Emergency Department Leadership - Prato Masterclass Series

Professor Simone Alexander has more than 25 years’ experience in the healthcare sector.

As the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer at Alfred Health, her role is responsible for the management and performance of Alfred Health’s clinical operations.

As a Registered Nurse by profession Simone has an extensive clinical background in perioperative nursing and clinical leadership of many areas including The Alfred and Sandringham Hospital’s Emergency Departments, ICU, Hyperbaric, Surgical Services, Cardiology, General Medicine, Neurosciences, Hospital in the Home and inpatient wards. Most recently leading the organisation through the COVID pandemic she has demonstrated the ability to deliver quality innovative healthcare that is agile, flexible and compassionate. Simone offers a strong track record of leading teams, delivering programs, engaging stakeholders and influencing productive outcomes for organisations while ensuring quality of care.

Simone holds Master’s Degrees in Health Management and in Clinical Nursing, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is currently completing the Executive Leadership Certificate in Public Health at Harvard University.

De Villiers Smit is an experienced Emergency Physician with a strong interest in clinical research, systems design, quality improvement and patient flow. As Director of Emergency Services at Alfred Health and Director of The Alfred Emergency Trauma Centre, de Villiers oversees the busiest trauma centre in Australasia and has been instrumental in developing and implementing several care models to improve patient care and experience.

Professor Peter Cameron serves as the Academic Director of Alfred Emergency Academic Centre and holds the position of Professor of Emergency Medicine at Monash University. He has previously served as the President of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine. With a global focus, Peter has provided consultation and published extensively on trauma and emergency system development. His impressive research portfolio includes over 700 peer-reviewed publications. In his role, Peter leads teaching, research at Alfred Health, aligning with the organisation's strategic priorities and values.

Dr Carl Luckhoff is the Deputy Director at Alfred Health Emergency, Adjunct Senior Lecturer with Monash University. Following his initial training in South Africa, Carl worked in the UK and other overseas remote locations before starting his emergency specialist training in Australia. He has since completed his Global Executive MBA from Monash Business School.

Jessica Hocking is an educationalist and program/project manager. Having commenced her career in the private sector, she has been working in public health for over 13 years with roles in Australia and the Middle East. Jessica has been instrumental in the design, development and delivery of multiple emergency care projects, programs and services across the globe.

Nicola Walsham is an Emergency Physician, the Deputy Director of Emergency Services at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Critical Care, University of Melbourne.
She has special interests and further training in toxicology and infectious diseases and played a central role in the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
She has overseen several key change management and quality improvement projects, including implementing a transparent and equitable recruitment process which, together with the institution of wellbeing focussed initiatives, has built a strong multi-faceted ED team.