ACORN staff
Diane Harapin
Diane joined ACORN as CEO in April 2023, having led successful Australian and New Zealand not-for-profit entities for 15 years. Diane’s passions include education, advocacy, governance and compliance, quality assurance and stakeholder management, including members, policymakers, the media and sponsors.
Diane's previous positions include founding CEO of National Adoption Awareness Week, CEO of Australian Vision Research and CEO of Breast Surgeons of Australia and New Zealand (BreastSurgANZ). Diane was also events and funding coordinator for the Sunrise Children’s Village, Cambodia and managed the Foundation for Breast Cancer Care. She has sat on several boards and been engaged as a consultantby several educational philanthropic entities.
Diane’s interests include enablement, philanthropy, business and technology. She holds degrees in leadership, management, education and educational administration, from the University of Sydney, and completed a master’s degree with merit in administration and management before moving to Asia to manage a technology training business. Her thesis work resulted in a Master of Philosophy in education law.
Based in Sydney, Diane's voluntary work includes acting as a senior mentor in the University of Sydney Executive Women’s Mentoring Program and assisting the Please Stay Foundation with governance and compliance. She has four very busy adult children and follows the Sydney Swans.
Edwina Eaton (née Blannin-Ferguson)
Edwina joined ACORN in early 2021 as the ACORN Education Manager, coming from a strong background of education and management in both the clinical and tertiary sectors. Early in 2024, Edwina was appointed as ACORN's inaugural Clinical Excellence Coordinator.
Originally from Sydney, Edwina is now based in Victoria and draws from her experiences across both states, in public and private sectors and both metropolitan and regional health services. She is a practising perioperative nurse and holds postgraduate qualifications in nursing (Master of Nursing), quality and safety (Graduate Certificate in Health Service Management - Q&S), leadership (Diploma of Leadership & Management) and various clinical industry qualifications in both the perioperative and critical care clinical settings.
Edwina is passionate about ensuring best-practice care for patients and colleagues that is robust, underpinned by evidence and dynamic to grow with ever-advancing perioperative practice, equipment and techniques. She understands the wonderful work that perioperative nurses, educators, managers, partners and ancillary staff perform, and aims to build on this through collaboration, transparency and communication. She welcomes feedback to ensure that ACORN is meeting the needs of nurses, patients, perioperative departments and the health care system as a whole.
Angela Jarkey
Angela joined ACORN in December 2023. She has almost 20 years of clinical perioperative experience, and over 15 years in education, management and quality and safety roles. Angela has experience in both the public and private sectors in Sydney and Melbourne and has knowledge and experience across a range of roles and clinical areas, including instrument/circulating nurse, anaesthetics, Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU), day surgery unit and endoscopy.
Angela describes herself as an eternal learner and a passionate educator who is always eager to gain new knowledge and understanding. She has a Graduate Certificate in Perioperative Nursing and is currently completing a Master of Advanced Nursing, majoring in quality and safety. She has also completed a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and has an Executive Certificate in Event Management.
As a clinical nurse, Angela has frequently looked to ACORN for guidance and direction in best-practice, evidence-based perioperative nursing. She is thrilled to be able to add to the growth and development of the perioperative nursing community.
When not working or studying, Angela adores the time she spends with her husband and two young children and looks forward to her weekly ballet class.
Professor Jed Duff
Prof. Jed Duff became editor of ACORN's quarterly journal, Journal of Perioperative Nursing, in 2019. Jed is Chair of Nursing at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, where he develops, tests and implements strategies to enhance the integration of evidence into clinical practice. He designs and conducts multidisciplinary, practice-based research and mentors staff in evidence-based practice, quality improvement and research methods. Jed identifies as a 'pracademic,' a term he uses to describe his role in addressing real-world problems by merging insights from both practitioners and academics
Jed is actively involved in the national and international perioperative nursing community. He is an ACORN Fellow and former ACORN president. He has also been a board member of the International Federation of Perioperative Nurses and a former honorary secretary of the Asian Perioperative Nurses Association. In recognition of his dedication to global perioperative nursing, Jed was selected to join the International Council of Nursing's Global Nursing Leadership Institute.
Sheridan Millward
Sheridan joined ACORN in October 2024, bringing over 15 years of experience in finance and operations. She has held key roles in accounting, financial management and treasury operations, including positions with leading institutions such as Commonwealth Bank, Morgan Stanley and ANZ.
In addition to her professional work, Sheridan is passionate about giving back and actively supports several charities and not-for-profit organisations with their financial operations. Outside of work, she enjoys spending quality time with her husband and two children and fits in a few games of tennis each week.
Eleanor Tan
Eleanor Tan was first engaged in September 2015 to manage production of the journal. In July 2016, she was employed as ACORN's Publications Officer to manage the production of ACORN's publications.
With more than twenty years' experience in the education and health sectors and fifteen years' editing and publishing experience, Eleanor's expertise and attention to detail have ensured ACORN publications reflect the College's professional standing within the community.
