2026 Excellence in Leadership - Established Leader

Charlotte Burr

Charlotte is an exceptional nursing leader whose career blends clinical expertise, strategic vision, and compassion for those she serves. As Clinical Nurse Consultant in General Paediatrics at Perth Children’s Hospital, she provides strategic nursing leadership that balances complex care with the needs of a rapidly growing community. Her ability to bring clarity, collaboration, and warmth has earned her trust across teams and disciplines.

Charlotte is widely recognised as a national and international leader in respiratory medicine, particularly in the care of children with cystic fibrosis. Her contributions span service redesign, policy development, and the creation of clinical guidelines that shape practice across Australia and abroad. She is the founder of an international cystic fibrosis nursing network, an initiative that began as a small collaborative idea but now connects across regions.

Her statewide leadership profoundly strengthened paediatric palliative care in Western Australia. By building partnerships across regional hospitals, community services, and national networks, Charlotte ensured families could access compassionate, high‑quality care closer to home.

A career hallmark is her strengths‑based mentorship. Charlotte invests deeply in developing nurses at all stages, creating teams that are confident, joyful, and empowered. She believes, “Everyone can excel,” and colleagues describe her as safe, supportive, and able to help individuals uncover strengths they didn’t know they had. Her proudest achievement is seeing teams grow to a point where they are thriving independently.

At the heart of Charlotte’s work is humanity. She treasures the moments spent holding space for parents facing lifelong diagnoses, helping them find confidence, hope, and connection during times of profound vulnerability. After decades of service, Charlotte’s passion remains unwavering: “I still love my job so much. I feel excitement every time I come to work” and families and colleagues often share words that affirm her impact: “You’ve pushed me in such a good way,” “You’re easy to talk to,” and “You make it a joy to come to work.”

Dr Nilufeur McKay

Nilufeur is a transformative nursing leader whose career unites clinical excellence, academic leadership, and a deep commitment to advancing the Nurse Practitioner profession. She holds a dual appointment as Senior Lecturer and Course Coordinator for the Master of Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) program at Edith Cowan University, and as a Cardiology Nurse Practitioner establishing a heart failure service at Royal Perth Hospital. Her rare combination of educational expertise and hands‑on clinical practice enables her to shape the next generation of nurse leaders while driving meaningful improvements in patient care.

At ECU, Nilufeur leads Western Australia’s only Nurse Practitioner program, overseeing curriculum development, accreditation, and workforce engagement. Under her leadership, the program has experienced remarkable growth and strengthened the state’s NP workforce through high‑quality education, innovative teaching methods, and a strong culture of mentorship. Her passion for supporting emerging clinicians is evident in the many graduates who now lead specialised services across WA and nationally.

Nilufeur’s national and international impact reflects a career defined by advocacy, collaboration, and vision. She contributes to nursing policy through roles with the Australian College of Nurse Practitioners, St John Ambulance WA, and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, where she has influenced standards, prescribing policy, and the advancement of cardiovascular care. Her research in heart failure and system redesign, informed by clinical experience at leading institutions such as the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins University, continues to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes.

What distinguishes Nilufeur most is her warmth, humility, and genuine dedication to others. Whether guiding a student through a challenging year or supporting a heart failure patient through life‑changing treatment, she brings compassion, clarity, and unwavering belief in people’s potential. Her leadership has created ripples of lasting impact, elevating practice, empowering clinicians, and improving lives across communities

Professor Tracey Moroney OAM

Tracey is an exceptional international and national nursing leader whose career has been defined by compassion, integrity, and a steadfast commitment to advancing the profession. As Head of the Curtin School of Nursing, she provided strategic and academic leadership across nursing, midwifery, paramedicine, and oral health, guiding more than 70 staff and 3500 students across three countries. Her leadership is grounded in a deeply person‑centred approach that sees the human behind every role and responds with empathy, inclusion, and unwavering support.

Tracey’s influence extends across disciplines and borders. She has introduced groundbreaking initiatives that have positioned Western Australian nursing at the forefront nationally, including embedding planetary health into curricula, leading sector‑wide digital and AI innovations, and forging powerful partnerships that strengthen education, research, and clinical practice. Her peers recognise her as a leader who brings people together, fosters trust, and builds high‑performing teams through kindness and clarity.

While being awarded an Order of Australia and serving as Chair of the Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery stand as major professional milestones, Tracey’s proudest moments are when her leadership enables others to thrive. This was never more evident than during the COVID‑19 pandemic, when she created safe, compassionate spaces for staff and students navigating fear, isolation, and uncertainty. Her twice‑daily connection sessions became lifelines, and the gratitude that followed remains one of the most humbling experiences of her career.

Tracey’s true passion lies in inspiring future nurses. She continues to teach undergraduate leadership, where she finds profound joy in mentoring students and witnessing their confidence grow. The heartfelt thanks she receives from graduates—students who say she changed how they see nursing—are the moments she treasures most. At her core, Tracey is a nurse led by compassion. Her career is a testament to the power of presence, humanity, and leadership that uplifts others.