The team making a difference
The team at the Clifford Craig Foundation are a dedicated group. We all take great pride in “making a difference” to fulfil the organisation’s mission to fund local medical research and education, provide support for hospital facilities, and ultimately, improve the health outcomes for the people of our region.
We strive to continually develop and strengthen our activities by working closely with our clinicians, donors, volunteers and the community to develop a culture of philanthropy. You will find our team on Level 5 at Launceston General Hospital. This includes our research nurses, who oversee the studies supported by the Foundation. In short, medical research projects wouldn’t happen without them.
Vanessa Cahoon
Chief Executive Officer
E: vcahoon@cliffordcraig.org.au
Vanessa joined the Foundation as CEO in March 2024, following the retirement of Peter Milne.
Calling Launceston home for most of her life, Vanessa is a driven and accomplished leader with significant experience in public relations, communications and project management.
This includes Executive Officer for Cityprom, Marketing and Fundraising Manager at Launceston City Mission, and an Adviser to the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Most recently she served as Program Manager for the Launceston City Deal, with the Office of the Coordinator-General.
Vanessa becomes only the fifth CEO to lead the foundation in its 30-year history, and only the second woman.
“As the newly appointed CEO, I am deeply honoured and enthusiastic about guiding the organisation into an exciting new chapter characterised by innovation, collaboration, community engagement and impactful philanthropy,” she said.
Sally Hutchins
Business Manager
E: shutchins@cliffordcraig.org.au
Sally joined the Clifford Craig team in 2011. Originally from Victoria, she moved to Tasmania in 2006.
With previous experience in marketing, through her role as Executive Assistant Sally helps coordinate the Clifford Craig Foundation’s finances, research projects and administration. Most importantly, she provides a vital link between the Foundation and Tasmanian researchers with innovative projects they want to get off the ground.
Sally was drawn to the Foundation because of its history – as something created by the community, for the community.
“I like that every day in this job is different, and that I can come to work knowing we are making a difference,” she said. “What we are trying to achieve at the Foundation, through research and the impact that has on people’s health – it’s a real privilege to be a part of that.”
Sally is kept busy as the mum of two young boys. She also loves gardening and entertaining pets - Jasper the miniature schnauzer and Washington the British shorthair.
Rebecca Welsh
Events & Community Relations
E: rwelsh@cliffordcraig.org.au
With a passion for giving back to her local community, Beck has been at the centre of every major event organised by the Clifford Craig Foundation for the past decade.
Born and raised in Launceston, her professional life began as a Tasmanian Tourism Consultant. After the birth of her son she branched into a role attracting major events to the region with the City of Launceston Council - a position she held for 10 years.
Beck has been with the Clifford Craig Foundation since 2010. Through her role as Events Coordinator she’s helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in support of the Foundation’s work. Annual Clifford Craig events with Beck at the fore include the annual Gala Charity Ball, International Women’s Day Luncheon and Run & Walk for your Heart. More recently she’s taken on the role of Donor Stewardship Coordinator.
When she’s not at work, you will most likely find Beck spending time with her two beautiful children, cooking up a storm, indulging in some local produce or drinking a great coffee.
Freya Griffin
Communications & Fundraising Manager
E: fgriffin@cliffordcraig.org.au
Often regarded as the team’s wordsmith, Freya is the person behind Clifford Craig’s medical research advocacy, community health promotion and events advertising.
Freya joined Clifford Craig in 2024, and is qualified with an MBA and Bachelor of Communication (Business).
Freya has worked for a number of sectors including in-home aged care, higher education, tourism, retail and financial services.
“Advocating for better health outcomes in the local community is very rewarding work. Seeing people connect and committing to a higher standard of healthcare access for Northern Tasmanians is vital. I’m humbled to be part of this talented team,” she said.
Freya enjoys overseas travel with her family, beach days and being a mother.
Kate Clark
Data & Accounts Administrator
E: kclark@cliffordcraig.org.au
If you’ve ever met Kate, chances are she had a big smile on her face. Having grown up in Launceston, Kate joined the Clifford Craig team in 2018 after an unexpected health scare prompted her to reassess some aspects of her life.
She brings to her role as Administrative Assistant decades of experience in the private business sector, including accounting and bookkeeping.
While working in the health sector was not something Kate had ever envisioned, she has welcomed the challenge wholeheartedly.
“I work with an amazing small team who inspire, encourage and support not only their fellow work colleagues, but the Clifford Craig Foundation,” she said. “It’s an honest not-for-profit that’s vested in supporting and encouraging medical research for Northern Tasmania.
“I am grateful for many opportunities to either meet or speak with donors, event organisers, sponsors, supporters and extraordinary medical researchers, clinicians, doctors, nurses, cleaners and Launceston General Hospital administrative staff.”
When she’s not at work Kate loves walking, listening to music, coffee dates with girlfriends, visiting markets and wineries and hanging with her “eccentric” pets. This includes Polly the Pug and Fabian the cat.
Faith Chapman Administration Assistant
Faith joined the Clifford Craig team in 2023 and has quickly become the new ‘face of Clifford Craig’ as the first point of contact for visitors to our office on level 5 of the Launceston General Hospital.
Faith has lived in Launceston her whole life, attending Launceston Christian School and Launceston College.
She is currently studying a Certificate IV in Business.
Through her role with the Foundation, Faith assists the office admin team, along with our research participants and supporters.
“I love being a part of a team that is eager to work hard to support the hospital in making medical advances,” Faith said.
When she is not at work, Faith can usually be found spending time with her family.
She also loves trying new restaurants and bars with friends, or taking a road trip to the beach.
She has two Ragdoll cats names Stella and Luna.
Laura Wiggers
Events & Fundraising Lead
E: lwiggers@cliffordcraig.org.au
Laura joined Clifford Craig Foundation in 2025 to support the expansion of our health equity initiatives across the North-West Coast of Tasmania.
Laura grew up in Spreyton and studied at UTAS in Launceston. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Business with 10 years experience working in events and marketing. Primarily working in the fundraising and local government sectors, Laura has found herself gravitating towards positions with purpose led organisations in the not-for-profit space.
During her time working at Cancer Council Tasmania, Laura coordinated Relay For Life Launceston and Women’s 5km Walk/Run. She is very passionate about bringing the community together and fundraising to benefit locals.
Now with a young family, Laura and her husband made the decision to move closer to family and now reside in Ulverstone. Through her time working in Local Government, Laura noticed differences in regional health access in North West Tasmania. Laura is extremely passionate about improving high quality clinical care, access to medical equipment and tailored localised health initiatives. She looks forward to meeting with local businesses, stakeholders and community members to gauge an understanding of what they see to be the key areas of focus.
If you’re local to the North West of Tasmania and would like to learn more or be part of future events and research activities, contact Laura.
Dr Sarah Young Research Fellow
As part of a joint position with the University of Tasmania and the Clifford Craig Foundation, Dr Sarah Young provides research support to the Launceston General Hospital staff.
She also assists staff with grant applications and designs and delivers research training to medical staff with an interest in research, or those who need to complete research as part of their training.
Sarah is originally from Vancouver, BC, Canada, but has lived in Australia since 2009.
She has a BSc (Hons) in Biology (2004) and MSc in Environmental Science (2007) both from the University of British Columbia, and later completed a PhD at UTAS (2020) in Public Health.
Sarah came to Launceston in 2013 with her family and says she fell in love with the climate and the lifestyle.
“Tasmania is an amazing place to live– I call it the ‘golden handcuffs’ because once you’re here, it’s just too good to ever leave!”
When she is not at work she enjoys camping, hiking, surfing and fishing with her family.
“I also enjoy running and spend most of my free weekends running or hiking one of Tassie’s many beautiful mountain ranges.”
For research enquiries, Sarah can be contacted via sarah.young@utas.edu.au.
Shelley Davey
Research Assistant
Originally from a small village in Somerset – in the South of the United Kingdom – in 2016 Shelley and her family made the exciting decision to relocate to Tasmania.
Having previously practiced as a Registered Nurse, Shelley jumped at a “wonderful” opportunity to start working for the Clifford Craig Foundation in 2017 as a Medical Research Assistant.
Since starting with the Foundation she hasn’t looked back, working on a number of projects including some with “very innovative and inspiring ideas”.
Outside of work you will find Shelly on her recently purchased 100 acres of Tasmanian land, where her family plan to develop a small holding to raise their chickens, pigs and goats on.
Shelley said the move to Tasmania was made easy because of the incredible vineyards, restaurants, stunning walks, and breath-taking landscapes.
“My family and I discover something new every day and we are delighted to be here,” she said.
Kirsten Richardson
Research Assistant
Kirsten joined the Clifford Craig Foundation in August 2023 as a Research Assistant.
Before that she was working as a respiratory and sleep scientist.
Born and raised in Northern Tasmania, she attended St Patricks College in Launceston and has a Bachelor of Medical Research, with Honours, from the University of Tasmania.
In 2020 she was the recipient of the Clifford Craig Foundation’s Medical Honours Scholarship, which enabled her to pursue her passion for research.
Having now gone ‘full circle’, she is thrilled to have permanently joined the Foundation research team.
“I have a passion for research, enjoy patient contact and want to help future generations,” she said.
“I would like to extend a necessary thank you to all past/present/future study participants.”
In her free time Kirsten enjoys camping, fishing, open water scuba diving and walking her two-year-old Boder Collie Oliver on the beach.
Monika O’Connor Research Coordinator
Born and raised in Germany, Monika is a trained intensive care nurse who immigrated to Australia in 1985 after marrying an Aussie she met while backpacking.
As a nurse, she worked at the Launceston General Hospital for almost 40 years, mostly in the Intensive Care Unit.
However, she has always had a passion for research and during her time at the LGH also worked part-time on cardiovascular research projects.
About six years ago she was looking for a change of pace and decided to commit to research full time, coordinating Haematology research for two years, followed by stroke research, which she continues today.
With her extensive expertise, it’s no surprise that she was the perfect fit for the Foundation, joining the Clifford Craig research team in 2018.
“I have a passion for research, love the possible positive outcomes and new drugs, treatments – anything to improve medical care,” she said.
“I also enjoy the interaction with the patients, it’s very important to me.
“For example, the reason I never went up the career ladder was the lack of patient contact. I enjoy being a nurse.”
Outside of work, Monika loves spending time with her family, including her three children and grandchildren. She is also the carer for one her sons, who lives with multiple medical conditions.
In her spare time you’ll likely find Monika enjoying a good long walk with her three dogs, or in the garden.