BPA Executive
Kirstan Corben
Chief Executive Officer
She/Her/Hers
She/Her/Hers
Kirstan Corben is the Chief Executive Officer of Better Place Australia, appointed in August 2025. With more than 20 years of leadership experience across health, community, sport, and government sectors, Kirstan brings a deep commitment to equity, wellbeing, and the power of community to create lasting change.
Her career has been shaped by a passion for improving lives—whether through leading public health campaigns, shaping policy in mental health and gender equity, or building partnerships that make services more accessible and inclusive. She has held senior roles at VicHealth, Alfred Health, the Danny Frawley Centre, and within the Victorian Government, always working to ensure people and communities are at the heart of decision-making.
Kirstan is known for her thoughtful, collaborative leadership style and her ability to bring people together around a shared purpose. She currently serves on several boards in the health, community, and sports sectors, where she contributes her experience in governance, strategy, and social impact.
At Better Place Australia, Kirstan leads with a strong belief in the organisation’s purpose: to help people become more resilient, improve their well-being, and feel empowered to shape their own futures. She is proud to be part of a team that works every day to build stronger, more connected communities—where everyone feels valued, supported, and safe.
Jhooma Barthwal
Interim Executive Manager Client Services
She/Her/Hers
She/Her/Hers
Jhooma Barthwal is the Interim Executive Manager – Client Services at Better Place Australia, with over 20 years of experience leading mental health and community-based services. A Registered Psychologist and Board-approved Clinical Supervisor, she provides strategic and clinical leadership across service delivery, workforce development and quality improvement.
Jhooma is committed to strengthening clinical governance, building capable and reflective teams, and driving innovation that improves client outcomes. Her collaborative leadership approach focuses on empowering staff, fostering strong partnerships and ensuring services remain person-centred, evidence-informed and responsive to the evolving needs of individuals, families and communities.
Kate Stobart
Interim Executive Manager People and Culture
She/Her/Hers
She/Her/Hers
Kate Stobart is an accomplished People and Culture executive with more than 15 years of experience helping organisations strengthen performance through their people. She has worked across the not-for-profit, private and government sectors in Australia and internationally, bringing a strategic and values-driven approach to workforce leadership. Her experience includes leadership roles with Mayflower, Centre for Multicultural Youth, YMCA Victoria and the Australian High Commission in Singapore.
Kate partners with CEOs, executives and leaders to design and implement people strategies that drive organisational performance, build leadership capability and foster positive workplace cultures. Passionate about unlocking the potential of people, Kate believes that an organisation’s greatest competitive advantage lies in its workforce. She is committed to creating inclusive, high-performing workplaces where people and organisations thrive through shared purpose and collective effort.
Dr Leanne Beagley
Interim Executive Manager Quality and Impact
She/Her/Hers
She/Her/Hers
Dr Leanne Beagley has more than 35 years of experience in service delivery, policy design and governance, commissioning and leadership in health, mental health and social/community services. She has deep public policy and service/system design expertise on a clinical mental health base and child and family services. She has undertaken senior executive and CEO roles in primary care and national advocacy settings. Leanne brings to Better Place Australia a life-long commitment to quality service delivery forged through the experience of those who access care, and a deep commitment to developing and sustaining governance, quality and risk management systems that give service users and communities very real confidence. She is looking forward to working as part of the BPA executive team to build on the strengths and amplify the impact of the important contribution being made by BPA.
Leanne currently holds several Board Director roles and undertakes organisational review and executive coaching on a consultation basis. She has clinical qualifications, a business management degree (MBL), a Master of Laws degree, a PhD in organisational culture and performance, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Julie Struthers
Interim Executive Manager Corporate Services
She/Her/Hers
She/Her/Hers
Julie Struthers is an accomplished finance executive who delivers commercial performance through people, not just process. She currently serves as BPA’s interim EM Corporate Services, bringing extensive finance and people leadership experience across ASX-listed, government-owned, and privately held organisations spanning professional services, financial services, waste management, and sport and recreation.
Julie’s core strengths lie at the intersection of finance, governance, and risk. She delivers sharp financial analysis, robust corporate reporting, and impactful team mentorship, with a firm belief that professional rigour and people-first leadership are not a trade-off.
She is a qualified CA and active member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and a recent graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course.
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