Janice Reid – Australian Chairman

Janice Reid has been in charge of the University of Western Sydney for 16 years, transforming it from a tentative alliance between three colleges to one of Australia's most respected and progressive institutions. She has even helped create a new medical school to address the growing demand for medical practitioners and to deal with the relatively poor health of the population of Western Sydney.

Right now, Reid is helping public health in the region and surrounding areas, from fighting TB, malaria, to HIV/AIDS. She has even been a part of many health, education, and cultural boards, like UniSuper, National Library of Australia, Integral Energy, and the Art Gallery of NSW. Previously, Reid was the chancellor at the University of Western Sydney and a public health specialist in Australia.

Reid won the Board/Management category at the Australian Financial Review and the Westpac Women of Influence Awards in 2016. She won the award for her work at the university, as well as, her regional reach as the chair of the Pacific Friends of the Global Fund, where she aids many developing nations to build strategies to fight diseases.

The feminine name Janice is an elaboration of the name Jane, which was created by Paul Leicester Ford for a character in his novel – Janice Meredith. The name Jane is the medieval English version of Jehanne, which is an Old French version of Iohannes or John. The name John is the English version of the Hebrew name Yochanan and mean “Yahweh is gracious”.