTA of the opportunities, emerging issues, and changing landscape to enable OTA to be responsive to all of our members' needs, no matter where they reside.
Access the OTA 23/24 Annual Report here
Read the OTA 23/24 Annual Report here or download below.
