Executive Women’s Leadership Forum with Dr Catherine Stoddart PSM

Join us at our upcoming Executive Women’s Leadership Forum on Wednesday, 6 May 2026, for an inspiring conversation with Dr Catherine Stoddart PSM.

Catherine is Chief Executive Officer of the Brightwater Care Group, a Committee for Perth Silver Member organisation and one of Western Australia’s most respected not-for-profit care providers.

With a distinguished career spanning senior leadership roles across Australia and the UK, Catherine has led some of the most complex health and human services organisations. Her extensive experience includes CEO of Northern Territory Health, Deputy CEO and Chief Nurse in the UK National Health Service, and Deputy Director General at the WA Department of Communities.

Throughout her career, Catherine has demonstrated a deep commitment to social justice and improving outcomes for the most vulnerable in our community. From shaping nursing career pathways to advancing Aboriginal employment programs and leading large-scale organisational transformation, her leadership has consistently delivered both impact and purpose.

The calibre of Catherine’s leadership has seen her awarded as Telstra Western Australia Business Woman of the Year, as recipient of the Professional Achievement Award for Health Sciences at the 2024 Curtin University Alumni Awards, and as recipient of the Australian Public Service Medal in recognition of her contribution to health and innovative global community health volunteering programmes.

At this forum, Catherine will share reflections on her leadership journey—from frontline nursing roles to executive leadership—and from the beginning of her Brightwater tenure to now and the lessons she has learned navigating complexity, driving change and staying grounded in values.

The Executive Women’s Leadership Forum brings together a community of executive, senior and emerging women leaders from across Committee for Perth’s membership to hear from inspiring leaders about their career and life journey.

Our speaker

Dr Catherine Stoddart PSM is the CEO of Brightwater since April 2022 focused on aged and disability care and support. She is proud of Brightwater’s commitment building research capability across those sectors who support vulnerable groups.

Catherine’s previous roles include CEO, NT Health, Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive of Oxford University Hospital’s NHS Trust and Chief Nurse for WA. Current Board roles include WACHS and NMBA, and Associate Editor of the BMJ Leader. In 2011 she received the Telstra WA Businesswoman of the Year, 2013 Australian Public Service Medal, Churchill Fellowships (2006), recently, the 2024 Curtin Alumni Award (Health Sciences).