Lyra Taylor Social Work Impact Summit

Anthony Schembri

Chief Executive, Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) Anthony is Chief Executive of NSLHD and an Accredited Social Worker of the AASW. With 30+ years in public health, he’s held senior leadership roles, served on multiple medical and health research boards, and is an Adjunct and Industry Professor at leading Australian universities.

Cindy Smith

CEO, Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Cindy has led AASW since 2016. She is a qualified social worker with almost 20 years’ experience in positions including leadership in community health and out-of-home care, managing a counselling team, senior management of a Child, Youth and Family Directorate in community health, and Executive Director of a not-for-profit organisation. Cindy is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of the Australasian College of Health Services Management and a member of Chief Executive Women. She is a Certified Health Executive, holds a Bachelor of Social Work, a Masters in Health Administration, and a Graduate Certificate in Health Service Management. Cindy served as an AASW Board Director from November 2011 to June 2016.

Deirdre Cheers

CEO, Barnardos Australia Deirdre is an experienced CEO and respected leader in the Australian and International context of child focused social care and protection, with an extensive career in professional social work, management and leadership, including 45 years of experience in child rights and advocacy.

Simone Czech

CEO, Association of Children’s Welfare Agencies (ACWA) Simone is the CEO of ACWA, the NSW peak body representing non-government community organisations that deliver services to children, young people and their families experiencing vulnerability. She brings over 25 years’ experience working in the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.

Tara Hunter

Director, Full Stop Australia Tara is the Director of Clinical and Client Services at Full Stop Australia providing leadership for all the helplines, sexual abuse and fee for service counselling services. She has a Master of Social Work, and as a member of the NSW Women’s Advisory Council represents Full Stop on various government and non-government advisory bodies .

Tori Cook

Pandora Projects Victoria (Tori) provides consultation and subject matter specialism in family violence programs and projects and is a skilled clinical supervisor and TAE40116 trained educator in private practice.  Tori is a social worker experienced in working with women experiencing family violence, suicide bereavement counselling, AOD counselling and working directly with men using violence and abuse. She has developed and implemented women’s healing programs and is well known in designing MBCP responses (individual, case management and groupwork programs) for men’s groups in Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria. In the last five years, Tori has worked on a range of initiatives in the men’s family violence space in Victoria as part of the Victorian Family Violence Royal Commission reforms working as the practice specialist at Relationships Aust Victoria and Head of Workforce Development at No to Violence in the last five years. Now based in Perth, Tori continues to support best practice responses, and the health and wellbeing of practitioners in private practice through Pandora Enterprise Projects. Tori contributed as a subject matter expert in the innovative Victorian Orange Door Hubs induction training and a subject matter contributor in the design of the MARAM Framework training in Victoria. She currently teaches part time at South Metro TAFE, lectures at the University of Western Australia and provides external supervision and mentoring to front line practitioners.