About Us - The Who
Dr. Beth Cheal (Director)
Beth Cheal graduated with a PhD, MAppSc(OT) and BAppSc(OT) from the University of Sydney (USyd). The topic of her PhD was conversion of DriveSafe DriveAware, a cognitive fitness to drive screen, into a touchscreen test for general practitioners, occupational therapists and other health professionals to administer when screening drivers to identify those that may be at-risk due to a medical condition or age-related changes.
Beth is a driver-trained occupational therapist and licensed driving instructor who has worked in driver assessment and rehabilitation since 2000. Beth has also coordinated training for occupational therapists, other health professionals and driving instructors in this area since 2006 (via USyd and Institute of Driver Health). Beth is currently employed as a lecturer in occupational therapy in the School of Health Sciences at Western Sydney University..
Belinda Johnston (Director)
Belinda Johnston graduated with a BAppSc(OT) at the University of Sydney, a MSc(Safety, Health and Environment) at the University of New South Wales, and a MRes (Clinical Medicine) Macquarie University that assessed the Test-retest reliability of DriveSafe DriveAware (iPad version).
Belinda’s areas of practice include driving assessment, geriatrics, neurology, hand therapy, occupational rehabilitation, and work, health and safety in the public, private and government sectors both in Australia and in the USA. Belinda runs a private practice as an occupational therapy driving assessor and is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney researching cognition and driving.
Melanie Rooney (Director)
Melanie Rooney is a seasoned manager with a proven record of success in the digital and information technology sectors and 20 years of experience in various areas such as Content Management Systems, Digital Technology, Platforms, Architecture, Business and Product Strategy, Sales, and Management. Melanie’s technology journey began in the 1980s it has been an interesting and intellectually rewarding one. She graduated from RMIT with a BAppSc in Cartography and later a Graduate Diploma in Computing from Canberra University. Throughout her career, she has gained valuable experience working in Australia as well as the US, allowing her to acquire knowledge across multiple environments and industries.
Melanie thrives in applying technology to develop elegant and user-friendly solutions to complex problems. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the dynamic and professional team at DriveSafe Diagnostics and to develop products that enhance the assessment and reporting of driver fitness.