Meet Our Team - ASNEN

The ASNEN committee is comprised of leading stroke nurses from across Australia, ensuring the interests of all Australians with stroke are represented. 

Tanya Frost ASNEN

Tanya Frost

Co-Chair
Linkedin

Tanya Frost is an Acute Stroke Nurse Consultant with Eastern Health, Victoria. She has been working in stroke care since 2010, where she was instrumental in the development of a stroke service at Latrobe Regional Hospital in Gippsland, Victoria. Since 2013 Tanya has been based at Eastern Health. Her focus has been on better stroke care coordination processes at a busy primary stroke centre. She has since led stroke service redesign projects to coordinate stroke care across the 3 sites of Eastern Health and is subsequently recognised as a consistent leader in the provision hyperacute stroke therapies nationally.

Jessica Pyman

Co-Chair

Jess Pyman is a Stroke Clinical Nurse Consultant at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital. Jess has been instrumental in establishing nurse-led stroke and TIA clinics. With extensive experience in neurosciences, including neurosurgery, neurology, and stroke, Jess holds master’s degrees in Neurosciences and Nurse Practitioner. Recently endorsed as a Nurse Practitioner, Jess is dedicated to supporting the education and professional development of stroke nurses. 

Liz O'Brien ASNEN

Liz O'Brien

Treasurer
Linkedin
Liz O’Brien is the Stroke Nurse Practitioner at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney. Liz has an extensive Neuroscience Nursing background and has a master’s degree in nursing, majoring in Nurse Practitioner studies and was endorsed as a Nurse Practitioner in 2010. She has been active in changes to acute stroke management in NSW and was responsible for the implementation of the stroke unit at RNSH in 1997. Liz has been involved in the Stroke Steering Committee with the Agency for Clinical Innovation in NSW, since its inception in 2002 and was the inaugural co-chair during the development of stroke units in NSW at that time. Liz has interests in acute stroke nursing, TIA Management and the education of upcoming stroke nurses.
Kylie Tastula

Kylie Tastula

Secretary
Linkedin
Kylie Tastula has been recognised for providing an exceptional level of care to patients with stroke and their families, winning the Stroke Foundation and Stroke Society of Australasia 2022 Stroke Care Champion Awards for recognition of her achievements in developing a state-wide Endovascular Clot Retrieval (ECR) and Virtual Reality (VR) module for hyperacute stroke, a peer mentorship program across 23 rural sites in New South Wales. Kylie has worked within the field of neurosciences for the last 20 years both within Australia and internationally. She has worked in neurosciences intensive care units, general trauma intensive care and the ward environment, and has completed a masters degree in Clinical Practice majoring in Neurosciences. Kylie is currently the neurosciences NP at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, a role that has a focus on the quick assessment of neuroscience patients with an emphasis on acute stroke patients.

Haylee Berrill

Committee member

Haylee Berrill is a Stroke Clinical Nurse Consultant since at Gold Coast University Hospital since 2010.
Prior to this Haylee worked as both the Clinical Facilitator and Nurse Unit Manager in Cardiac Catheter Suite.
Haylee has Post Graduate Certificates in Neuroscience Nursing from RMIT and Stroke Management from University of Newcastle. Whilst a project officer with QLD stroke network, Haylee helped developed the QLD stroke pathways – available on the QHEALTH intranet. The Thrombolysis and Endovascular consent forms for QLD. And the Transition to Practice Stroke Module Haylee is a current Member of Qld Stroke Network steering committee and developed the Queensland Stroke Education Teams link for monthly education sessions. Prior to moving to QLD – Haylee worked as a clinical nurse specialist at the stroke and neurology unit at Austin Health.

Mercy Chimurambi

Committee member

Mercy is a Stroke Clinical Nurse Specialist at Joondalup Health Campus, Ramsay Health Care, in Perth, Western Australia, and a Nurse Practitioner at Glengarry Private Hospital, Ramsay Health Care, also in Western Australia. She has over 19 years of clinical nursing experience across the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia, and holds a Master of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner). Mercy is a ANVC board- certified Advanced Stroke Coordinator ( ASC-BC) with extensive expertise in acute and rehabilitation stroke assessment and management.

She provides advanced clinical leadership within specialist stroke services and has led quality improvement initiatives that have improved patient outcomes and service efficiency. Mercy is actively involved in stroke education, mentoring nursing and medical staff, and contributing to multidisciplinary care. She has participated in international stroke research and remains committed to advancing stroke nursing practice through education, research, and professional engagement.

Simeon Dale ASNEN

Simeon Dale

Committee member
Linkedin
Simeon Dale is a Clinical Research Fellow at the Nursing Research Institute. She has 18 years clinical experience in critical care nursing specialising in Neuroscience and has practiced nursing in three countries. Simeon currently is working with Professor Sandy Middleton on the Quality in Acute Stroke Care (QASC) Australasia Trial. She was the project manager for the QASC Europe project, which supported implementation of the Fever, Hyperglycaemia (sugar) and Swallowing (FeSS) Protocols into 64 hospitals in 17 countries. She is also working on the Stroke Living Guidelines with the Stroke Foundation.
Gill Edmonds ASNEN

Gil Edmonds

Committee member
Gill Edmonds is the Clinical Nurse Specialist for Acute Stroke at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth Western Australia. Since opening in 2015, Gill has helped to develop stroke services at the hospital including the “Code Stroke” and onsite access to clot retrieval. Gill is a member of the WA Stroke Clinical Advisory Group, is an Advanced Stroke Coordinator (board certified) and has worked in neurosciences for 25 years. Gill’s focus is improving stroke care, educating, and providing support to patients and staff and liaising with regional centres in the south of Western Australia.

Estelle Hamson

Committee member
Estelle is the Stroke Clinical Nurse Consultant at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. Estelle holds a Masters degree in Health Sciences: Stroke Management and has completed the Neurovascular Education and Training in Stroke Management and Acute Reperfusion Therapies Advanced Practice (NETSMART AP) course with a clinical validation in Phoenix, Arizona in 2023. She has also achieved certifications- Advanced Neurovascular Practitioner- Board Certified(ANVP-BC) and Advanced Stroke Coordinator-Board Certified (ASC-BC). Estelle has recently completed a three year term as a committee member of the Australia and New Zealand Stroke Society (ANZSO) formerly Stroke Society of Australasia.

Carolyn Harrison

Committee member

As the Stroke clinical nurse consultant at Launceston General Hospital, Carolyn has worked at the unit since it opened in the early 2000s. As a born and bred Tasmanian, Carolyn was in the last nursing cohort to train at the Launceston General Hospital before converting entirely to university-based training. Carolyn has attained an Advanced Diploma in Management and a Graduate Certificate in Neurological Nursing along with many career accomplishments, too numerous to mention. 

Stephanie McKenna

Committee member
Stephanie McKenna is currently employed as a Clinical Nurse Specialist at Joondalup Health Campus in Perth WA.  She has recently been endorsed as the first Nurse Practitioner in stroke for Western Australia and is an ANVC Board certified acute stroke co-ordinator (ASC-BC). Before emigrating to Perth from Ireland in 2016 she worked in a comprehensive stroke unit for six years.  Since 2018, Stephanie has been the nurse lead through the implementation of a new stroke service at Joondalup Health Campus,  overseeing both hyper acute stroke management and inpatient stroke rehabilitation.  She is a passionate supporter of the role of the nurse in determining patient outcomes and has a special interest in nurse led care and has recently written an appendix to the Western Australia State-wide Thrombolysis Policy to support regional sites in their attempt to improve 30/60/90 thrombolysis targets.

Bianca Piantedosi

Committee member

Bianca Piantedosi is a Stroke Nurse Consultant and Nurse Practitioner Candidate within the Rural Support Service South Australian Local Health Networks. Bianca facilitates evidenced based practice and oversees a range of programs and initiatives to improve access to health services for people suffering stroke in rural and remote areas. Bianca is certified as a Neurovascular Registered Nurse (NVRN-BC) and has an extensive Neuroscience and Emergency background, holding a master’s degree in Clinical Nursing, Honours degree in Neuroscience and Graduate Diploma in Emergency Care. Bianca works part-time between regional and metropolitan services.

Lucy Thorne

Committee member

Lucy is a Stroke Nurse Coordinator at Alice Springs Hospital in the Northern Territory. She has a background in Emergency, Paediatric and rural and remote nursing. Lucy is passionate about delivering clinically advanced and culturally sensitive acute stroke care, despite the geographic and linguistic barriers that can impact healthcare delivery in Central Australia.


Malcohm Chung

Committee member

Malcohm Chung is a Research Nurse at Box Hill Hospital, with a nursing background and experience across clinical research, medical case management, and healthcare practice operations. He has previously managed a dental clinic and has experience in clinical coordination, case management, and supporting the delivery of healthcare services. Malcohm is actively involved in the research nursing community and currently serves as a Committee Member of the Victorian Affiliation of Research Nurses (VARN), in addition to his involvement with ASNEN. His work in clinical research reflects a strong interest in advancing patient-centred care, supporting research nurses, and contributing to the ongoing development of clinical research practice. Fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, Malcohm is committed to fostering collaboration, professional development, and high-quality research within the healthcare community.

Past Team Members

Sarah Kuhle ASNEN

Sarah Kuhle

Linkedin

Sarah Kuhle is a Stroke Clinical Nurse Consultant and Project Officer for the Queensland state-wide Stroke Clinical Network, and the Queensland Research Coordinator for the University of Newcastle NRHMC funded TACTICS trial. She is a PhD candidate and holds a master’s degree in Stroke Management. Sarah has focused on change implementation within Queensland’s acute stroke services, and participates in national research projects, steering committees and reference groups involved with improving stroke care. Previous bodies of work include development of Queensland’s state-wide stroke unit endorsement process that subsequently distributed over $35 million in additional funding, as well as implementation of  state-wide perfusion imaging services. 

Skye Coote

Skye Coote

Linkedin

Skye is a Stroke Nurse Practitioner and the Nursing Coordinator of the Melbourne Mobile Stroke Unit at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. She holds a master’s degree in Nursing and has an extensive background in both stroke and critical care nursing. She is certified as an Advanced Neurovascular Practitioner (ANVP-BC) and a Neurovascular Registered Nurse (NVRN-BC). She is a member of the Stroke Foundation’s Clinical Council and the Association of Neurovascular Clinicians. Her passion is improving hyperacute stroke care, stroke research and education. 

Lizzie Dodd ASNEN

Lizzie Dodd

Linkedin

Lizzie Dodd is a Stroke Nurse Consultant at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, which provides a comprehensive hyper acute stroke service for South Australia including thrombolysis and endovascular treatments. With 1400 acute stroke presentations per year, her primary role is to run the 24-hour Code Stroke Service, provide training and education to the stroke unit staff, information and support to the patients and their families, promote recovery and early discharge planning, data collection, and be involved in the ongoing updating and implementation of the acute stroke management protocols and procedures. 

Who We Are

Learn more about the role of Acute Stroke Nurses Education Network Ltd (ASNEN)

Our History

Learn about the history of ASNEN from its formation in 2012 to the present day.

Our Mission

We aim to improve outcomes for the many Australians affected by stroke each year.