CETC - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Care Experience Resources and Training Specialist

This month, we are thrilled to welcome Billy Black to our team at the CETC as a Care Experience Resource and Training Specialist. Billy has... Billy is our Care Experience Resources and Training Specialist, leading the design and development of special projects, resources, and training that amplify the voices of children and young people in care. Active in systems advocacy for children in care from 15 years old, Billy has brought the child's experience to social worker training, carer training, participatory research, speaking events, carer accreditation panels, media appearances, and projects championing the voices of children. Since graduating from care, Billy has listened to and participated in hundreds of valuable stories from care alumni peers, families, social workers, and organisations to lay a fundamental work principle that all improvements to OOHC must empower children to safely lead their own stories with ample support from their trusted adults. Billy recently wrote and illustrated Roar!, a picture book designed to open conversations with young children about their valid reactions to unsafe feelings. Billy lives on the lands of the Wallumedegal clan, where all working hours are accompanied by the sounds of good children playing nicely.

Job Titles:

• Senior Specialist, Therapeutic Care

Working with young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviour is complex and challenging. Cyra Fernandes and Dan Howell have spent over a 1000 hours in the past... Cyra is our Senior Specialist, Therapeutic Residential Care. Her work with the CETC is focused on evolving understanding and education around harmful sexual behaviours and sexual exploitation. More recently she is also interested in understanding the needs of children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in out-of-home care and exploring how to best meet their needs Cyra Fernandes is a social worker and family therapist with extensive experience in working with children, young people and their families. For the past eighteen years, she has been working for the Australian Childhood Foundation in clinical, management and project roles. She has a wealth of experience in managing therapeutic out-of-home care programs and is a national leader in therapeutic work with children and young people with harmful sexual behaviours. She co-authored an article with Dr Russell Pratt exploring the role of pornography in young people's sexually abusive behaviour. Cyra lives on Wurundjeri country and likes to spend her time walking and running in the beautiful bush and forest area surrounding her home.

Job Titles:

• Accredited Mental Health Social Worker
• Senior Specialist, Therapeutic Care

Dan is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker who has worked extensively with children and young people who have experienced trauma and those who display harmful sexual behaviour. Dan has worked therapeutically with varying presentations including sibling sexual abuse, harmful sexual behaviour and sexual exploitation and abuse. Dan has supported a division of the Department of Human Services in Victoria in this area focusing on resourcing residential carers, case managers and clinical services with consultation, training and reflective practice and has delivered multiple workshops on harmful sexual behaviour including with the Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care. Dan is currently leading the development of the Northern Territories first community harmful sexual behaviour treatment service.

Job Titles:

• Director of Research

Dr McPherson brings a strong professional and academic background in child protection and out of home care spanning more than 30 years in practice, management, training and research. She has considerable research and organisational consultancy experience, including but not limited to evaluation of therapeutic care programs, numerous organisational consultancy and development projects and leadership, supervision and change management. In 1997, she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to examine international best practice in child protection. In 2017 Dr McPherson and Noel Macnamara released a book ‘Supervising Child Protection Practice: What Works?' An Evidence Informed Approach. This book was published and distributed internationally by Springer Publishers. Alongside Dr Lynne McPherson is an SCU based Research Team: Kathomi Gatwiri - Senior Research Officer (SCU) Nadine Cameron - Research Officer (SCU) Natalie Parmenter - Research Assistant (SCU). Lynne is our Director of Research. She leads the research agenda at the CETC in conjunction with her role as Associate Professor with Southern Cross University based in the Centre for Children and Young People in the Faculty of Health. Lynne publishes and teaches widely in child protection supervision, child, youth and family issues, and therapeutic care. She is currently leading a significant research project, funded jointly by the Australian Research Council and the CETC, to explore what practices contribute to positive identity formation in therapeutic care contexts. Lynne has spent more than 25 years as a senior social work manager and practice leader in child protection and the child, youth and family sector. She has been a practitioner, manager, training consultant and senior policy advisor. For over a decade, she was senior manager of the State-wide Professional Development and Workforce Strategy Unit for the Department of Human Services, Victoria, Australia. In 1997, she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to examine international best practices in child protection. In 2017 Dr McPherson and Noel Macnamara released the book ‘Supervising Child Protection Practice: What Works?' An Evidence-Informed Approach. Lynne lives on Bundjalung country.

Job Titles:

• Cultural Advisor

Glenda is our Cultural Advisor and works to deepen knowledge of cultural safety for children and young people and cultural supervision for staff in out-of-home care.

Job Titles:

• Senior Residential Care Advisor
• Senior Specialist, Therapeutic Residential Care

Glenys is our Senior Specialist, Therapeutic Residential Care where she advocates to ensure the needs of young people and residential workers are front and centre of what we do. Glenys has spent 35 years in therapeutic residential care as a care worker, manager, trainer, and organisational consultant. In 2003, Glenys was awarded the Robin Clark Award and later the Residential Care Learning & Development Strategy (RCLDS) Leadership Award in Residential Care for demonstrating achievement and innovation having a significant impact on residential care systems and outcomes for children and young people. Glenys is passionate about providing relevant and up-to-date industry-informed training and caring for the workers who care for the young people. Glenys recently completed her Doctor of Education researching what makes a good residential worker - Artistry Fact or Fiction? Glenys lives on lands of the Wurrundjeri Woi Wurrung People of the Kulin Nation with her family, and two dogs that can sometimes be heard snoring in the background of online meetings.

Job Titles:

• Training & Digital Learning Manager

Jacqui has a background in education and training and has previous experience working as a social worker in the out-of-home care sector. She has a unique combination of skills across performance consulting, instructional design, and as a facilitator and content writer. Jacqui has always felt driven to support the needs of children and young people and is a strong advocate of youth mental health. In 2018, Jacqui founded the Gratefulness wellbeing program, now delivered as an online program to primary school students across Australia. Throughout her career, Jacqui has consulted with a wide range of both government and non-government organisations, including the NSW government, TAFE NSW, Westpac Bank, PCYC, and the Mental Health Coordinating Council, and has more recently been involved in co-producing content for the new Healthy Minds app; which is an initiative of the Australian government and the Raising Children Network. Jacqui is particularly interested in trauma-informed care and understanding the impact trauma can have on an individual's physical, emotional, and mental health. She is keen to help professionals and individuals take this framework from a place of ‘knowing' to ‘doing' through practical and engaging e-Learning and training.

Job Titles:

• DIRECTOR

As far back as 2002 in the creation of the Catalyst Program, Mitchell developed what was Australia's first therapeutic foster care program and one of... Janise is the Director of the CETC and the Deputy CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation. She completed a Master of Social Work in 2008 in which she researched the implementation of therapeutic foster care in Victoria. In doing so, she researched best practice elements in therapeutic models of care and looked at the change process required to move an existing way of delivering care to a therapeutic model of service delivery. Janise has 30 years' experience in the field of child protection and therapeutic care. She has extensive experience providing consultancy to governments and organisations, policy analysis, program development and evaluation. Janise is the lead editor of a Handbook on Therapeutic Care to be published in September 2019 by Jessica Kingsley. Janise is our Director and Deputy CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation. She leads the CETC across all knowledge mobilisation, research, practice, government relations, and stakeholder engagement activities. Janise is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Southern Cross University. Janise is a social worker and child rights advocate with extensive experience in child protection and therapeutic care. Janise has written and practised widely in therapeutic out-of-home care, from policy analysis to organisational change management. Janise is a thought leader in therapeutic out-of-home care, with her 2008 Master of Social Work exploring the best practice elements of therapeutic foster care. She has led the evolution of the CETC from a state-based intermediary to a nationally recognised provider of training and knowledge mobilisation in the field of out-of-home care in tandem with her role as Deputy CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation. She is a Board member of The National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse and member of a range of National and State/Territory based Expert Panels and Advisory Groups. Janise has published widely in academic journals and edited collections, including the Handbook of Therapeutic Care for Children: Evidenced informed approaches to working with traumatised children and adolescents in foster, kinship and adoptive care. She lives on Wurundjeri Country. Janise has published widely in academic journals and edited collections, including the Handbook of Therapeutic Care for Children: Evidenced informed approaches to working with traumatised children and adolescents in foster, kinship and adoptive care. She lives on Wurundjeri Country.

Job Titles:

• CEO of Australian Childhood Foundation
• CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation

Joe is the CEO of the Australian Childhood Foundation and shapes the delivery and strategy of the CETC as a division of the Australian Childhood Foundation. Joe is a registered psychologist and social worker with significant experience in child protection and working therapeutically with children. He has worked in the field of child abuse intervention and education for more than 30 years. Joe is well known for his training and writing about the neurobiology of trauma and the effects of violation on the development of children and young people. He has been a consultant to various State Government Departments on child protection, family violence, youth justice and child welfare evaluative projects. He has experience developing and implementing child-focused therapeutic programs and child abuse prevention campaigns. He has also served on several advisory bodies, including the Australian Council for Children and Parenting. Joe completed his Doctorate in emotional child abuse at Monash University in 2005. He has presented at national and international family therapy and child abuse conferences. His writing has been published in Australian and international academic journals and the broader media. He lives on Wurundjeri Country.

Job Titles:

• Head of Knowledge Mobilisation & Innovation

is the Head of Knowledge Mobilisation and Innovation with the Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care, where she works to mobilise practice and research knowledge into training, education and policy resources. Kelly works in close partnership with therapeutic care providers, practitioners and other key government and non-government stakeholders to progress the goals of the CETC. She has spent the past 15+ years developing child and youth-centred policies, evaluation systems and programs that lift up and respond to the voices of children and young people across human services and not-for-profit sectors in Australia, South-East Asia and the United States. Kelly has a particular interest in the power of storytelling to improve systems and outcomes for young people. Kelly is our Head of Knowledge Mobilisation & Innovation. She works to ensure young people, carers, leaders, and policymakers can access, share, and contribute to knowledge about what works in therapeutic out-of-home care.

Job Titles:

• Director of Assessment and Research at Whitney Academy Massachusetts and a Speaker at the 2022 International Child Trauma Conference

Kevin Creeden, Director of Assessment and Research at Whitney Academy Massachusetts and a speaker at the 2022 International Child Trauma Conference said in recent training,...

Job Titles:

• DEPUTY DIRECTOR

Noel is the Deputy Director of the CETC and the Executive Manager, Research and Policy at the Australian Childhood Foundation. Noel has worked in child protection, child abuse and family violence across his career as a social worker, operational manager, organisational consultant, and child rights advocate. In 2013, Noel's contribution to the field was acknowledged in his being awarded the Robin Clark Award in Victoria for his contribution to the area of child protection and out-of-home care. He has a particular interest in supervision and leadership, and organisational development. Noel has written extensively in national and international journals and practice literature. He has trained 1000s of direct care staff, carers and organisational leaders and regularly facilitates training and community practices for therapeutic specialists. He is well known as a trainer in trauma-informed care, with a particular passion for exploring how neuroscience has improved understanding of the impact of child abuse on the developing brain. Noel believes that neuroscience provides a compass for carers supporting children and young people to heal from trauma and adverse childhood experiences. Noel lives on Bundjalung country and when he is not busy with the CETC can be found pulling out weeds in his treacherous tropical backyard. Noel is the Deputy Director of the CETC, and the Executive Manager, Research and Policy at the Australian Childhood Foundation. Noel brings 30 years of experience to the Centre in therapeutic out of home care and child protection having worked in operational and senior management roles, policy and organisational consultancy. In 2013, Noel's contribution to the field was acknowledged in his being awarded the Robin Clark Award in Victoria for his contribution to the field of child protection and out of home care. He has a particular interest in supervision and leadership and organisational development. Noel is our Deputy Director and informs and shapes the research, policy and education agenda of the CETC, with a current focus on evolving research and support for foster and kinship carers.

Job Titles:

• Senior Project Officer, FASD

Prue is our Senior Project Officer, FASD where she is working across the CETC and the Australian Childhood Foundation to bring an FASD focus to our work with trauma. She is working towards the development of a model of care for children that is both FASD and trauma-informed. Prue is a social worker who specialises in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Her background is in child protection, and she has worked as a manager and practice leader in Victoria and Northern Territory, and has also managed out-of-home care services in Victoria including Adoption/Permanent Care and a therapeutic contact centre. In 2009, Prue undertook a Churchill Fellowship investigating models of care for children with FASD in the US and Canada. She currently works at the Victorian Fetal Alcohol Service (VicFAS) diagnostic clinic at Monash Children's Hospital and is supporting the CETC and the Australian Childhood Foundation to develop an integrated FASD-trauma practice framework.

Job Titles:

• Senior Specialist, Therapeutic Care

Sally is a Senior Specialist at CETC and works on the development of practice guides, tools, and resources to support capacity building of foster carers, kinship carers and professionals within the Therapeutic Care sector.

Job Titles:

• Senior Specialist, Therapeutic Care

Sandi has worked extensively with children, young people, and families from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds as well as with First Nations Australians living with the ongoing impacts of colonisation.

Job Titles:

• Author

Sue is an author at the CETC and translates her industry experience and knowledge into a range of blogs and resources for carers and professionals. Sue is currently a Senior Manager with the Australian Childhood Foundation in NSW, Australia. She oversees OurSPACE, a state-wide trauma treatment service for Children and Young People in Out of Home Care. Sue lives on the lands of the Dharug people. For many years Sue has worked sector-wide, providing therapy, supervision, training, and consultancy focussing on developmental trauma and its impact across the lifespan. She advocates for children's rights and has trained and presented on topics relating to childhood trauma nationally and internationally.