Kate Alexander

CEO, Barnardos Australia Kate Alexander is a social worker who has worked in child protection for over 30 years spanning frontline, research and executive leadership roles. She is currently working with Life Without Barriers, leading a project on practice governance across the whole agency. Kate held the role of Senior Practitioner in the NSW statutory child protection system for over 13 years and was responsible for caseworker learning child death reviews and quality assurance. She recently completed a PHD which investigated the attitudes of the child protection workforce toward domestic violence, determined the impact of worker attitudes on their assessment of children’s safety, and found that combining a therapeutic approach for understanding violence with a standard safety assessment significantly reduced the likelihood of children being removed from their mothers. Kate was awarded a NSW public Service medal in 2019 for outstanding service to families and community and a Churchill Fellowship in 2010 which saw her travel to Norway, the U.K and the USA researching child protection systems.

Carolyn Cousins

Director, Tuned In Consulting Carolyn Cousins is a social worker and adult educator with extensive experience in the trauma and mental health sectors in both Australia and the UK. She holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work, a Master’s degree in Education (Adult), and a Master’s degree in Applied Neuroscience. As an AASW Accredited Supervisor, Carolyn has supported the AASW as a subject matter expert and facilitator. Carolyn has published articles and book chapters on supervision and offers supervision to professionals across various fields.

Kate Fluin

General Manager, Community Youth Justice, Department of Human Services With over 27 years of experience in child protection and youth justice, Kate has built an extensive career dedicated to improving outcomes for vulnerable children and young people. Beginning as a social worker with the Department for Child Protection, Kate has held a range of leadership roles, including Manager and Practice Leader, across rural, remote, and metropolitan regions. In 2024, she transitioned to the Department of Human Services, where she now serves as General Manager, Community Youth Justice. In this role, she oversees the operational management and clinical governance of youth justice services, including courts, bail, home detention, and case management programs. Holding a Bachelor and Master of Social Work, along with postgraduate studies in child development, trauma, and leadership, Kate is deeply committed to driving best practice, strengthening service partnerships, and ensuring the highest standards of care and support for young people in the justice system.

Dr Tracey Harris

CEO, Amovita International, MyBio.life TraceyHarris.global Tracey has been a leader in organisational and business design in both executive and leadership roles throughout her 30 year career. She has been a senior ministerial advisor to both state and federal ministers and members of Parliament and instrumental in developing and leading significant policy reform in both social and public policy arenas. Tracey comes from a family of business owners where her parents founded Alpha Electrics and Alpha Irrigation. In her role with Amovita International, she leads the Global Strategy and Executive Consulting Division and has a career that spans both Australia and internationally. Tracey also provided lectureship at the Australian Catholic University where she lectured in the fields of public and social policy, leadership and organisational excellence. With an interest in research on high performance leadership and neurocare, Tracey has developed a high performance model for leadership, supervision and coaching and completed her Doctorate with Griffith University in Brisbane researching leadership and supervisor capability. She is an international author on leadership excellence with Routledge.

Mary Joyce

Head of Department, Social Work
Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group Mary is currently the Social Work Head of Department for the Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group in Western Australia. She holds a Master of Business Administration degree, is a Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Management, and a Certified Health Executive. She has held clinical, strategic planning and management and director roles in the health sector. Mary has a keen interest in information technology and data collection systems.

Anthony Lekkas (he/ him)

Relationship and Couple Counsellor, Social Worker (AMHSW) Anthony Lekkas (he/ him) is a family violence consultant, trainer, relationship counsellor and accredited mental health social worker working in the LGBTIQA+ and mainstream community health services and in private practice. Anthony’s work in the criminal justice system included working with incarcerated young people, as well as leading an LGBTIQA+ family violence court support team with Magistrates Courts Victoria. His clinical work experience involves working with victim survivors and perpetrators in ‘hetero’ and queer men’s behaviour change programs. Anthony provides clinical supervision to family violence practitioners and teams. In private practice he provides relationship counselling to LGBTIQA+ and straight people in monogamous, non-monogamous and polyamorous relationships.

Liz Little

AASW National President Elizabeth “Liz” Little is a distinguished Tasmanian social work leader whose career has been defined by advocacy, reform and compassion. With more than four decades of experience spanning government, community, education and international collaboration, Liz has consistently worked to advance equality, human rights and the wellbeing of vulnerable communities.
After earning a Bachelor of Social Studies from the University of Sydney and a Master of Social Science (Administration) from the University of Tasmania, Liz began her career in community development and youth work before moving into leadership roles in social policy and justice reform. In 1990, she became the inaugural Director of Tasmania’s Office of the Status of Women, where she played a central role in shaping government policy for women’s equality. Five years later, she was appointed Tasmania’s first Sex Discrimination Commissioner, implementing the new Sex Discrimination Act and strengthening protections for women’s rights. During this time, she was recognised with a United Nations Day Certificate of Recognition for furthering the rights of women.
From 2001 to 2009, Liz served as Principal Consultant for Strategic Policy and Projects with the Department of Justice, where she was instrumental in developing Tasmania’s landmark Safe at Home initiative, an integrated, whole-of-government response to family violence. Her expertise and leadership also saw her invited by the Chinese Government to deliver domestic violence training to senior officials and by Cambridge University to speak on gender equality at the House of Lords.
As Chief Executive Officer of the Sexual Assault Support Service (2010–2015), Liz championed trauma-informed practice, improved support for survivors of sexual assault, and contributed advice to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. She later served as CEO of Rural Alive & Well (2016–2019), supporting rural communities through mental health, crisis and suicide prevention services.
Liz has also served in multiple national and advisory capacities, including as Chair of the National Association of Services Against Sexual Violence (2012–2015), AASW National Case Reviewer, Official Visitor to the Tasmanian Prison Service, and Ethics Committee Member for the University of Tasmania. In recognition of her enduring contribution to gender equality, justice and community wellbeing, Liz was inducted into the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women in 2023. In November 2025, she was elected National President of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW). As National President Liz will continue to champion professional integrity, ethical practice, and the transformative power of social work to engage individuals, communities and systems in the pursuit of a more just and compassionate society.

Ben McGregor

Quality and Practice Partner at Anglicare Tasmania Ben is the Quality and Practice Partner at Anglicare Tasmania – with nearly two decades of experience in mental health and community services, Ben brings a blend of leadership and strategic insight, overseeing service delivery and guiding key initiatives. His expertise in practice oversight, supervision, and corporate governance, along with a personal commitment to mental health, drives his passion for enhancing performance, optimising resources, and building strong stakeholder relationships to achieve impactful outcomes.

Professor Kieran O’Donoghue, PhD

Head of School of Social Work, Massey University NZ Kieran O’Donoghue is Professor of Social Work at Massey University, Aotearoa New Zealand. He is a registered social worker, clinical supervisor, supervision educator, researcher and author. He coordinates the Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Supervision at Massey University and has widely published on social work supervision. He is the lead Editor of the Routledge International Handbook of Social Work Supervision. Kieran has contributed to the education and training of social work supervisors in Aotearoa New Zealand, Singapore and Fiji.
In 2015, he was awarded the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers Quality and Innovation Trophy for Excellence in Research and Certificate for Research Excellence for his contribution to social work supervision research in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Sarah Wendt

Director – Social Workers Registration Board, Professor of Social Work Sarah is the inaugural Director for the South Australian Social Workers Registration Board. Sarah is also currently Professor of Social Work at Melbourne University and Chief Investigator for the Centre for Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW). Prior to academia Sarah practiced in the field of domestic violence. She has taught in social work for over a decade and supervised many PhDs. She has published on violence against women and social work practice. Her research projects explore the impact of domestic violence on women’s citizenship, service provision in the field of domestic violence, and engaging men to address domestic violence. More recently Sarah has published on social work registration and the future of the social work workforce.

Jane Wexler

Founding Director, Wex Group Pty Ltd Jane is widely regarded for her wealth of experience, expertise and engaging style, delivering leadership development, supervision, coaching, mediation & education to emerging and experienced leaders in Australia, China, Singapore and Asia Pacific. She is Founding Director of Wex Group Pty Ltd. As an academic, Jane taught social work at Deakin, RMIT & Monash universities, and business studies at Holmes Change le College, Shanghai. Concurrently, she co-published and co-owned a successful Australian entertainment magazine, blending her love of the arts with leadership acumen. Jane combines her unique skills across sectors with an interest in Eastern philosophy. She is committed to self-mastery, authentic relationships and creatively using frameworks to foster positive supervision and organisational cultures.

Luke Wilson

Cultural Educator, Kuma Kaaru Cultural Services Luke Wilson is a Cultural Educator with Kuma Kaaru Cultural Services that has spent many years showcasing and sharing his culture, locally, nationally and internationally. He is a Kaurna Narungga, Ngarrindjeri, Arrente and Ngadjuri man