About us
Supporting carers and clinicians to deliver compassionate, dignified care.
Grounded in lived experience.
The Ryan Bowman Legacy of Care Foundation was established to embed lived experience into health and care systems so that policy intent translates into real, measurable improvement for patients and families.
Ryan Bowman lived with complex congenital heart disease, supported closely by his family, who developed deep clinical expertise through decades of care. While many clinicians showed compassion and excellence, Ryan’s final months exposed persistent system failures, poor communication, limited access to specialist palliative input, inadequate pain management, and the exclusion of carers at critical moments.
Ryan’s experience reflects a wider truth: carers of complex patients hold irreplaceable clinical knowledge. When this expertise is ignored, outcomes suffer. When it is respected and acted upon, lives are protected.
Founded by Chris and Deb Brooks, the Foundation exists to ensure carers are recognised as partners in care, not observers, and that dignity, safety, and escalation are upheld at the end of life.
Founders
We created the Ryan Bowman Legacy of Care Foundation from lived experience, to ensure carers are heard and nurses and clinicians are supported to deliver compassionate, dignified care, regardless of postcode.
Ryan was a beloved son, father, brother and uncle. Deeply loved and never forgotten.
Our Team
Shayne Haggis
Shayne Haggis is a senior paramedic with the South Australian Ambulance Service, bringing extensive experience in emergency response, clinical leadership and multi-agency coordination. A Flinders University graduate and former vertical rescue specialist, he also served as an Advanced Care Paramedic with the Queensland Ambulance Service. Shayne is a Resident Member of the Mount Gambier and Districts Health Advisory Council.
Kirsty Whitehead
Kirsty Whitehead is a health and disability policy consultant specialising in governance, inclusive communication and systems reform. She chairs the Children’s Tumour Foundation Community Advisory Panel, holds multiple board appointments across South Australia’s health networks, and founded Advoca-Lab, a consultancy delivering plain language and policy reform for government and community organisations.
Peta Taylor
Peta founded Unbundled Family Law to reshape the way people experience legal services — placing clients’ intuition, insight and capability at the centre of their own matter.
With a decade of experience across wills, estates and family law, Peta focuses on understanding the real problem and empowering clients to drive the solution. She favours plain‑English drafting and practical, realistic, strategies, avoiding unnecessary complexity wherever possible.
Unbundled Founder
Peta is committed to staying ahead of legal developments and modern practice methods, consistently exceeding her professional education requirements. She holds a Master of Laws (Applied Law) majoring in Wills & Estates, and is due to complete a Master of Applied Law (Family Law) in early 2026, complementing her law degree and compulsory postgraduate qualifications.
C - Compassion
Care that listens, understands, and responds with humanity.
A - Advocacy
Speaking up early and decisively for those who cannot.
R - Respect
Valuing lived experience, dignity, and individual voice.
E - End-of-Life Dignity
Timely escalation to ensure comfort, choice, and dignity.
Mission Statement
Guided by the principle “When carers speak, listen. When carers warn, act.” The Foundation honours Ryan Bowman’s legacy by transforming individual loss into lasting, system-wide cultural change.
C – Compassion
A – Advocacy
R – Respect
E – End-of-Life Dignity & Escalation
Deb's Voice