With a passion for social justice, women’s safety, and gendered equity, coupled with a history of shaking up systems and transforming services, Kelly-ann has over 15 years of industry experience in Australia across practice, leadership, policy, systems change, and law reform. She brings a wealth of energy and vision to her role as CEO at Zahra Foundation Australia, where she collaborates with her board and team to support women and non-binary folks impacted by domestic abuse, aiming to break the cycle of violence through economic empowerment programs and services.
Originally from the UK, Kelly-ann has worked across government, private and not-for-profit sectors. She initially trained in Psychology in the UK and is currently studying her MBA in Social Impact at UNSW.
A strong advocate for intersectional feminism and inclusive domestic abuse practice, Kelly-ann has held numerous leadership roles across government committees, networks, and boards. Notably, she was appointed to the Queensland Women’s and Girls Safety and Justice Taskforce in 2021 by the Queensland’s Attorney-General, contributing significantly to recommendations around systems and law reform, including the criminalisation of coercive control.
Kelly-ann understands first-hand the complexities of responding to and preventing domestic abuse. She sees her role now as promoting, supporting, and advocating for the economic empowerment of women and young girls, as one of the solutions to prevention, response, healing, and creating a more fair, equal and safe society for everyone.