About

COTA ACT is made up from a Board of Directors, staff and volunteers.

COTA ACT Board Members

Current as at March 2025

Al Bevan

Al Bevan has been in the Canberra region since 1981. Since then, he endured the education system and continually appreciating the diversity within his career. He enjoys gardening, being handy around the house, walking his dog and family time. He is a brother of four, a husband, a father of five, a son and professionally now, Al is a Social Worker, attempting to assist people with necessary change or additional support in their lives. His involvement with COTA ACT has been motivated by the various discrimination intended and unintended toward the seniors of Canberra and region and their proactiveness within the community.

Maricel Giorgioni

Maricel Giorgioni is an accomplished human resources leader with over 20 years of experience across various industries, including healthcare, oil and gas, aviation, and retail. She is currently the Chief People Officer at LDK Seniors’ Living, where she focuses on enhancing employee development, well-being, and engagement, ultimately contributing to positive outcomes for residents. Prior to her role at LDK, Maricel held significant leadership positions at Aspen Medical, where she was instrumental in promoting inclusive workplace cultures and executing strategic human resource initiatives on a global scale. In addition to her professional achievements, Maricel is dedicated to community service and serves on the Disability Advisory Group for the Canberra Business Chamber. She holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Human Resource Management and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Elizabeth Jolley

Liz has extensive experience working in the ACT Public Service, mainly in the area of Human Resources and Policy across a number of Directorates.

Prior to joining the ACT Public Service, she held several managerial positions, served in the Royal Australian Navy and held a number of volunteer positions primarily within education and Guides Australia.

She moved to Canberra in 1993 (reluctantly at the time) and now would not want to live anywhere else. Having lived in both Melbourne and Sydney, she appreciates and enjoys the Canberra experience and attributes!

She is currently in her final year serving on the COTA ACT Board and has enjoyed the experience and commits to remaining connected to COTA ACT in some capacity. She feels she brings life experience as well as some professional experience to the Board and broader work of COTA.

Fiona Langford

Fiona grew up in Hughes, where she attended the local primary and high school and developed a strong sense of community. Pursuing an accounting degree allowed her to blend her passion for numbers with a desire to make a difference. Over the years, she’s worked primarily within not-for-profits (paid and unpaid), gaining valuable experience and insights into different sectors. Balancing career and family life, she has four children and nine grandchildren, who inspire her daily.

In addition to her professional pursuits, she is a girl guide leader and has actively participated as a volunteer, board member and committee member for several organizations (ACT, state and national). These experiences have enriched her life, helping her connect with others and contribute to meaningful causes. She believes in the power of community and strives to make a positive impact wherever she goes.

Nicole Lawder

Nicole joined the COTA ACT Board in January 2025 after three terms as a politician in the ACT Legislative Assembly and before that, working in the private, public, and for-purpose sectors. In recent years, she has enjoyed her role as Shadow Minister for Seniors, which led her to join the COTA Board. For decades, she has worked to improve the lives of Canberrans, including in the disability and homelessness areas. She is currently undertaking a PhD in political science.

Nicole has lived in Canberra for over 35 years and has undertaken a range of voluntary work throughout that time. Her children and grandchildren all live in Canberra and when she is not working or studying, she likes to spend time with them.

Gayle Morrison (Chair)

Gayle has lived in Canberra for the last 13 years after having grown up in country Queensland.  She worked in the Australian Public Service (APS) for 18 years and prior to that in a range of allied health and academic positions. Her APS experience included 13 years in the senior executive service across three departments including Health and Ageing, Indigenous Affairs and Veterans’ Affairs. During this time, she developed extensive networks across government departments both at the commonwealth and state government levels and has worked with a broad range of clients and stakeholders.

She joined the Board of COTA ACT in 2020 and became the Chair of COTA ACT board in late 2023.  Gayle joined the board of COTA Australia in 2021. She has also been a volunteer for several other not for profit organisations in the ACT.  Gayle is committed to community development and advocacy for older people and the issues associated with ageing.  Gayle also enjoys bushwalking, cycling and travelling.

Matt O’Connor

Matt was born and raised in Canberra, attending school at Marist College. After finishing his academic studies he spent 25 years playing and coaching rugby professionally.

In 2018, he returned to Canberra with his family and joined LDK at the start of their journey in Canberra. Over the next six years he worked in a number of roles at LDK including sales, community liaison and business development.

He is now the Business Development Manager at Sense Retirement Living, working on the first of many projects Sense of Yowani.

Matt prides himself on his ability to build relationships with a range of community groups.

Adele Stevens

Adele is committed to consumer participation and empowerment as a way of improving healthcare and aged care. She has been a member of COTA for nearly 20 years and began her participation as a member of the Health Policy committee and then the general policy committee.

Adele began her career in the health field; principally as a midwife and community nurse in the child health field. She was the matron of a 100 bed county hospital in the 1970s. Following obtaining a PhD, at ANU, she moved to the Commonwealth Department of Health where she worked with the Safety and Quality Council which was a precursor to the Safety and Quality Commission.

On retirement, she joined the Health Care Consumers Association (HCCA) of the ACT and was president of the Association from 2008 to 20012 and Vice President from 2012 to 2014.

She remains a committed consumer representative now representing HCCA on a number of palliative care committees for ACT Health. She is committed to improving end of life care and supports voluntary assisted dying in the ACT, influenced in many ways by the poor end of life experiences of both her parents. She has been fighting ageism for at least the last 10 years and is a proud 80 year old who is not ashamed to be called old.

Chin Wong

Chin was born in Malaysia of Chinese Heritage with a background in nursing, midwifery, neonatal intensive care, nursing informatics and healthcare management.  She has accumulated over 38 years of community voluntary experience and is a well-established community leader and multiculturalism advocate.

She has been recognized by many multicultural community organizations for her community leadership, contributions, and support in mentoring new and emerging community groups.  She is passionate about building better working relationships with community service providers and finding solutions to break down the barriers to enable multicultural communities can access the services available, in particular related to aged care and community services.