Elizabeth Barnes the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at VisAbility, has been settling into her new role. Elizabeth has extensive experience in the not-for-profit health and disability sector and trained as a therapist.
She moves to us from leading primary health care provider 360 Health and Community, which offers free and low-cost therapy and care.
A former Occupational Therapist, Elizabeth is passionate about helping people to lead the best lives possible and wants to ensure VisAbility continues to offer an exceptional level of service to all its clients.
A member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (link opens in new window), Elizabeth has held senior governance roles in health, welfare and disability.
New CEO has worked extensively in not-for-profits
At Alzheimer’s WA, Elizabeth spearheaded a successful campaign to build award-winning Hawthorn House in Albany. It’s a centre of excellence for community and residential respite for people with dementia and therefore has the very best in dementia-specific design. Hawthorn House is purpose built on a beautiful piece of crown land surrounded by ancient trees and grazing kangaroos.
It’s fully accredited under the Eden principles so it can provide person-centred, relationship-based care. The building offers a home-from-home experience which is very supportive.
VisAbility has an outstanding reputation, and it’s an exciting time to join the company as CEO. The NDIS is fully operational in Perth, so there’s greater potential for more people to access our different services. These people may have struggled in the past to gain funding and assistance.
Elizabeth Barnes
CEO – VisAbility
Making a difference
Elizabeth says that seeing individuals blossom and transform makes her work in the disability sector so enriching and rewarding. While she is less hands-on these days, Elizabeth remains well-connected to people and families receiving support.
“My favourite part of the day is always the time when I sit and chat to people in the Community Activity Centre. I also like meeting people out in the community, seeing them achieving their dreams and living the life they want,” explains Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is based at our Victoria Park Office in Perth, but is also a country girl at heart.
Prior to Perth, I lived in the foothills of the Porongurup National Park, north of Albany on a small Alpaca farm. In theory I was breeding alpacas for sale as stock guards. They’re brilliant at keeping foxes and crows away from lambs, but really they were just large fluffy pets.
Elizabeth Barnes
VisAbility CEO
VisAbility is shaping a better world for people with disabilities. We want them to have the same level of freedom and control over their day-to-day life as others and offer a variety of services available under the NDIS.