Leading Change in Family Violence Symposium speakers

Muriel Bamblett is a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung woman who has been the CEO of VACCA since 1999. Muriel is currently active in over 30 advisory groups concerning the Aboriginal community, including the Aboriginal Treaty Working Group; Aboriginal Family Violence Steering Committee; Victorian Children's Council; Aboriginal Justice Forum; and the Aboriginal Community Elders Service. Muriel was ALSO heavily involved in the Northern Territory Child Protection Inquiry from 2009-11.

Jocelyn Bignold is the CEO of McAuley Community Services for Women, an organisation which provides support, advocacy and accommodation for women and their children who are experiencing homelessness, primarily as a result of family violence or mental illness. Jocelyn has over 25 years’ experience in community services, policy development, management and advocacy.

McAuley Community Services for Women is considered a lead organisation within the Family Violence and Homelessness sector and is widely recognised for its innovation particularly in the areas of children and employment.

Dr Allison Cox is the Director of the Berry Street Take Two program which provides therapeutic services to children impacted by child abuse, neglect, family violence and other adverse experiences.   It includes the Victorian-wide therapeutic service for children in the child protection system, providing clinical assessments and evidence based interventions, specialist therapeutic support for parents, carers and other agencies as well as research and training activities.

Allison has extensive experience in child and adolescent mental health and is a keen advocate for improving the service responses for the more vulnerable children, young people and families in our community.

She has a doctorate in Occupational Therapy from La Trobe University and a Master of Child Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy from Monash University with current APHRA registration.

She has more than 30 years’ experience in child and adolescent mental health services and is a partner investigator in the Stronger Futures CRE.

Micaela Cronin commenced as Australia’s first Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner on 1 November 2022. Micaela began her career as a social worker in family violence and sexual assault services, and has held leadership roles across the social service sector in Australia and internationally, including President of ACOSS.

Micaela was the CEO of an international non-government organisation based in Asia, working to build global service delivery and strategic partnerships to tackle human trafficking and human rights abuses. In 2014, Micaela was awarded the Robin Clark Leadership award, Victoria’s most prestigious Children’s Protection award, recognising a leader who inspires others in achieving the best outcomes for children, young people and their families.

Tania worked at UN Women for over four years as a policy specialist in the Ending Violence Against Women Section and worked for Victoria Police for over nine years, where she was responsible for the implementation of a number of reforms in relation to violence against women and children. Tania is an experienced leader of reform and now as CEO for Safe and Equal, the peak body for specialist family violence services in Victoria, she maintains a focus on ending violence against women, advancing women’s rights and gender equality.

Tania worked at UN Women for over four years as a policy specialist in the Ending Violence Against Women Section and worked for Victoria Police for over nine years, where she was responsible for the implementation of a number of reforms in relation to violence against women and children.

Tania is an experienced leader of reform and now as CEO for Safe and Equal, the peak body for specialist family violence services in Victoria, she maintains a focus on ending violence against women, advancing women’s rights and gender equality.

Kate Fitz-Gibbon is a Professor of Social Sciences and member of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre 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.

Cathy Humphreys is Professor of Social Work at University of Melbourne. She is was a founding member of the Melbourne Research Alliance to End Violence Against Women and their Children (MAEVE) and a chief investigator on the Safer Families NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence. Her research focuses on domestic and family violence (DFV) and child abuse.

She has a long term interest in ensuring that the voices and experiences of children are visible and they are acknowledged as primary victims of DFV. She has held 18 Category 1 grants funded from ARC, NHMRC and ANROWS She has recent projects working in partnership with David Mandel at the Safe & Together Institute and ARC grants focused on child sexual exploitation and the intersections between alcohol and other drugs and DFV.

She lived and worked in England at the University of Warwick from 1994-2006. In 2006, she returned to Australia and took up the 5 year position as the Alfred Felton Chair in Child and Family Welfare and then continued as a research professor at University of Melbourne. In her early career, she worked for 15 years as a social worker in Qld and NSW.

Janet is a highly respected community activist with extensive networks in the lesbian, gay, and transgender communities. She is founding co-convenor and life member of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (now Pride Lobby) and a long-standing member of various ministerial advisory committees that have steered Victorian Government law reform recognising LGBTI parenting, equality in relationships recognition, human rights protections, and birth certificate recognition.

Janet has significant governance experience in the not-for-profit sectors and is a current member of the Victorian Government’s LGBTIQ Taskforce and Co-Chair of the LGBTIQ Justice Working Group and is President of the Thorne Harbour Health (Victorian AIDS Council) Board. Janet has over 30 years’ experience in the human services sector in key leadership roles; her current ‘day job’ is CEO of Refuge Victoria, one of the state’s largest providers of family violence refuge accommodation.

Dr Margaret Kertesz is a senior research fellow in the Department of Social Work. With a background in both historical research and social work, she has worked in out-of-home care services and also spent some years as a researcher in the Child and Family Welfare sector.

Over the last 10 years, she has worked closely with government and community sectors on a range of applied research, with an emphasis on guiding and improving practice in the areas of Child Protection, domestic and family violence, out-of-home care, and records creation.

Nadia Mattiazzo has over 30 years’ experience working in the disability advocacy sector. She has experience in community development, individual and systemic advocacy and has managed both state and federally funded programs. She has organisational management experience which is demonstrated in a previous role as CEO of Blind Citizens Australia.

Nadia is the Chief Executive Officer of Women with Disabilities Victoria, the peak organisation for and of women with disabilities in Victoria. Our Vision is a world where all women are respected and can fully experience life.

Nadia is also very passionate about gender-based disability justice. In her leadership at WDV, Nadia continuously works to raise the profile of ‘lived experience’ being understood as a valuable source of knowledge in education and systemic advocacy.

Deb Tsorbaris is CEO of the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare. The Centre is a peak body for child and family services in Victoria. Deb is also Co-Chair of the Victorian Government’s Roadmap for Reform Implementation Ministerial Advisory Group. With extensive knowledge of policy and practice, Deb is a keen advocate for improving the lives of children, young people and families in the areas of child safety, education and health.

Melanie Heenan is an established leader with professional experience in family violence and sexual assault research, policy, practice and system reform in Victoria, including leadership roles with the Australian Institute of Family Studies and the Victorian Law Reform Commission.

Melanie is deeply committed to and motivated by preventing all forms of family violence and sexual assault and ensuring that victim survivors, including children and young people, receive the services and support they need.

Melanie held the position of Executive Director of Victim Services, Support, and Reform in the Department of Justice and Community Safety from 2018 to 2023. In this role she oversaw the implementation of large-scale service operations and critical reforms aimed at enhancing system responses to victims of crime. She also held responsibility for the design and establishment of a new administrative Financial Assistance Scheme designed to address the impact of crime on victims' lives. The Scheme is due to commence in 2024.

Melanie has served as the Executive Director of Court Network, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to supporting people to navigate the court system. She has also played a lead role in pioneering primary prevention initiatives in collaboration with local councils, sporting clubs, workplaces, and schools to address the underlying causes of gender-based violence.

In 2006, Melanie served as the inaugural manager of the Respect and Responsibility program at the Australian Football League. In this national capacity she spearheaded the strategy to create safe, supportive, and inclusive environments for women and girls within the football industry.

Melanie was also an original member of the Prime Minister's National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Their Children.

Rasha Abbas is the CEO of InTouch, Australia's leading specialist family violence provider dedicated to assisting migrant and refugee women and their communities with person-centered, integrated, and culturally responsive family violence services.

Having started in the role in September 2023, Rasha brings a wealth of experience from the financial services sector, as well as a strong commitment to community service as a member of the Digital Strategy Board Committee at the Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI).

Prior to her appointment Rasha served as the General Manager Program Delivery at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Executive General Manager Business Banking at National Australia Bank (NAB), and General Manager Simplification and Head of Projects at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ). During her extensive financial services career Rasha worked on shaping corporate and technology strategy, improved customer experience, leveraged technology to transform and digitise business operations and delivered productivity and cost efficiencies.

Passionate about supporting community work with activities focused on orphan support, youth career coaching, building leadership and enabling excellence mindset and self-belief in youth, Rasha’s personal values are aligned to InTouch’s vital mission to transform vulnerable victim survivors to vital members of their family and to society and in doing so building meaningful connections and bringing positive impact to the broader community.

Rasha holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The University of Melbourne, a Master of Applied Science in Information Technology from RMIT University, and a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from Kuwait University.

In February 2017, Therese McCarthy was appointed a Magistrate of the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria. She was appointed by the Chief Magistrate in 2022 to the role of Supervising Magistrate the Family Violence and Personal Safety Intervention Orders. In this role, Magistrate McCarthy has oversight of the implementation of MCV’s work to enhance service delivery to the Victorian community through the Specialist Family Violence Courts programs at all headquarter courts.

Magistrate McCarthy also provides leadership to Magistrates within the family violence and personal safety practice areas, including chairing the judicial led Family Violence Policy and Practice Group which supports the courts work.

Magistrate McCarthy has worked with the United Nations at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands; the UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs in Syria; with AUSAID and the Director of Public Prosecutions in Papua New Guinea and with Action Aid International in Pakistan. This work has focused upon gender based violence, human rights, victims of crime; and access to justice. Prior to being called to the Victorian Bar in 2010, she was a prosecutor at the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, and a legal associate to The Hon Justices Sally Brown and Victoria Bennett in the Family Court of Australia (as it was then). Magistrate McCarthy’s practice at the Bar included practice in the areas of family violence, family law, human rights, discrimination and civil and administrative law.

In 2021 Magistrate McCarthy was appointed to the Board of the Victoria Law Foundation as the representative of Victorian Courts’ Council. In January 2022, Magistrate McCarthy was appointed Supervising Magistrates for Family Violence and Personal Safety intervention Orders and leads the implementation of specialist family violence courts in Victoria .