Dr Sarah Trobe, NEDC National Director
Dr Sarah Trobe is the National Director of NEDC, leading a team which develops and implements consistent national standards for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. Sarah is a Clinical Psychologist and has held clinical positions at the Royal Children’s Hospital and private practice as well as working with The Victorian Centre of Excellence in Eating Disorders (CEED) with a focus on service development, case consultation, multidisciplinary care coordination, and education and training provision.
Sarah’s interests lie in the link between physical health and mental health and current care structures in this field, and she is passionate about setting up strong treatment networks and systems across the country. Sarah guides and supports all of NEDC's work, is leading the implementation of the National Eating Disorders Strategy 2023-2033, and provides expertise into workforce development initiatives.
Bella Burns, NEDC Primary Health Lead
Bella Burns is NEDC’s Primary Health Lead, working with Australia’s Primary Health Networks to support their response to eating disorders. With more than 15 years’ experience in the not-for-profit sector, she demonstrates a collaborative, people-centred, and outcomes-focused mindset. Bella is experienced in complex education, health, mental health and community projects and services, impacting systemic change. Over the past six years, her work has had a strong focus on suicide prevention.
More recently, Bella has spent time working and living in Northern Territory, where she held the position of Mental Health and AOD Manager at Northern Territory PHN.
Bella lead's NEDC's Right Care, Right Place project, an initiative that spans 3 years and aims to improve and enhance care in local communities through embedding Eating Disorder Coordinators. This project, led by NEDC, will address practical barriers and strengthen enablers for people experiencing eating disorders to access effective evidence-based treatment through primary care providers.
Dr Angelique Ralph, NEDC Research Lead
Dr Angelique Ralph is NEDC’s Research Lead. Angelique is a clinical psychologist and researcher, holding a Doctor of Clinical Psychology and PhD from the University of Sydney. She has previously held research positions at the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney and in the School of Women and Children’s Health at the University of New South Wales as well as clinical positions at the NSW Statewide Eating Disorder Service and Children’s Hospital at Westmead. She currently works in private practice.
Angelique is passionate about research translation, that is, translating knowledge from research into changes in practice and policy to ensure improvements in peoples’ health and health services.
Hilary Smith, NEDC Health Promotion Lead
Hilary Smith (any pronouns) is NEDC’s Health Promotion Lead. Hilary has worked in health and human services for over 20 years in service delivery, management, policy, strategy, sector development and business development roles.
Hilary holds a Master of Health Promotion and has a keen interest in health equity and preventative health action across systems and sectors. Hilary is particularly interested in understanding how social determinants of health can prevent eating disorders at both the individual and population level. She is particularly motivated to drive approaches to eating disorder prevention and harm minimisation based on her own lived experience as a neurodivergent person with a previous longstanding eating disorder.
Hilary currently leads the project to develop "Eating Disorder Safe" principles, which will be applied across public policy, research, health service delivery, education and other settings. This includes ensuring a focus on culturally safe and relevant approaches and outcomes.
Ana Ximena Torres Ramirez, NEDC Strategy & Policy Lead
Ana Ximena (she/her) is a clinical psychologist with expertise in clinical management, program development and leadership roles in the eating disorder field. Focused on enhancing outcomes through strategic and measurement-based informed health care delivery frameworks, Ana Ximena has demonstrated success in cultivating high-performance teams and delivering results. She also has a strong commitment to enhancing accessibility to culturally and linguistically diverse individuals and communities and is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Ana coordinates the National Strategy 2023-2033 implementation activities, including stakeholder engagement and resources. Ana provides clinical expertise across all NEDC projects, including communications, resources and tools.
Evangeline Gardiner, Right Care Right Place Evaluation Support Coordinator
Evangeline Gardiner is the Right Care Right Place Evaluation Support Coordinator. Evie has a background in public health, graduating from the University of Sydney in 2021 with a Master of Public Health. She has experience working in public health research, contributing to the COVID-19 response in NSW before moving into the mental health research space. Evie has previously held research positions at the University of New South Wales and at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS).
Evie has lived experience of weight stigma and body image concerns and is passionate about contributing to an equitable system of care for all individuals who are experiencing, or at risk of, eating disorders, regardless of their size.
Dr Emma Spiel, Workforce Development Lead
Dr Emma Spiel (she/her) is NEDC’s Workforce Development Lead. Emma supports the NEDC team and facilitates implementation of the National Strategy by leading and consulting on workforce development strategy and initiatives to drive the development of a workforce of adequate size, skill, and diversity positioned across the system of care to meet the needs of all people at risk of or experiencing an eating disorder and their families/supports and communities.
Emma trained as a Clinical Psychologist and has held clinical and supervisory positions across private and public settings. She has led projects and activities aimed at supporting sustainable, integrated and evidence-informed service development initiatives, and draws on a skillset in implementation and evaluation to facilitate data-driven, strategic, and coordinated workforce development.
Emma has lived experience of an eating disorder and is deeply motivated to help build systems and services that support all people experiencing or at risk of an eating disorder to receive the care they need. She has a strong interest in the intersection between food, eating, bodies and gender, neurotypes and marginalised groups and identities and in the structural and systemic influences on people's experience of their body, and how workforce initiatives can help drive change in these areas.
Emma will be continuing to support the embedding of eating disorder content within tertiary curricula, overseeing workforce development in the Right Care Right Place project and continuing to consult to the sector and develop resources to build the workforce across the Stepped System of Care.
Kirstin Riedmaier, NEDC Projects and Operations Coordinator
Kirstin Riedmaier is NEDC's Projects and Operations Coordinator. Kirstin brings her varied experience and knowledge in the areas of nutrition, project delivery, and systems development to the team. Kirstin has a background in dietetics and has always been interested in working in collaborative teams on meaningful work. She is passionate about assisting all services to deliver care to those at risk of or experiencing an eating disorder, their friends, family, and supports.
Bronwyn Scott, Right Care Right Place Project Coordinator
Bronwyn Scott is NEDC’s Right Care Right Place Project Coordinator, working closely with NEDC’s Primary Health Lead and the project’s participating Primary Health Networks. With a dietetics background and lived experience of an eating disorder, she knows firsthand the benefit of a multidisciplinary and coordinated approach to care. Her work builds strong and collaborative relationships that focus on the structures that support access to appropriate, affordable, and timely care particularly in issues relating to nutrition and health.