Accreditation Council
The Accreditation Council (AC) is a council of Exercise & Sports Science Australia, and provides leadership, governance and oversight for the accreditation and regulation of exercise and sports science professions and professionals. It will also provide strategic advice to the Board on issues pertaining to the accreditation and regulation of exercise and sports science professions and professionals.
AC Members
- Chair – Dr Vincent Kelly
- Deputy Chair - Associate Professor Jacqueline Raymond
- Members – Helen Rays, Vanessa Rice & Christopher Hicks
Associate Professor Vincent Kelly (Chair)
Associate Professor Vince Kelly works at the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Queensland University of Technology. His areas of research interest include mental fatigue and recovery in athletes, strength and conditioning in high performance sport and ergogenic aids and sport nutrition supplementation. Vince has previously been co-chair of ESSA’s Qld State Chapter and a member of ESSA’s Sport Science Advisory Group. He has over 25 years’ industry experience in elite sport working in high performance, sport science and strength and conditioning roles with professional football teams, the Queensland Academy of Sport, and individual athletes.
Associate Professor Jacqueline Raymond (Deputy Chair)
Associate Professor Jacqueline (Jacqui) Raymond is currently Program Director for the undergraduate exercise physiology course at The University of Sydney following a period in Work Integrated Learning overseeing the exercise science and exercise physiology placement program. Jacqui has previously been a course accreditation reviewer and a member of the Accreditation Council since October 2019. Jacqui’s teaching and research expertise is in learning and assessment of student performance on placement.
Dr Vanessa Rice
Dr Vanessa Rice has been a Senior Lecturer at the Australian Catholic University, School of Exercise Science. She was the national course coordinator for the Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology for over 20 years. Vanessa served on the VIC Chapter of ESSA for over 13 years serving in various committee roles.
Mr Christopher Hicks
Chris has over 25 years as a health practitioner in acute hospital settings and was a member of the inaugural Medical Radiation Practice Board of Australia for 9 years, chairing the Board’s policy committee. He has led Allied Health, Surgical and Medical Hospital Divisions in Queensland and the ACT, and keenly supports multi-disciplinary approaches to the delivery of health care. He has an interest in regulation in health care, Allied Health governance and professional standards. Chris is currently appointed as the Director of Research and Innovation at West Moreton Health and identifies partnerships between universities, health services and professions as key to sustaining and improving the delivery of health care across the private and public sectors.
Ms Helen Rays
Helen has diverse professional experience spanning clinical exercise physiology, clinical research, healthcare management, health regulation and leadership. She is currently the National Director of Compliance at AHPRA.
As a former exercise physiologist, she has undertaken roles in both clinical research and chronic disease management service delivery. At University College London, Helen was the lead for exercise testing during a research expedition to Everest which used high altitude as a model for critical care patients experiencing hypoxia. She also has experience in healthcare leadership managing a practice of diverse specialist medical practitioners and including responsibility for the management of nursing and administrative staff.
For more information about the Accreditation Council, please contact the ESSA Regulations Manager, Carly Ryan via [email protected].