What I do

• Workforce capability development within community, women’s and Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) service systems, grounded in the realities of trauma-exposed practice.

• Leadership development for emerging and established leaders navigating complexity, ethical responsibility and high-risk decision-making.

• Advisory support to boards and senior leadership on psychosocial risk governance, workforce sustainability and organisational accountability.

• Strengthening organisational responses to psychosocial hazards through WHS-aligned, trauma-informed governance and workforce structures.

• Designing supervision frameworks and practice systems that mitigate vicarious trauma, cumulative strain and role ambiguity.

• Clarifying role expectations, capability standards and leadership pathways to support retention, performance and service quality.

• Supporting teams to build relational authority, shared responsibility and psychologically safe ways of working.

• Embedding collective care, reflective practice and ethical leadership into organisational culture and governance processes.

My Services Include:

Workplace Culture and Psychosocial Safety Reviews

Creating a safe and rewarding workplace culture begins with understanding what is working well and where risks may be emerging - -particularly within community and trauma-facing services, where emotional labour, complexity, and systemic pressures are inherent to the work.

I take a whole-organisation approach, examining the connections between leadership, workforce structures, supervision systems, and day-to-day practice. This enables me to identify not only isolated concerns, but also patterns and interdependencies that may contribute to risk, role strain, or diminished psychological safety.

My reviews highlight practical opportunities to strengthen workforce sustainability, relational leadership, and psychosocial safety - while aligning with WHS obligations and contemporary expectations within specialist service systems.

With experience leading high-performance teams in the women’s and community sectors, I focus on changes that reflect organisational values, clarify capability expectations, and support inclusive, ethically grounded practice.

Workplace Frameworks forUnderstanding and Preventing Vicarious Trauma and Burnout

In specialist DFV and trauma-facing services, cumulative exposure to complex risk, crisis work, and client trauma can significantly impact practitioners and leaders alike.

I support organisations to recognise and mitigate the impacts of burnout and vicarious trauma through structured supervision models, reflective practice frameworks, thoughtful role design, and peer support systems. Importantly, this work considers the interaction between workload, governance oversight, interagency demands, and frontline expectations.

These approaches strengthen workforce resilience, retention and organisational stability, meet psychosocial safety obligations, and ensure that care for staff is embedded within organisational systems rather than left to individual coping strategies.

Leadership Development for Emerging Leaders

Leadership in the community sector and in trauma facing services requires a nuanced understanding of gendered violence, power dynamics, trauma exposure, and the ethical responsibilities of high-risk decision-making.

I work with current and emerging leaders to build relational authority, trauma-informed leadership capability, and confidence in navigating complexity. This includes strengthening capacity in supervision, values-based decision-making, boundary setting, and managing the intersection between client risk and workforce wellbeing.

Support may include individual coaching, facilitated leadership reflection, and practical frameworks that enable leaders to cultivate psychologically safe, accountable and high-performing teams.

High-Performance Teams and Communication

Teams in trauma-exposed environments perform best when trust, clarity, and shared responsibility underpin their work - and when practice expectations are aligned across roles.

My approach helps teams strengthen communication, build cohesion, and establish agreed ways of working that reflect the realities of specialist practice. This may involve observing team dynamics, facilitating structured dialogue, and supporting teams to develop collective responses to pressure, risk, and emotional demand.

The goal is not simply harmony, but resilient, capable teams who understand their roles, trust their leadership, and sustain performance in demanding service environments.

I have numerous bespoke offerings - just let me know what is needed.

Respect at Work - Policy, Training and Culture Change

I was involved in the initial Respect at Work Enquiry by the Human Rights Commission and remain committed to fostering healthy and respectful workplaces by assisting organisations to meet their legal and ethical obligations in preventing sexual harassment and workplace bullying by working at both the policy and practice levels. This includes reviewing and developing clear, compliant policies; delivering engaging, evidence-based training that empowers leaders and staff to recognise, prevent, and respond to unacceptable behaviour; and supporting fair, trauma-informed processes for addressing complaints or concerns. My approach takes a cultural and systems lens to assist organisations not only respond to individual incidents but also strengthen the underlying culture, leadership practices, and structures that create safe, respectful, and high-performing workplaces.

My Qualifications and Professional Background

I hold degrees in Environmental Science and Social Work (First Class Honours), with advanced clinical training in Family and Systems Therapy, mediation, and a range of evidence-informed approaches including brief therapy, systems intervention, strengths-based practice, and gender-informed work.

My professional career spans more than two decades in the community and women’s sectors, with extensive leadership experience in industrial and organisational social work. I led the Queensland Working Women’s Service for 16 years, developing deep expertise in workforce systems, gendered workplace dynamics, and the intersection of policy, practice, and organisational accountability.

I have substantial experience delivering workplace training and organisational development within Domestic and Family Violence and women’s services, with a particular focus on workforce capability, leadership development, and the prevention and response to DFV in organisational contexts.

Alongside executive leadership roles, I have maintained a private social work practice as a mental health accredited social worker. This dual perspective — organisational and clinical - informs my understanding of how individual wellbeing, leadership practice, and organisational systems interact within trauma-exposed environments.

I have also served in senior governance roles across the community sector in Qld and NSW bringing practical insight into board oversight, psychosocial risk governance, and ethical leadership within complex service systems.

As a Director of WorkCover Queensland for 8 years, I have contributed to governance oversight of organisational risk, audit, and people and culture. This perspective informs my work with boards and leadership teams, particularly in trauma-exposed and high-risk service environments where psychosocial injury prevention and ethical oversight are critical

Engagement Approach

I work with organisations on an hourly, daily, or fixed-fee basis, with sector-aligned rates and references available on request. My approach is collaborative, reflective, and grounded in a deep respect for the realities of specialist service work.