OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Migraine Australia is run by our operational board. All our board members are volunteers who live with migraine.
Raphaella Kathryn Crosby | Chair and Founder
Dr Raphaella Kathryn Crosby lives with hemiplegic migraine. She started Migraine Australia in 2019, after the new CGRP drugs became available and it was clear that a patient voice needed to advocate for them to be on the PBS. After resigning from the board at the end of 2021, she rejoined the board as Chair in 2024.
She has a PhD in behavioural science, and postgraduate qualifications in management and communication. In her day jobs she is a media professional working for NEWFM in Newcastle on air and as a journalist for the New England Times, and she also has a job in retail which she loves. Most of all she loves being able to work at all after many years debilitated by migraine.
She travels between her two homes of Newcastle and Armidale with her dog Brynnie.
Jan (Demarco) Behrendorff | Treasurer
Jan began volunteering for Migraine Australia in 2020 as an Ambassador for the Fraser Coast Migraine Warriors Support Group and was part of the '151 faces of Migraine' campaign, and joined the board in 2024.
Jan's background is in managing small businesses, client services, and many years volunteering in executive roles for netball committees. Migraine with aura/hemiplegic migraine became chronic for Jan in 2002 after 5 very stressful years. Botox and now CGRP's have helped but migraine continues to have significant impact.
Jan's mission is to improve migraine awareness and understanding so that we can be diagnosed earlier, get the right treatments and have access to new drugs without delay while supporting each individual's journey. Gardening, sewing, travel and yoga are Jan's other interests although time with her family, friends and especially her grandchildren is her greatest pleasure.
Alex Delaney | Secretary
Alex is one of the longest serving volunteers at Migraine Australia and has been instrumental in the success of the Men with Migraine group. He joined the board in 2024.
He has a background in student leadership and has taken on several committee positions for community groups over time. He is currently studying a Diploma of Community Services, aspiring to work in the Disability Sector.
Alex is motivated by his lived experience driving him to seek to improve the lives of all people living with Migraine. After an increase in attacks in high school, a virus he contracted in his first year of University in 2018 caused his migraine to rapidly spiral to experiencing debilitating attacks just about every day. He is still significantly impacted, but is now doing better, being managed by Botox and Ajovy under a specialist neurologist.
He has a particular interest in raising awareness of under recognised groups in the Migraine Community that don’t fit the stereotypical presentation.
During the pandemic, he worked with a small group of other Men with the ongoing support of Migraine Australia to build a support group called Men with Migraine. He is also the longstanding Geelong Ambassador.
He feels very gratified to see the group grow and blossom into what it is today, becoming the internationally predominant online community by and for men living with migraine. It remains a tight knit space where Men can speak openly about their experience without fearing stigma or judgement.
In his spare time, he enjoys hobbies including Rovers (Adult) Scouts, singing in a choir and long walks with his family’s 2 dogs. He has also recently taken an interest in landscape photography.