Tessa was born and grew up on unceded Gadigal land (Sydney) where she continues to live, learn and play. Prior to her leadership at ANROWS in 2024, Tessa was the founding CEO of Health Justice Australia, the national centre for health justice partnership. Tessa previously served as the Deputy CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and was the inaugural Fulbright Professional Scholar in Nonprofit Leadership. She combines her passions for enabling young people to thrive and for arts and culture in her role as Deputy Chair of the Board of Gondwana Choirs, the leader in Australian choral performance.

Hannah commenced as the inaugural NSW Women’s Safety Commissioner in February 2023. In this role, she provides leadership on whole-of-government policies and programs on domestic, family and sexual violence. Previously Hannah worked at the United Nations, as Disability Rights Director at the Australian Human Rights Commission, and as a barrister in London and Adelaide.

Angela Lynch is an admitted lawyer and a sexual, domestic, and family violence prevention advocate.  She is the Sector Engagement Manager with DV Alert, a national DV training program delivered through Lifeline and the Executive Officer for the Queensland Sexual Assault Network Secretariat, which is a peak body for specialist sexual violence services in Queensland.  She is also the chair of the Sexual Violence Working Group and a member of the Policy and Advocacy Advisory Committee for the National Women’s Safety Alliance. Previously, Angela worked for 27 years at the Women’s Legal Service QLD, 5 years as CEO.  Throughout her time in the sector, she has been involved in advocacy for significant law reform at a state and federal level, and in the development of policy and community education initiatives. 

Pip Davis is the Principal Solicitor at Women’s Legal Service NSW (WLS NSW).  She has worked in community legal centres for more than 22 years, with the last 11 of those years at WLS NSW.  

WLS NSW is a state-wide specialist community legal centre that aims to achieve access to justice and a just legal system for women in NSW. WLS NSW seeks to promote women’s human rights, redress inequalities experienced by women and to foster legal and social change through strategic legal services, community development, community legal education and law and policy reform work and prioritise women who are disadvantaged by their cultural, social and economic circumstances. WLS NSW provides specialist legal services relating to domestic and family violence, sexual assault, family law, discrimination, victims support, care and protection, human rights and access to justice.  

Christine Robinson is Bundjalung woman.
Christine has worked in the area of domestic, family, and sexual violence for over 30 years. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre.

Wirringa Baiya is a gender and culturally-specific community legal centre. The Centre provides access to justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, children, and young people. Wirringa Baiya pays special attention to working with victims and survivors of violence.

Christine is currently a member of the NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team, the NSW Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence Council, and the First Nations Coercive Control Reference Group.

Yvette Cehtel is the CEO of the Women’s Legal Service Tasmania, since 2019. Yvette’s background is as a lawyer having graduated in 1995 and having been admitted to practice in 2000. Yvette has worked as a Judges Associate, in private practice, as Legal Adviser to the Tasmanian Attorney General (working on the Family Violence Act 2004 (Tas), as counsel with Crown Law in New Zealand, as a Barrister in New Zealand, as a Manager with Relationships Australia, Tasmania, and with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.

Yvette has a Bachelor of Laws (UTAS), Master of Law (Human Rights) Monash and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Yvette is a member of the National Women’s Safety Alliance, Policy & Advocacy Advisory Committee established by the Commonwealth Government and is a member of the Tasmanian Family and Sexual Violence Alliance.

Yvette is also an active member of Women’s Legal Service Australia, the national peak body for Women’s Legal Services.

She has been contributing to not for profit community sector and government boards for over 30 years, including three appointments to the Tasmanians Legal Aid Commission as a Commissioner.

Her passion is for social justice and in particular the rights of Aborigines, women and children. She is committed to systems reform to improve the rights of those who experience structural barriers to achieving equality. This includes access to justice.

Ajsela Siskovic is the Executive Manager of Legal Services and Principal Lawyer of inTouch Women’s Legal Centre, which is a fully integrated legal centre within inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence.  inTouch Women’s Legal Centre is a specialist legal centre for migrant and refugee women with a focus on family violence, family law, migration and victims of crime law.  Prior to joining inTouch, Ajsela worked as a senior lawyer in Civil Justice Program at Victoria Legal Aid practising in administrative law including merits review and judicial review in social security and complex NDIS matters.

Katherine is the Executive Director of National Women’s Safety Alliance, with a membership of over 400 individuals and organisations she is determined we will end violence against all identifying women, non binary people and children. NWSA under Katherine’s leadership is a trusted government advisor, and has influenced major federal policy reforms in Domestic, Family and Sexual violence; There is nothing more important than making Australia a safer place for all who make their home here.

2023 Women’s Agenda Emerging NFP leader award winner

Jess Hill has become one of the nation’s foremost speakers and educators on coercive control. Walkley-award winning investigative journalist and author who has been reporting exclusively on domestic abuse since 2014. Prior to this, she was a Middle East correspondent, and producer/reporter across ABC radio and TV. In 2019, she published her first book, See What You Made Me Do, about the domestic abuse crisis in Australia. It was awarded the 2020 Stella Prize, the Bookseller’s Choice Award, and has been shortlisted for several others, including the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Jess has also presented two documentary series for SBS – See What You Made Me Do in 2021, and Asking For it in 2023 – and wrote a Quarterly Essay on how #MeToo has changed Australia.

Dr Michael Salter is the Professor of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia. He is the Director Elect of Childlight UNSW, the Sydney arm of Childlight, the Global Child Safety Institute based at the University of Edinburgh. Professor Salter is an internationally recognised expert in child sexual abuse, gender-based violence and complex trauma, and the author of two books and over sixty papers in international journals and edited collections. He is the Chair of the Grace Tame Foundation, which is dedicated to public awareness and the prevention of child sexual abuse. Professor Salter is the immediate Past President of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, the premier global scientific organisation for the study and treatment of complex trauma and dissociation. He sits on a number of government and non-government advisory committees, including the Advisory Group of the National Plan to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Their Children.  He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, and Child Abuse Review.

Angela Lynch is an admitted lawyer and a sexual, domestic, and family violence prevention advocate.  She is the Sector Engagement Manager with DV Alert, a national DV training program delivered through Lifeline and the Executive Officer for the Queensland Sexual Assault Network Secretariat, which is a peak body for specialist sexual violence services in Queensland.  She is also the chair of the Sexual Violence Working Group and a member of the Policy and Advocacy Advisory Committee for the National Women’s Safety Alliance. Previously, Angela worked for 27 years at the Women’s Legal Service QLD, 5 years as CEO.  Throughout her time in the sector, she has been involved in advocacy for significant law reform at a state and federal level, and in the development of policy and community education initiatives. 

As CEO of Women’s Community Shelters, Annabelle Daniel OAM, has worked with local communities around NSW to establish and open eight shelters at Hornsby, Forster, Castle Hill, Penrith, Bayside, Parramatta and Revesby.  She has also been instrumental in the ongoing success of the very first WCS shelter which opened in Manly in 2010. (Now known as Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter.)

She has collaborated with a range of organisations, individuals and stakeholders, from the community and all levels of government to achieve change in the field of homelessness for women and children.

Annabelle is continuing this work to establish further shelters throughout NSW and is currently working with the community in Camden to open shelter number nine in the WCS network.

Annabelle is also the Chair of DV NSW.

Patty Kinnersly is Chief Executive Officer of Our Watch, a not-for-profit organisation established to drive nationwide change in the structures, norms and practices that lead to violence against women and their children.

A leading health, welfare and education professional, Patty was Chief Executive Officer of Women’s Health Grampians for nine years, before joining Our Watch in 2015 as Director, Practice Leadership. She was appointed to the Chief Executive role in June 2018.

Patty has extensive governance experience, serving on the boards of Ballarat Health Services, the Australian Women’s Health Network, Rural Northwest Health, and Child and Family Services Ballarat.

In 2023 Patty was appointed as expert advisor to Minister Clare’s University working group and the inaugural Chairman, National Respectful Relationships Education Expert Working Group.

She is a Vice President of the Carlton Football Club Board, the first Board Director to oversee its women’s football programs.

Patty lives in regional Victoria.

Hunter Johnson is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Man Cave, Australia’s leading preventative mental health charity for teenage boys and their communities. The Man Cave’s programs take place in schools and online and work to create long-term, positive shifts in attitudes and behaviours by creating psychologically safe space, challenging problematic gender stereotypes and providing participants with the opportunity to practise healthier masculinity principles. Based in Melbourne, The Man Cave has worked directly with over 60,000 boys since its founding ten years ago.

With a background in emotional intelligence, facilitation, and social entrepreneurship, Hunter has worked with tens of thousands of young people across Australia and is constantly inspired by their audacity and brilliance. Hunter’s work has led him to speak around the world including presenting at the United Nations, Government House, the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Town Hall, Graduation Ceremonies and various Universities. Hunter has been recognised as a Finalist for the 2020 Young Australian of the Year Awards (VIC), listed as one of Harper’s Bazaar’s “Visionary Men of 2019”, named a 2018 Queen’s Young Leader by Her Majesty The Queen, and 2018 Winner of the EY Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Southern Region).

Dr. Zac Seidler is a Clinical Psychologist, the Global Director of Men’s Health Research at Movember and a Senior Research Fellow with Orygen at The University of Melbourne. Zac has devoted several years to the goal of reducing the intertwined and staggering rates of male violence and suicide, treating and researching men’s mental health with over 100 peer-reviewed articles published. Zac has appeared on the ABC, BBC, Sky News and in The Guardian, The Age and Vice for his work.

Detective Superintendent Jayne DOHERTY is currently the Commander of the New South Wales Police Sex Crimes Squad and head of Discipline for Modern Slavery. Detective Superintendent DOHERTY joined the NSW Police Force in January 1992 and has worked in a variety of areas of Policing including General Duties, General Criminal Investigation, Property Crime, Drugs & Firearms, Covert Professional Standards Investigations, Sex Crimes and Child Abuse. 

Detective Superintendent Doherty directs serious and complex criminal investigations involving adult sexual assault, abductions with the intent of sexual assault, on-line child exploitation, the management of Registerable Child Sex Offenders and the Management of Serious Violent Offenders across the State of NSW. She also holds responsibility for the NSW Police response to Modern Slavery including Human trafficking and Forced Marriage.

Detective Superintendent DOHERTY has been a committee member on the Australasian Council of Women and Policing for the past 5 years driving change for women in Policing and the Community across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.

In 2022 Detective Superintendent DOHERTY was awarded the Australian Police Medal in the Australia Day Honours list for distinguished service.

In 2023 Detective Superintendent DOHERTY was recognized at the International Women in Policing conference in New Zealand for her work leading the New South Wales Police Force, Sexual Violence Project.

Detective Superintendent DOHERTY is proud to be a working mother who, along with her husband Danny who is the Commander of the NSW Police Homicide Squad, has raised 2 wonderful daughters during her career.

Detective Sergeant Ellen Quinn is the NSW Police Force State Crime Command, Sex Crimes Squad, Investigations Manager. She has spent most of her 21-year policing career investigating sexual violence and related offences, including child protection offences, in State Crime Command and in criminal investigations offices throughout the Sydney metropolitan area. 

Ellen has provided expertise to partner agencies on trauma-informed victim care and detailed the victim experience in the documentary film Ghosthunter. Ellen has long been an advocate for a victim-centric and trauma-informed approach to sexual violence investigations, to not only ensure better outcomes for victim-survivors but to produce higher quality criminal investigations.

Due to her background and passion for victim based crime Ellen was selected as a Project Officer to transform the NSW Police response to sexual violence to ensure a victim centric and trauma informed response.

Ellen is a proud working mother who has raised 2 wonderful daughters during her career.

Catherine Fitzpatrick founded Flequity Ventures to disrupt financial abuse and gender bias through more flexible, safe and equitable product and service design. Her groundbreaking 2022 Designed to Disrupt report for the Centre for Women’s Safety has led to 14 Australian banks including financial abuse in their terms and conditions. In 2019, she instigated analysis that found patterns of abuse in payment descriptions, and successfully advocated for the Australian banking industry to take collective action to respond.

Prior to embarking on social entrepreneurship, Catherine established and led specialist customer vulnerability teams at two of Australia’s leading banks, drawing on more than two decades of experience in diverse roles across ASX-listed companies, the not-for-profit sector, government, and journalism.

Known for her passion for gender equality and the role business can play to end family and domestic violence, Catherine is Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales School of Social Sciences and holds several government and university advisory and governance positions.

She was recognised nationally in 2018 as an AFR|Qantas 100 Women of Influence for her work as the architect of Commonwealth Bank’s domestic and family violence strategy.

Hayley Foster BBus(Ec), BLaws(Hons), GDLP, GFDRP, GAICD is a recognised leader and authoritative voice on gender and sex-based violence, harassment and discrimination. Over the past decade, in multiple roles, Hayley has led and advised on substantial reforms at the state and federal levels, including but not limited to the criminalisation of coercive control, affirmative sexual consent laws, a national curriculum on respectful relationships, paid domestic violence leave, and family law reform. Hayley is a trusted advisor to boards and executives of ASX listed companies, as well as Australian governments, the judiciary, the university sector, and a range of community organisations. Her work centres on supporting leaders to drive cultural change within their organisations and across their respective sectors and industries to create safer, more inclusive, and more respectful communities, free from gender and sex-based discrimination. Current advisory positions include membership on the Commonwealth Advisory Group for the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032 and the Fair Work Commission’s Sexual Harassment Working Group.

Anne Hollonds commenced as National Children’s Commissioner in November 2020.

Before her appointment to the role, Anne was the Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, an independent statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for conducting research and providing advice on child and family wellbeing. In this role she was also Director of the Australian Gambling Research Centre.

For more than 23 years Anne was a Chief Executive Officer of government and non-government organisations focussed on research, policy and service delivery in health, education and social services. Anne has had extensive front-line experience including in child protection, out-of-home care, domestic and family violence, child and family therapy, parenting education, and mental health.

Anne currently contributes to several advisory boards and councils, including the Family Law Council, the National Plan Advisory Group, the National Child Maltreatment Study, and the NSW Domestic and Family Violence and Sexual Assault Council.

Anne has a professional background as a psychologist and social worker, combined with an MBA, and has completed international executive programs in strategy and leadership at Harvard and Stanford universities.

Kate Fitz-Gibbon is Director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre and a Professor of Social Sciences in the Faculty of Arts, Monash University (Victoria, Australia). She also holds affiliated research appointments with the School of Law and Social Justice at University of Liverpool (UK) and the Research Center on Violence at West Virginia University (US). Kate is an internationally recognised scholar in the field of family violence, femicide, criminal justice responses to violence against women, and the impact of law reform in Australia and internationally. The findings of her research have been published in leading academic journals and books.

Kate has advised on homicide law reform, family violence and youth justice reviews in several Australian and international jurisdictions. Her research has been cited by the High Court of Australia. In 2021 she was appointed Chair of Respect Victoria by the Victorian Government.

Superintendent Danielle Emerton APM commenced her policing career in 1994 (30 years). 

Her primarily operational / front-line career has seen her work at Newtown, Redfern, Eastwood, The Hills, Northern Beaches, Burwood and Auburn Police Area Commands.

She has completed a Bachelor of Secondary Education with Honours at Sydney University, a Bachelor of Policing Degree, a Diploma of Management, and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Management. 

In 2004 she was Assistant to Commissioner Ken Maroney’s Chief of Staff. 

She was involved in the Redfern Riots as part of the Sydney District Operational Support Group (OSG) and was part of the Incident Response Group for the Maroubra Riots. 

In 2014, she attained the rank of Inspector performing tactical duties at Burwood and Northern Beaches Police Area Commands. 

During 2017 and 2018, she was Staff Officer for two South West Metropolitan Region Commanders. 

From 2016 to 2021, she relieved extensively as Police Area Commander in all three Metropolitan Regions. 

Supt Emerton developed the iLead Women’s Development Program which is currently contributing to significant development and advancement of female officers within the NSW Police Force. 

From 2021 to 2023 she was the Commander of Auburn Police Area Command. 

Supt Emerton is a Counter Terrorism Pioneer Commander. 

In January 2023 Supt EMERTON was awarded the Australian Police Medal for her meritorious policing service.

Supt EMERTON is the Commissioner’s Representative on the NSW Police Legacy Board.

In April 2023, Supt EMERTON was appointed as Commander of the Domestic and Family Violence Registry (DFVR), and she briefs both the Corporate Sponsor and Owner regarding all issues central to domestic and family violence. She is responsible for the creation and implementation of the DFVR and she leads the coordination of Operation AMAROK. She is also a member of the DCJ/Attorney’s Committee to recommend High Risk Offender referrals.  

Carolyn Robinson is an Educator and the Founder/Managing Director of Beyond DV, a Brisbane-based charity which was established in 2017 after her younger daughter was impacted by domestic violence. 

Beyond DV is focused on supporting women and children as they rebuild their lives, through innovative recovery programs and services underpinned by their “Five Pillars of Recovery” Framework and delivered from their three secure centres across Brisbane. These centres have become a “home away from home” for many DFV survivors- places where families can heal, supported by professionals and peers.

In 2022, Beyond DV established the HOPE Hub at Westfield Carindale. The first of its kind in Australia, this highly secure and accessible space has been accessed by more than 2000 community members seeking support around social issues, with a focus on domestic violence and mental health. 

In 2023, Beyond DV opened Hannah’s Sanctuary, a nine-townhouse transitional housing complex in partnership with a Brisbane developer and Small Steps 4 Hannah. Nine families representing eight nationalities are currently rebuilding their lives after DFV, supported by the Beyond DV team and with full access to their suite of recovery programs.

Carolyn is also the creator of the highly innovative Love&Learn Teen Relationship App which helps young people to identify healthy and unhealthy relationships.

Carolyn is the current Chair of the Australian Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Recovery Alliance, which was launched in May 2022. The Alliance brings together the voices of frontline workers, academics, corporates and lived experience community members to advocate on the importance of long-term, holistic, trauma-informed and culturally appropriate recovery programs for women and children impacted by domestic, family and sexual violence, as a critical form of prevention.

The desire to turn a negative experience into something positive will continue to be a focus for Carolyn and the Beyond DV Team. 

Melissa joined the Queensland Police Service in 1991 after having completed her secondary education the year prior. After a short period in uniform Police Melissa was appointed to the Redcliffe Criminal Investigation Branch, being the first female appointed to the CIB in that District and working at various suburban CIB units. Melissa achieved extensive experience as a regional Detective primarily investigating rape offences, including those committed in marriage, and lead investigator in a number of domestic and family violence (DFV) homicides. 

Following 13 years as a regional Detective Melissa was appointed to the Officer in Charge of a Prosecution Corp where she was the senior prosecutor for DFV and serious and violent crimes. In 2015 Melissa was promoted to Senior Sergeant in Strategic Policy Branch, where she assisted in leading the QPS implementation activities associated with the recommendations of the Not Now: Not Ever Report. 

Melissa is currently the Inspector Manager of the State DFV & Vulnerable Persons Unit, and was instrumental in implementing the DFV Specialist Courts, being the first specialist DFV courts established in Queensland, earning a joint agency Prime Ministers award for innovation and collaboration in a high performing initiative and Commissioners Outstanding Award. She later developed and implemented the Queensland Drug & Alcohol Court. 

Melissa has recently provided evidence at the Commission of Inquiry into Police responses to DFV, led the development of DFV frontline and specialist training for the QPS with academics and leading non-government organisations, earning a Highly Commended Award at the 2023 International ACWAP awards, and Commissioners Outstanding Award. The training was endorsed by ANROWS as best-practice and was shared to the Policing National Professional Standards Forum to assist interstate training development. Melissa holds post-graduate qualification in DFV. 

Melissa recently returned from the 2023 International Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Conference in Chicago and she is a member of two external Boards to enhance collective responses to DFV. Her experiences instilled in her a desire to improve the system to change the outcomes for women and children and hold perpetrators to account.

As CEO of Women’s Community Shelters, Annabelle Daniel OAM, has worked with local communities around NSW to establish and open eight shelters at Hornsby, Forster, Castle Hill, Penrith, Bayside, Parramatta and Revesby.  She has also been instrumental in the ongoing success of the very first WCS shelter which opened in Manly in 2010. (Now known as Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter.)

She has collaborated with a range of organisations, individuals and stakeholders, from the community and all levels of government to achieve change in the field of homelessness for women and children.

Annabelle is continuing this work to establish further shelters throughout NSW and is currently working with the community in Camden to open shelter number nine in the WCS network.

Annabelle is also the Chair of DV NSW.

Leveraging expert insights on domestic abuse to drive positive change and empowerment: My experience in advocating for domestic abuse awareness, by sharing my personal story of 20 years of domestic abuse and my healing journey while working collaboratively with organisations such as NSW Police, Catholic Care, Catholic Archdiocese, News, Domestic Violence services, and NSW schools, as well as my proven leadership qualities, have equipped me to be a committed leader who can successfully drive conformity, quality, and performance in the field of domestic violence awareness and empowerment.

A proud Wiradjuri woman and First Nations advocate, Cecilia is a decicated connector and educator who is passionate about self determination, and learning from the past to inform a better future. Driven by a desire to empower others, Cecilia leans into her lived experience to inspire and inform with stories of recovery and renewal.

With a background in counselling and a deep understanding of stakeholder engagement, Cecilia is recognised for shining a light on the impact of domestic violence and coercive control, particularly through the lens of regional Aboriginal women.

Through her engagement in government initiatives she is paving the way for a coalition of voices and action towards delivering more effective services for men and women in regional Australia, and accessible, culturally informed services for First Nations victim survivors.

Cecilia is a classically trained vocalist who has performed on multiple stages across Australia, using the power of story and song for conveying hope and sharing perspectives. When not a stage speaking or performing, Cecilia is living life to the full with her beautiful daughters and partner on their rural property in the Southern Tablelands.

Jess is a passionate and fierce advocate for survivors in the realms of family, domestic, and sexual violence. Her dedication in advocacy extends across the mental health, suicide prevention, and disability sectors.

In mid-2023, Jess joined the NSW Department of Communities and Justice’s Coercive Control Lived Expertise Taskforce. This advisory group has provided her with a platform to amplify the voices of individuals with disabilities and the LGBTIQA+ community. Through this group, she has had numerous opportunities to engage audiences on the impacts and insidious nature of tech-facilitated abuse on victims. Jess leverages her personal adversities to educate, inform, and advise from a trauma-informed perspective. Having experienced multiple incidents of gender-based violence, she is committed to educating others about the injustices she has faced.

Jess holds degree qualifications in Information Technology and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Psychological Science.

Jane Caro AM is a Walkley Award winning columnist, author, novelist, broadcaster, documentary maker, feminist and social commentator. She spent 35 years as an award winning copywriter and 7 years teaching Advertising Creative in the School of Communication Arts at Western Sydney University. These days she is a full time writer, social commentator, speaker and broadcaster.

She has published thirteen books, including a trilogy of novels about Elizabeth Tudor Just a Girl, Just a Queen and Just Flesh & Blood, a memoir Plain Speaking Jane, and Accidental Feminists about the life story of women over 50. Her latest book, her first novel for adults, The Mother, is a bestseller.

She appears frequently on The Drum & Today Extra. She created and presented 5 documentary series for ABC Compass, airing in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. She is in demand as a speaker, panel facilitator and MC. She writes a regular column in Nine Media and her opinion pieces and articles appear frequently in The Saturday Paper, The Guardian and The Big Smoke. She has 175,000 followers on Twitter.

She is on the board of The Public Education Foundation.

Dr Gabrielle Morrissey is a distinguished academic, author, experienced not-for-profit CEO and media commentator on all aspects of relationships, from the healthy to the unhealthy. The author of 3 books, 17 years as a newspaper columnist, and former host of a nationally syndicated radio show on sex and love, Dr Gabrielle has listened to and helped every kind of relationship. Through her professorships at medical schools in the US and Australia, she has conducted research on what makes a relationship good or bad and shares her insights internationally at conferences and presentations. With lived experience of abuse of her own, she is passionate about children’s wellbeing, breaking the cycles of violence, and helping women in need as the CEO of Women and Children First, a leading domestic abuse and family violence prevention and response organisation.

Rebecca founded the Centre for Women’s Economic Safety (CWES) to raise awareness of economic abuse as a form of domestic and family violence and advocate for structural and systems change to support women’s economic safety. From 2018 to 2021 she worked at Insight Exchange; a domestic violence initiative with a focus on resistance and responses to violence and abuse.

Before Insight Exchange and CWES, she worked for Australia’s largest bank developing its employee financial wellbeing program. As a member of the Commonwealth Bank’s Domestic and Family Violence Working Group, Rebecca worked with a range of experts to develop the Women’s Financial Wellbeing Guide and partnered with Domestic Violence New South Wales to produce the Addressing Financial Abuse Guide. She also led development of the bank’s first Financial Inclusion Action Plan.

Rebecca previously led the Communications and Marketing function at Australia’s peak body for superannuation, ASFA, and was the Campaign Director for MoneySmart Week before being appointed founding CEO of not-for-profit organisation, Financial Literacy Australia in 2013.

In 2019, she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to investigate service responses to women experiencing or escaping domestic economic abuse in the UK, USA and Canada. In 2021, she was named an AMP Foundation Tomorrow Maker.

Fran Jacka is the Director of MARAM and Information Sharing, with Family Safety Victoria. Fran is a qualified legal practitioner with 12 years’ experience in the Victorian government, with a focus on leading risk assessment and management reforms arising from the Royal Commission into Family Violence. Fran is the lead author of the Family Violence Multi Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework and Practice Guides, and contributing designer to the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme. The MARAM reform program has facilitated contribution from thousands of practitioners, academics and community members, leading to changes to how we respond to adult and child victim survivors and adults using family violence.

Fran also leads and advises on policy design for system-wide reforms related to coercive control practice responses, misidentification and predominant aggressor system responses, common recognition of suicide and family violence risk, recognition of child victim survivors of family violence, adolescent family violence and ongoing practice reforms related to coordinated and collaborative practice responses.

Lara is the Executive Officer of Women’s Legal Services Australia. She is passionate about improving access to specialist legal assistance for women who have experienced family, domestic and sexual violence. Lara has dedicated her career to advocating for law reform and policy development to address violence against women and gender inequality. She has held policy roles with Women’s Legal Service Queensland, Women’s Legal Service Victoria, Victoria Legal Aid, and the Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria. Prior to this, she worked as a Ministerial Adviser in the Victorian Government to improve supports for victim-survivors of crime, and as an Adviser for Members of Federal Parliament. She also sits on the Board of Flat Out, an organisation dedicated to supporting women, trans and gender diverse people who have been criminalised.

Shelly is the Head of Programs at The Zahra Foundation. She brings extensive experience in vocational education and training management, focusing on program and resource development and compliance.

Shelly is a prominent community leader in the Domestic and Family Violence sector. She runs arts and creative programs designed to empower women with lived experiences and actively engages with government bodies to advocate for women’s voices in decision-making processes.

Amie Carrington, is a passionate leader, dedicated to ending gender-based violence. Amie is the CEO of the Domestic Violence Action Centre, the largest regional specialist domestic, family and sexual violence service in Queensland. DVAC provides frontline supports to victim survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence to increase safety and healing. DVAC also provides specialist men’s behaviour change services. Amie also holds influential positions as the Chair of the Women’s Services Network Board, and Co-Chair of Ending Violence Against Women and children Queensland.

After graduating from high school in 1998, Rowena commenced a Bachelor of Applied Science before completing a Bachelor of Justice, graduating in 2002. Rowena joined the Queensland Police Service in 2002, commencing her career in general duties policing both across the Gold Coast and Redcliffe Districts, before embarking in an intelligence role in the Brisbane region. 

Rowena’s passion for investigating domestic and family violence was developed whilst working as a District Domestic and Family Violence Coordinator (DFVC) in Mount Isa as well as a general duties officer and DVLO in Normanton, an Aboriginal community in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Rowena is passionate about improving the sharing of information between all services responding to Domestic and Family Violence and has developed a strong passion for educating police and community members about Domestic and Family Violence particularly on the risks associated with Sexual Violence, Strangulation and Coercive Control.

Rowena is married to a fellow officer and has two sports mad sons, and two spoilt Cavoodles.  Rowena and Simon relocated their family to Brisbane in 2019 to be closer to family support and it was at this time, Rowena commenced working in the State Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Unit. 

Rowena is highly regarded across the Queensland Police Service and external to the QPS and is renowned for her expertise and knowledge of domestic and family violence matters and her friendly disposition. Rowena has recently been promoted to Inspector, Advocacy and Coordination, in the Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Command where she hopes to help bridge the gap between our service sector and Police. Rowena recently lead the QPS DFV&VP Command Training Unit after supporting the QPS response to the Commission of Inquiry where she reinvigorated her personal commitment to doing more to protect vulnerable persons in our community. 

Chez has over 20 years’ experience conducting research and evaluation in university and community contexts. After working as a sessional academic and Research Officer on mental health, housing affordability and homelessness projects, she was appointed Post-Doctoral Fellow on a Marsden-funded project addressing the social, cultural and emotional dimensions of homelessness. After moving to Australia in 2011, Chez returned to the community sector working in disability research before moving to her current role as Research & Knowledge Translation Manager at UnitingCare in 2015. At UnitingCare, Chez is responsible for developing and managing research projects, which are usually conducted in partnership with university-based researchers and students, and building organisational capacity to improve practice based on evidence. In addition to the current project on coercive control in family law programs, Chez has managed and contributed to projects addressing men’s behaviour change programs, child-inclusive practice, staff wellbeing, responses to loneliness and elder abuse. She is experienced in co-design and participatory approaches, knowledge translation and the engagement of practitioners and clients in research.

Dr Silke Meyer is the Leneen Forde Chair in Child and Family Research and a Professor of Social Work at Griffith University. She is the former Deputy Director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre and continues to hold an adjunct appointment with the Centre. She is a criminologist and social worker by training, bringing practical and theoretical expertise to her research, teaching and writing. Her research centres on different aspects of domestic and family violence, including women and children’s safety, wellbeing and recovery, men’s accountability in their role as perpetrators and fathers, experiences specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the role of domestic and family violence-informed practice in child protection, policing and court proceedings.

Silke has delivered evaluations for a number of government and non-government organisations, including police, child protection, perpetrator intervention and victim support services. She is a Subject Matter Expert for the Raising Children Network and a former non-government member of the inaugural Qld Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board. Her research has been published and cited across disciplines and continues to inform policy and practice in areas of victim, perpetrator and family-related service delivery.

Tanya Whitehouse OAM has worked at the Macarthur Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service for 30 years, supporting and walking alongside victim survivors of Domestic and Family Violence. She was the Deputy Chair of Blue Wren House – Camden Women’s Shelter until recently and was an integral part of the setting up for this Shelter. Blue Wren House is a new Shelter is in the Camden LGA and works under the Women’s Community Shelter umbrella. Tanya is the Convenor of Camden/Wollondilly DV Committee and member of Campbelltown DV Committee. She participates in community consultations and committees in the sector. In 2015 Tanya was awarded the Justice Medal with the Law and Justice Foundation. In 2018 she was named Camden Woman of the Year and in 2020 received an OAM for her service to the community through welfare initiatives. 

Tanya’s focus and passion is to be the voice for those women who haven’t yet found theirs. Her goal is to empower women so that they feel safe with their children and challenge the inequities that come with the complexities of Domestic Violence. Her mantra is “underestimate me, that will be fun”!

Helen is an Emergency Physician working in Campbelltown, NSW. Helen is passionate about improving the recognition and response to domestic violence victim-survivors attending the emergency department. Emergency departments respond to people at times of crisis, and increasingly we are recognising the broad ranging health crises that families experiencing violence encounter, and how a positive encounter can change trajectories.

Hala is the founder and director of Global Echo Consultants, and the Institute of non-violence. Her focus is gender equity and antiracism, acknowledging these are linked to economic and environmental justice. She specialises in working with individuals who use family and domestic violence, as well as providing professional training and clinical supervision to practitioners in the space.

Since 2003, Hala has spoken at various local, national, and international conferences as well as various radio and TV programs, in Australia and overseas. A receiver of several awards including the Victorian Award for Multicultural Affairs, an attendee at the Australian 2020 Summit in 2008, and a Vincent Fairfax Fellow since 2009. Hala is also the presenter of Groupwork Centre’s podcast Facilitate This! 

A lover of languages, people and creativity, Hala has lived, travelled, and worked in more than 50 countries and across the not-for-profit, public and private sectors.

Ajsela Siskovic is the Executive Manager of Legal Services and Principal Lawyer of inTouch Women’s Legal Centre, which is a fully integrated legal centre within inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence.  inTouch Women’s Legal Centre is a specialist legal centre for migrant and refugee women with a focus on family violence, family law, migration and victims of crime law.  Prior to joining inTouch, Ajsela worked as a senior lawyer in Civil Justice Program at Victoria Legal Aid practising in administrative law including merits review and judicial review in social security and complex NDIS matters.

Thelma Schwartz is the Principal Legal Officer of the Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS), an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisation providing legal and non-legal support services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and survivors of family violence and sexual assault in Queensland. Thelma is a legal practitioner with more than 24 years post-admission experience and identifies as of Torres Strait Islander heritage alongside her German, Samoan and Papua New Guinean heritage. Thelma has worked extensively with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in regional and remote Queensland, in both capacities representing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander defendants in the criminal justice system as well as advocating for victims and survivors of family violence and sexual assault. In 2018 Thelma was awarded the Regional Woman Lawyer of the Year by the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland. She was also an award finalist in the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards in 2019 and 2020 in the categories of Indigenous Lawyer of the Year, Not-for-Profit Lawyer of the Year and the Women in Law Excellence Award in 2019. In 2021, Thelma was awarded the Advancement of Women Award from the Zonta Club of Brisbane and in 2021 Thelma was also awarded the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards 201  Indigenous Lawyer of the Year. Thelma served as a member of the Queensland Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce, which produced the Hear Her Voice Reports 1 and 2 and is a current member of the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel.

Regan is a proud Wiradjuri / Ngunnawal woman born and raised in Cowra NSW. Regan has spent the last ten years as a front-line domestic violence specialist at a Redfern based, grassroots NGO providing long term, intensive and culturally responsive casework to women and children experiencing domestic violence and abuse.  Regan’s role involved managing a domestic violence service and working closely with the Executive leadership team across the organisation, to educate and empower staff and communities to end gender-based violence.

 Regan is a fierce advocate for prevention, gender equality, attitudinal and systemic change around domestic and family violence and abuse. She is highly recognised in the sector and community as a skilled source of knowledge and expert in the complex intersections and nuances that exist for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experiencing gender based violence. 

 Regan has recently joined Our Watch, a national leader of primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia. As Head of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategy, Regan provides important cultural insight that informs Our Watch’s strategies, plans and policies appropriately to prioritise ending violence towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children. 

Regan has recently held positions as the Chair of Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre, Executive Council member of Aboriginal Women’s Advisory Network (AWAN) and is currently a member of the DVNSW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Steering Committee.

Delilah is an Assyrian from Iraq who arrived Sydney in 1981 as a Refugee Humanitarian entrants.

Delilah has extensive experience of 20 years working with Refugees newly arrived through various agencies and has 7 years working with NSW Police as Multicultural Community Liaison Officer, supporting the Crime management unit and build bridges between the Multicultural Communities and the Police.

Currently working with NSW Department of Communities and Justice since 2012, assisting the multicultural community members in accessing the Department’ services, and up skill their knowledge of Law & System in Australia, throughout delivering many events including Religious & Community Leaders seminar on Responding to domestic and family violence, DFV sessions, Court open day, Law expos, and field visits to police stations and local courts where the aim is to break barriers between CALD community members and the authorities.

Delilah is a part of many interagency meetings and multicultural working groups and has shown initiative for and led many successful crime prevention projects to support refugees and newly arrived migrants, and the winner of 2012 NSW Humanitarian award.

Fatima Sayed is the Domestic & Family Violence Specialist at Advance Diversity Services, working with both individuals and groups, building the capacity of diverse communities to effectively respond to DFV. She migrated to Australia from Lebanon in 2010 after finishing her Master of Law in Beirut and since 2018 has worked in numerous roles empowering migrants and refugees in settlement. Passionate about human rights and social justice, she has a special interest in women’s rights. In her words “I love working with people and am always energised by the impact that positive change brings to their lives.”

Hannah Taylor-Civitarese, a proud Kamilaroi woman, holds a deep hope for First Nations women to be at the centre of coercive control conversations, legislative changes, and reform. Currently pursuing her PhD through the University of Queensland, with experience in international social work, her research centers on the Intersectional factors of Coercive Control for First Nation women in Australia. 

Over the years, Hannah has been privileged to work with First Nation communities in the implementation of health and wellness programs at both state and national levels. 

Her passion for intersectionality has included the award winning 1800RESPECT disability pathways project. 1800RESPECT is the first and only national Telehealth service to be accredited the Communication Access Symbol twice. She is also currently enjoying her role as National Cultural Coordinator for 1800RESPECT. All while juggling being a mother to a vibrant 2 year old and three step children. 

Hannah’s journey began in child protection, where she learned the systemic challenges within Indigenous communities. Motivated to drive change, her commitment to advocacy led her to work with human trafficking task forces in England and the United States, specialising in the rescue and rehabilitation of human trafficking victims. She has also been privileged to have a role in crafting strategies for rehabilitating children involved in sexual offenses. 

Hannah is determined for people to know they always have a hope, they are always valued and they have every right to live free from coercive control.

Mary Jo McVeigh is the founder and CEO of Consultancy. She is a proud Belfast Irish woman, radical social worker and activist, dedicated family member, and friend. Mary Jo completed her Honours degree in social science in 1983 and a master’s degree in social work in 1986. Mary Jo is in the final stages of completing her PhD at the University of Sydney.

Mary Jo is acknowledged as an expert in child protection and rights-informed intervention. She has written many training packages and widely published within the profession.

She was a finalist for the NSW Woman of the Year award, 2018. She was awarded the Allied Health Australian Social Worker of the Year award 2019, Canada Bay Citizen of the year award 2020, and Order of Australia medal for social work services to children and young people, and she held the Australian social worker of the year award 2022.

Kate is a Domestic Family Violence and Children’s Services Sector Leader with over 20 years experience working in the sector in Ireland and Australia . Kate has unique experience of working with both Victim Survivors (Women and Children)of gender based violence and working with men who choose to perpetrate this violence. Kate is an experienced leader in the DFV and Children’s Service sector and has led NSW state programs as well as operational and clinical leadership in NFP organisations. Kate is experienced in practice and clinical leadership, staff development and coaching, practice frameworks and programming. Kate thrives in sector engagement, strategic thinking and advocacy.  Kate is a published author, podcast and conference presenter and sits on an editorial board for a Children’s Practice Journal. Kate is a proud Celtic Social Worker (2001), Play Therapist (2006), Clinical Supervisor and Sector Leader. 

Mary-Ann is a Social Worker with significant experience in working with children, young people and families who have experienced abuse related trauma and family violence. She has a particular interest in using narrative, relational, strengths and sensorimotor based approaches in supporting children, young people and their families to heal from, and reconnect, following their experiences of abuse and violence. 

Mary-Ann has worked at the Australian Childhood Foundation for 18 years.  For the last 8 years, Mary-Ann has held the role of Therapeutic Services Victoria Program Manager at the Foundation, during which time she has helped establish and lead therapeutic family violence teams, therapeutic care teams and teams working in the education space in both metropolitan and regional Victoria.  Prior to joining the Australian Childhood Foundation, Mary-Ann worked in out of home care and child protection.

Mary-Ann had a significant role in the research and development of the Safe and Secure Practice Framework, which has become an important educational and practice tool in the Victorian family violence sector. She has also had an active role in family violence workforce development, through the provision of supervision, training and reflective practice. 

Mary-Ann is a sitting member of the Eastern Regional Family Violence Partnership’s Implementation Committee and the Eastern Region Family Violence Partnership’s Therapeutic Working Group.

Tara Hunter is the Director of Clinical and Client Services at Full Stop Australia. With a Master of Social Work and various certifications in workplace training and family dispute resolution, Tara brings a wealth of expertise to her role.

Tara provides leadership for all Full Stop Australia’s helplines and sexual abuse counselling services. She also oversees the national training and consulting practice and holds executive responsibility for Full Stop’s clinical Governance Framework.

As a member of the NSW Women’s Advisory Council, Tara also represents Full Stop Australia on various government and non-government advisory bodies, including contributing insights to NSW Police. Prior to her current role, Tara served as the Manager of the Northern Sydney Sexual Assault Service for Northern Sydney Area Health, where she led the 24/7 integrated sexual assault response and ongoing psychosocial care across the Northern Sydney Local Health District.

Tara’s extensive experience includes her previous role as the State Social Worker for Family Planning NSW, where she led clinical social work provision, service development, professional education, and call centre management. Her background in managing sexual assault support services within the public health network system, guiding teams through complex caseloads, and advocating on key law reform matters, such as sexual consent, positions her as a valuable contributor to the national conversation on ending violence and abuse.

Committed to a client-centred approach, Tara aims to build stable and reliable trauma-specialist systems that support clients and front-line workers. Simultaneously, she actively addresses the underlying systemic and social causes of gender-based violence.

Di is a daughter, wife, mother and grandmother, founder and current Director of the Gold Coast Centre Against Sexual Violence Inc., Chair of the Red Rose Foundation, Vice Chair of the Queensland Sexual Assault Network, member of the Queensland Sexual Violence Prevention Roundtable and Expert Advisory Panel member of Australian Institute for Strangulation Prevention.

Di has worked in the area of gender-based violence for over 45 years as a care provider, counsellor, refuge worker, advocate, educator and service manager in New Zealand and Australia. She was instrumental in securing the funding for and the development of the Gold Coast Domestic Violence Service and Macleod Women’s Refuge, which is named after her.

Di developed the inaugural Sexual Violence Awareness Month Campaign on the Gold Coast. This is now a formal Queensland wide event observed every October and she also brought  the global Start by Believing Campaign to Australia .

Di continues to be a strong advocate for timely, ethical and effective responses that increase victim/survivor safety and  hold offenders accountable for their actions.

Sarah Williams is a proud Awabakal woman and founder and CEO of What Were You Wearing Australia (WWYW), a not-for-profit organisation fighting to end sexual violence. In 2023, Sarah led a nightlife safety campaign where she collected more than 20,000 signatures on a petition to the NSW Government. This resulted in mandated drink spiking education for all venue and bar staff in NSW, amending Responsible Service of Alcohol laws. In January 2024, Sarah also successfully amended the ACT RSA too. WWYW has attracted more than 250,000 followers on social media, where it shares information on sexual violence, consent, and human rights issues. 

 Sarah in 2022 developed Australia’s first sexual assault service for music festivals. This is a safe space for people affected by sexual assault or harassment, and is now in place at more than 30 festivals a year. 

Sarah volunteers more than 50 hours a week to run survivor healing groups, monitor festival safe spaces and educate people on sexual violence. In recognition of her work, she was named Newcastle Woman of the Year 2023, won the Community Service Award at the NSW/ACT Young Achiever Awards 2023, was a finalist in the Australian Human Rights Awards – Young People’s Award 2023 and is a current finalist of the NSW Young Woman of the Year Awards!

Lizette Twisleton is the Head of Engagement at No to Violence. She has worked in the human and community services sector for over 30 years for NGO’s and in local government. Lizette has experience in domestic and family violence having worked with victim-survivors, and men who use family violence. She has a background in nursing, youth work, health promotion and community development. She has specialised in men’s behaviour change work over the past twenty years, twelve years as a men’s behaviour change program facilitator, three years delivering partner contact and six years leading Sector Development projects and strategies at No to Violence.

Lizette is passionate about working collectively and collaboratively to create lasting safety for families.

lizettet@ntv.org.au

Geraldine is a victim-survivor of intimate partner violence and has shared her experiences across several media outlets.  In 2021 she completed her Graduate Certificate in Family Violence and is currently undertaking a Master of Politics and Policy.

Geraldine was previously Deputy Chair of the Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council and is a current board member of Kara Family Violence Service. In  2022 Geraldine received an Australia Day Local Champion Award for her dedication to preventing family violence in the Mornington Peninsula region. She is passionate about seeing the use of lived expertise in family violence work progress.