“With an exceptional team, a wonderful community of supporters and partners, and an army of volunteers who are dedicated to helping young people find life in the face of cancer – I am excited about what we can do together."
Siona has a wealth of experience in health care leadership across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. We have seen her ability to inspire large teams to deliver gold standard care firsthand, with Siona already making an enormous impact in her time with Canteen, and the cancer centres we partner with.
Siona began her time at Canteen as the Statewide Director for Queensland Youth Cancer Service where she played a transformational role in ensuring young people impacted by cancer received the medical treatment and social support they need.
In 2023 she joined the executive leadership team, leading and empowering our service and impact teams, instilling in others how to shape and engage powerful programmatic and clinical interventions.
Siona officially started as CEO on 1 July 2025, aligning with the rollout of Canteen’s new strategic plan. Our key focus for the next four years is to deliver one million meaningful touchpoints to ensure that every young Australian impacted by cancer can access the support and care they need. Under Siona’s leadership, we will achieve this by focusing on growing our reach, deepening our impact and amplifying our voice as an influential force in the cancer landscape.
As we welcome Siona, we farewell and say a big thank you to Peter Orchard after 13 years of leading Canteen to deliver life-changing impacts for thousands of young people impacted by cancer across Australia. Peter’s leadership saw Canteen establish numerous significant new initiatives, including the internationally recognised Youth Cancer Services, which provide specialised medical treatment and support for young cancer patients in hospitals across Australia. Peter was also the driving force behind Cancer Hub, a service that makes it easier for families impacted by cancer to access the different support they need in one place.
We would like to pay tribute to Peter’s dedicated service and congratulate Siona on her appointment as our new Chief Executive Officer. This year sees Canteen mark 40 years of providing life-changing support to young people impacted by cancer.
As we enter this exciting new chapter, we want to thank you - our incredible supporters - for making vital care possible for young Australians impacted by cancer. With your continued support, we look forward to making an even greater difference together in the years ahead.