Who We Are

Emma Knowland (She/Her) 
 
Emma is an endorsed Nurse Practitioner. She currently works for the Metro North Sexual Health & HIV Service in Brisbane and is the current president of the Australasian Sexual Health & HIV Nurses Association. She has served as Secretary on the ASHHNA Executive since 2017 and recently chaired the expert working group for the new ASHHNA Standards of Practice. Emma holds a Master of Nurse Practitioner, Master in Cancer Nursing, certificates in Sexual and Reproductive Health and sexual health program authorisation in Queensland. She is currently working towards her S100 prescriber status to prescribe HIV and Hepatitis B medicines. 

Emma has worked for the last 20 years in clinical roles across hospitals, clinics and non-government organisations & has also held clinical teaching, clinical facilitation, and research portfolios. She is passionate about promoting and elevating the role of nurses in our specialities. 

Cath Bateman (She/Her)  

Cath is a Nurse Practitioner Candidate working in the nurse-led Latrobe Abortion, Contraception and Sexual Health Hub across multiple sites in Inner Gippsland Victoria. Cath has been working as a nurse in sexual and community health since 2008 and is excited to be leading the new state government funded hub in Gippsland. Cath has post graduate qualifications in Health Promotion, Public Health and Gender Mainstreaming and has completed a Grad Cert in Research Methods examining the success of funding nurse led clinics in increasing access for medical termination of pregnancy.  

Horas Wong (He/Him)

Horas Wong is a Senior Lecturer at Sydney Nursing School, University of Sydney. Originally from Hong Kong, he is a nursing academic and social scientist with a strong focus on sexual health, HIV, and health equity. He brings a transdisciplinary background spanning nursing, public health, anthropology, and health social sciences, and has worked across clinical, community, and research settings in both Australia and Hong Kong. Horas has experience as a front-line nurse, community educator, and health researcher in the HIV and sexual health field. He holds a PhD in health social sciences and is a Fellow of the UK’s Higher Education Academy. His work is dedicated to improving care for marginalised populations, including LGBTQIA+ communities, migrants, and people living with or at risk of HIV. He has led and collaborated on numerous community-based and interdisciplinary research projects focused on sexual and reproductive health, stigma, healthcare access, and integrating sexual health into nursing education. In addition to his academic work, Horas serves as Co-Chair of the University of Sydney Pride Network, is a member of the Human Research Ethics Committees at both the University of Sydney and ACON, and sits on the NSW-based CALD Sexual Health Action Group (CALDSHAG). 

Danielle Collins (She/Her) 

Danielle (Dani) Collins is an endorsed HIV nurse practitioner currently working for the Victorian HIV Service, within the Alfred Hospital’s Infectious Diseases Department; and at Thorne Harbour Health’s Pronto! clinic, working across both HIV prevention and HIV treatment. Dani’s time at the Alfred has included the Prep- X Trial from 2016- 2018, and outreach HIV specific clinics in both metropolitan and regional Victoria. Dani has previously worked for Thorne Harbour Health in the first iteration of the Pronto! clinic, and the Centre Clinic where she began her Nurse Practitioner candidacy. Dani has also worked for the Burnet Institute in Population Health (alcohol and other drug and blood borne virus) research as a research nurse and research assistant; and was instrumental in developing a randomised control trial examining multiple outcomes through the provision of the Hepatitis B vaccine to people who use drugs and coordinating other public health monitoring programs. As well as nursing in Victoria, Dani has also worked in the Northern Territory and the United Kingdom. Dani has previously worked in emergency departments, the homelessness and social services sector, HIV hospice care, termination care, mental health nursing and general and surgical ward- based nursing.   

Dani has been an ASHHNA Executive member since 2017 as Assistant Treasurer, and Treasurer since 2022. Dani represents ASHHNA on the ASHM Antiretroviral (ARV) Guideline Committee and the National HIV Standards, Training and Accreditation Committee (NHSTAC). Dani has participated in numerous working groups developing and updating HIV and sexual health related guidelines, including the nursing & midwifery chapter of the ASHM HIV Management in Australasia: A guide for clinical care and ASHM Australasian Contact Tracing Guideline 2022.  Dani was involved in the working group with ASHM which successfully applied for expansion of s100 prescribing and PBS access to NPs.  

The speciality of HIV intersects Dani’s passion for social justice, infectious diseases and human rights. Areas of interest include new HIV diagnosis and navigating the pathway into HIV care, complex HIV & psychosocial care and strengthening the HIV workforce through developing and implementing systems to improve and expand upon HIV care provision in both metropolitan and rural areas. 

Jude Armishaw (She/Her)

Jude is a sexual health/HIV prevention nurse practitioner at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne where she has worked for the last 20 years. After 18 years of working as a clinical nurse consultant, Jude decided to embark on a Masters of Nurse Practitioner which she completed in 2024. Jude has recently been endorsed and is now enjoying the expanded scope of a nurse practitioner. 

Jude began her career in sexual health and HIV prevention at the Lismore Sexual Health Clinic in Northern NSW, previously known as SHAIDS. Over the past 30 years she has witnessed significant advancements in HIV prevention, including treatment as prevention, U=U, and the widespread adoption of PrEP.   

Jude was instrumental in establishing the PrEPMe Clinic at The Alfred Hospital, a nurse-led service for overseas born patients without Medicare at high risk of HIV. Jude sits on various national committees and was recently involved in updating the HIV PEP Guidelines and developing an HIV PEP decision making tool. 

Outside of work, Jude enjoys playing the harp and going to the AFL (though not simultaneously). 

Joanne Perks (She/Her) 

Jo Perks is a Nurse Practitioner and Midwife with significant experience within the public health and NGO sector, where she specialises in Women’s Health across the lifespan, working with marginalised populations. 

Jo is passionate about the provision of respectful and high quality care for women under her care, where she believes that advocacy plays a significant role. 

Jo Perks has been involved with ASHHNA since its inception in 1991 and has been an executive member for 30 years. Jo is also a Council Representative of the Coalition of National Nursing & Midwifery Organisation as an ASHHNA representative in an advisory role. 

Jo’s significant contributions to sexual and reproductive health recognised with several awards and nominations. In 2018, Jo received the ASHHNA Life Member Award, a finalist for the HESTA Nurse of the Year award in 2016, and awarded the Liverpool LGA Award for Outstanding Care to the Community in 2014. 

Coleen Nugent (She/Her)

Colleen is one of the Nurse Unit Managers at Sydney Sexual Health Centre. She has been an executive member of ASHHNA since 2024, having first joined the organisation as a member in 2016 when she began her career in the SRH specialty. Colleen holds a Master of SRH from the University of Sydney, and she is particularly passionate about supporting new nurses to upskill and advance their practice in this vital field.   

Marti Kaiser (She/Her)

Marti is Registered Nurse who completed a Masters of Public Health specialising in Sexual Health. Starting her career at The Royal Women's Hospital in gynaecology & oncology with a passion for reproductive health and abortion and miscarriage care. She then moved into sexually transmissible infections and HIV prevention at Melbourne Sexual Health Centre. She has worked as a nurse educator at Sexual Health Victoria but has found her niche in research. Marti has worked on research in bacterial vaginosis, mycoplasma genitalium, rectal chlamydia, HIV self-testing and is now working in research into finding a cure for HIV through Alfred Health in collaboration with the Peter Doherty Institute. 

Marti has kept her passion for reproductive justice by also working at 1800 My Options - Victoria's confidential and free phone line and online service, giving information about abortion, contraception and sexual health across the state. 

Marti joined the ASHHNA executive as website coordinator in 2024. Please be patient with her as she also navigates the new Member Jungle website. Please contact ASHHNA if you have any concerns around the website.

Justine Shuck (she/her)

Justine is a Registered Nurse working at the Canberra Sexual Health Centre at the Canberra Hospital. She has been working in public health and sexual health specialities in NSW and ACT since 2015. Justine has postgraduate qualifications in Sexual and Reproductive Health and a Master of Infectious Disease Intelligence (Public Health). She has an interest in research and quality improvement and is always looking to improve clinical practice and expand the nursing scope. In her current role as Clinical Nurse Consultant, she is passionate about fostering a culture of continuous improvement and learning. 

Justine joined the ASHHNA executive as the website assistant in October 2025.

Chris Bailey-Mills (He/Him)

Chris is the district-wide Sexual Health and HIV Clinical Nurse Consultant for both Murrumbidgee and Southern NSW Local Health Districts within NSW Health, covering a geographic footprint of over 170,000 square kilometres. He holds postgraduate qualifications in Sexual and Reproductive Health.

With extensive experience across HIV, hepatitis, sexual health, and reproductive health, Chris delivers compassionate, evidence-based care grounded in a judgement-free and inclusive practice that prioritises dignity, equity, and access for all communities.

In his current role, Chris leads the development of nurse-led models of care, mentors and orients clinicians, and contributes to the design of clinical procedures aligned with state and national guidelines. He is particularly committed to improving Sexual and Reproductive Health access in rural and remote settings, ensuring consistently high standards of care regardless of geography.

Chris joined the ASHHNA Executive as Promotions Coordinator in October 2025.