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.