Samantha Dowling - BA
Chairperson

Samantha has had a vast and varying degree of involvement in the GLBTI community of WA for over 16 years, including (GRAI Retirement Association) and PRIDE WA. Samantha was an adviser in the office of the Attorney General during Gay and Lesbian Law Reform in 2001/2002 and is now a senior policy officer at the WA GP Network.

Vice Chairperson

Jonathan currently works as a researcher with the Western Australian Centre for Health Promotion Research at Curtin University of Technology and is completing a PhD in Public Health. He has previously worked and volunteered at the WA AIDS Council in a number of education and health promotion programs

Samuel Cutt - LLB (Hons), BA Murdoch
Treasurer

Sam is currently employed as an Articled Clerk with the law firm Blake Dawson Waldron. He volunteered at the WA AIDS Council assisting with fundraising and events from 2001 to 2005.

Mark Woodman 
Secretary

Mark trained in neuropsychology and worked in that area for some years before moving to his current position as ethics coordinator at RPH. Mark is a former Chairperson of Gay and Lesbian Community Services and has volunteered in a number of WA AIDS Council programs.

Darren Vernade
HIV Positive Representative

Darren acquired HIV and hepatitis C in the early 1980s through blood products. He has served on the Haemophilia Foundation of WA for 12 years and represented WA in national forums. He has a Medical Technology Certificate IV (TAFE), a degree in Mediation from Curtin University and is currently studying Psychology and Counselling at the College of Advanced Psychology. He has worked in senior management roles and operated his own commercial cleaning business. Darren is married with 3 children.

Daniel McAullay
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Representative

Daniel is a member of the Nyoongar community of the South West of Western Australia. He was the inaugural Bellberry Senior Research Fellow at Edith Cowan University after working at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, the WA Department of Health as a senior policy officer, Derbarl Yerrigan as a community nurse and Royal Perth Hospital as a registered nurse. He is the Director of Public Health at the Aboriginal Council of WA.

Steve Fragomeni
Staff Representative

I came to the WA AIDS Council (WAAC) the day before ANZAC Day 2006 – portentous in its metaphor of soldiering and sacrifice against the odds for freedom and a better quality of life. It was a fantastic day for me because it meant I would be putting my efforts into the community to which I belong, helping people who are my peers and trying to make a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

My portfolio here includes the CyberReach online outreach program, WAAC’s involvement in Pride, the Beats Outreach project, Community Development, peer support and assisting my fellow co-workers in workshops and sexual health testing.

I love working at the WA AIDS Council. It is a collegial work environment; enthusiastic, cheerful and passionate. I strongly believe in the mission statement and vision of WAAC – prevention of the transmission of HIV, and education and advocacy around HIV/AIDS. It has a deeply personal resonance for me as I lost my first partner to the epidemic. I don’t consider myself special in this, but I do feel a great need to try to make a difference. In doing so, I hope that I am helping to make a healthier community for us all.

Trish Langdon - BCom, BSW, Grad Dip Pub Hlth UWA
Executive Director / Ex-Officio

Trish has worked at the WA AIDS Council since 2000 having worked in hospital settings and disability services in WA and NSW. She was the previous Chairperson of the WA AIDS Council.