Founder – (PARt) Prevent Assist Respond Training

Dr Chay Brown is a social scientist, researcher, and family violence practitioner with over a decade of experience in the prevention of domestic, family, and sexual violence. Born and raised in Mparntwe/Alice Springs and surrounding remote communities, she brings both lived experience and academic expertise to her work.

Chay holds a PhD in Social Sciences and Indigenous Studies, and a Master’s in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development, both from the Australian National University.

Chay is the founder and developer of the Prevent Assist Respond Training.  Her research has shaped violence prevention policy and practice nationally and in the Northern Territory, including co-authoring Australia’s National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children and the NT’s Hopeful, Together, Strong prevention framework.

Executive Director – Cultural Reform for the Northern Territory Police Force

Born and raised in Alice Springs, Arrernte woman and a traditional owner of Central Australia. Leanne Liddle is a trailblazer in justice, equity, and cultural reform.

She began her career in policing, becoming South Australia’s first Aboriginal Policewoman, before qualifying as a lawyer and building over 20 years of experience in law, justice, and policy.

As Director of the Aboriginal Justice Unit, she led the landmark Aboriginal Justice Agreement, reintroducing Community Courts, establishing Alternatives to Custody, and strengthening Law and Justice groups across the Northern Territory.

Currently Executive Director, Cultural Reform for the Northern Territory Police Force, Leanne drives systemic reform, including tackling racism, supported by her international experience with the United Nations and multiple academic qualifications in Science, Law, and Management.

She serves on the boards of the NT/SA Royal Flying Doctor Service and Flinders University, and in 2022 was named Northern Territory Australian of the Year.

A proud Flinders alumna, Leanne joined the University Council in 2023 and was appointed Deputy Chancellor in 2025, bringing outstanding leadership, deep community connection, and a commitment to empowering Aboriginal voices and advancing equity across central and northern Australia.

Cultural Training Facilitator

Raymond Walters Penangke is an Alice Springs-based Anmatyerre man, connected to the Alywarre, Kaytege, Walpiri and Arrernte families. With over forty years of experience living and working in remote and urban Aboriginal communities, he combines cultural knowledge with professional expertise.

Holding a Graduate Diploma in Public Health and Diplomas in both Community Service Management and Welfare, Raymond has worked across government and non-government sectors in child protection, health, disability, youth justice, sport and recreation, and community development services.

A calm and respectful facilitator, Raymond is recognised as a skilled public speaker and engagement specialist. He brings patience, cultural insight, and a deep understanding of community complexities to every space he works in. As a cultural training facilitator with 25 years’ experience, he empowers organisations and individuals to work with Aboriginal people and community in ways that are respectful, informed, and effective.

PARt Coordinator

Maggie Aylmore is a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) specialist currently working as the Prevent Assist Respond Training (PARt) Coordinator at Tangentyere Council in Mparntwe/Alice Springs. She leads the delivery of the PARt project across the Northern Territory, supporting police and healthcare workers to better understand Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence (DFSV) through a culturally safe, trauma-informed lens. Maggie’s work centres on amplifying the voices of victim/survivors—particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and other marginalised communities—and promoting empathetic, community-informed responses to violence.

Previously, Maggie worked with UN Women in the Pacific, coordinating the monitoring and evaluation of a multi-country Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) programme. She also co-led consultations for Fiji’s National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women and Children (2023–2028). Maggie holds a Master of Social Work and has a diverse background working across frontline services and international humanitarian work focused on GBV.

Senior Practitioner – Tangentyere Council

Luke Maloney is the Senior Practitioner with the Tangentyere Men’s Behaviour Change Program in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and has over 6 years' experience in the family violence and men's behaviour change sector.

Luke has previously worked as a facilitator with the Caring Dads program in Victoria, where he developed a passion for supporting fathers build safer and healthier relationships with their children and families. He holds a Bachelor of Social Work from RMIT University (Honours), and works from a professional approach grounded in theories of Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Trauma Informed Practice.

Luke is passionate about working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to support their resilience, and support their work towards the safety of women, children and communities.

Women’s Safety Services of Central Australia

Larissa is a long-term resident of Alice Springs, having grown up in the community she continues to proudly call home. After completing her social work qualification, she returned to Central Australia to build her career and later complemented her expertise with post-graduate studies in leadership and management.

A mother of one and married to a fellow Alice Springs local, Larissa brings almost 30 years of experience working across the Central Australia region. Her career spans child protection, prisoner rehabilitation, and hospital social work, with roles ranging from frontline caseworker through to Director.

She has contributed her skills to several not-for-profit governance boards and currently serves with the Northern Territory Council of Social Service (NTCOSS), NT Working Women’s Centre (NTWWC) and WESNET.

Larissa was recently elected to the Alice Springs Town Council, reflecting her longstanding commitment to community advocacy and local leadership.

For the past six years, she has been the CEO of Women’s Safety Services of Central Australia—an organisation she has long been deeply committed to and one that continues to inspire her passion for working alongside women, children and families in the region.

Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group

Proud Anmatyerre and Arrernte woman Shirleen Campbell is a fifth-generation resident of Alice Springs Town Camp, Lhenpe Artnwe – or Hoppy's Camp. She's also the co-ordinator of The Tangentyere Women's Family Safety Group (TWFSG), which gives women in the camp a voice and action against family and domestic violence.

TWFSG takes a strengths-based approach to addressing domestic violence, training women to recognise its early signs and support each other. Together they acknowledge and celebrate the women residents' skills, knowledge, history, assets, connections and relationships. After a violent attack on an Aboriginal woman at the Todd River was ignored by local press, Shirleen and TWFSG led a 300-strong, anti-violence march through the streets of Alice Springs.

Shirleen and other members of TWFSG were then invited to Canberra. With care and humility, Shirleen drew attention to the women her community loved and mourned who'd been impacted by violence – and showed that women are a large part of the solution. Shirleen has been selected as an NT Local Hero 2020 in the Australian of the Year Awards.

Fathering Sessions Facilitator

A Western Arrarnta man, born and raised in Central Australia.

Damien has spent over 10 years in the Aboriginal media sector covering news and current affairs that have impacted his people and the surrounding remote Central Australian First nations communities.

Prior to moving back to Alice Springs to work the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association, Damien worked with the Tjuwanpa Rangers in the Central Land Council Ranger program. Looking after his people’s country around Ntaria Community, Southwest of Alice Springs.

Damien has recently become a facilitator for Tangentyere’s Men’s Behavior Change program of cofacilitating the Fathering Project and is committed to helping men who have used violence and harmful behavior against their families to change.

Acting Director – Remote Central Australia Department of Children and Families

I’ve been in Central Australia for fifteen years, this is where I found my career in social work, my passion for domestic violence informed practice and also where I am happily raising two small children. 

My first introduction to domestic violence informed practice was at NPY Women’s Council, this is where I first learned about risk assessments, safety planning, crisis responses and legal advocacy in courts for women who experienced violence from their partners.  

In 2018, I moved to the then Territory Families, now Department of Children and Families as a Practice Leader, which is where I trained in the Safe and TogetherTM Model to deliver the Safe and Together CORE training.  I have been delivering this training in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek since 2021, and continue to deliver this training in my current role as Director for remote service delivery.

I’m passionate about domestic violence informed practice, but also on the impacts of domestic violence on children.  It is important that we understand that children experience domestic and family violence, whether or not they are considered ‘witnesses’ to physical violence.  The impact of DV on family functioning has a corresponding impact on the children.  It is our job as service providers and responders to identify the impacts and to learn how to talk to children about their experiences, so that they can be listened to, heard, and the right responses provided to them. 

Community Engagement – Headspace

Joshua Brown is a proud Narungga and Ngarrindjeri man living and working on Arrernte Country in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). Having lived in remote communities across the Central Desert, he brings strong community knowledge and lived experience to his work.

Josh is a passionate advocate for young people, informed by his own experiences as a young Aboriginal man navigating the system until the age of 18. His time living and working in community, particularly in Yuendumu, has shaped his commitment to supporting young people and challenging systems that too often fail them.

His advocacy began through writing and poetry, expressing both hope for young people and frustration with the system. He has worked as a Cultural Mentor at the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre and currently works as the Community Engagement Lead with headspace Alice Springs.

Josh also serves as Co-Chair of Central Australian Youth Justice and Co-Chair of the Youth Services Alice Springs Committee. He brings a strong community-based and creative approach to youth engagement, grounded in culture, lived experience and connection. He is driven to reduce youth detention, promote therapeutic models of care, bring young people back home to community, and amplify a clear message: bored traumatised kids aren’t criminals.

Managing Director – Her Story Consulting

Kayla Glynn-Braun is a proud Wiradjuri woman and Co-Founder and Managing Director of Her Story, a company dedicated to ending all forms of violence.

Her family’s roots trace back to the Erambie Mission near Cowra, and her upbringing was shaped by both cultural knowledge and the challenges of colonisation, domestic violence, and systemic disadvantage.

With over a decade living in the Northern Territory, Kayla has extensive experience in community and housing services, supporting people affected by domestic, family, and sexual violence. She leads initiatives such as the U Right Sis? program, addressing technology-facilitated abuse, and the WEAVE project, focused on Indigenous women’s movements.

Kayla is also an emerging researcher, advocate, and public speaker, committed to empowering First Nations communities, promoting social justice, and creating safe spaces for Aboriginal women. Her work reflects resilience, cultural pride, and a dedication to meaningful change.

Future Yayes – Tangentyere Council

Connie Shaw is a Kaytetye and Warumungu woman, born and raised in Alice Springs. Connie is a 5th generation, proud town camper. She draws from her life experience and impactful journey to advise on community-led solutions to prevent violence against women and children.

Connie engages with several advisory boards and streering committees, sharing her expertise on DFSV for young Aboriginal women in Central Australian context. 

Connie has presented to communities, leaders and conferences around Australia advocating on behalf of Aboriginal women about their experiences of domestic, family and sexual violence.

Senior Practitioner – Tangentyere Council

Helen Bonello is the Senior Practitioner within the Domestic Violence Specialist Children’s services at Tangentyere council in Mparntwe/Alice Springs. 

A qualified social worker with postgraduate studies in Addictive Behaviors, Helen brings over 13 years of frontline and leadership experience across the non-profit, health, drug and alcohol, and family violence sectors. Her practice is grounded in strengths-based, family-centered, and child safety frameworks, with a strong focus on advocacy for victim-survivors of DFSV.

Prior to moving to the Northern Territory, Helen was involved in the commencement of the Cornelia Program in Melbourne. The first of its kind pilot program, the Cornelia Program supports at-risk pregnant women/new mums experiencing insecure housing and other psychosocial complexities to remain in stable housing and with a strong emphasis on keeping mum and baby together.

Helen is the co-secretariat for the Central Australian Youth Justice network (CAYJ) in the Northern Territory. She lives and works on unceded Arrernte country.

Coolamon Program

Kitana Shaw is a Kaytetye and Yankunytjatjara woman, born and raised in Alice Springs. She is a proud Town Camper. She has been a member of the Tangentyere Women's Family Safety Group, campaigning against family violence, since she was 16 years old. She has worked as a Ranger, taking care of Country, and been a part of Empowered Communities in the APY lands.

Kitana is part of the Coolamon program, working with mums and bubs in the early learning and education space to prevent family violence, and support victim-survivors to access services and additional supports. She is passionate about growing up kids in safe homes and working with the whole community, with kids at the centre.

Kunga Stopping Violence Program – NAAJA

Rachel Neary is the Women, Children and Domestic Violence Practice Lead for the Kunga Stopping Violence Program, NAAJA.  Rachel has lived and worked in Mparntwe for fifteen years in the both frontline, policy and management in the domestic family and sexual violence sector. Prior to this Rachel was working in International Development in Timor-Leste for four years.

Community Advocate

Teddy McDiarmid (he/they) is a trans masculine, non-binary and queer person. They have lived and worked in the Central Desert region for the last 15 years.

Professionally, they have dedicated themselves to working alongside First Nations Communities in various community services roles and hold qualifications in child development, community development, and social impact.

In their unpaid work, they are a passionate advocate and organiser working with their community to promote safety, inclusion and equity.

They are a member of the Vital Collective, a community-controlled organisation for the LGBTIQAP+ Sistergirl and Brotherboy community that supports inclusion and runs a weekly health clinic.

DFV Training Cell | Northern Territory Police

Tony Schaefe-Lee is a Darwin-based Detective Acting Sergeant, born and raised in the Northern Territory. Since joining the Northern Territory Police (NTP) in 2010, Tony has built extensive frontline and investigative experience across a diverse range of communities and specialist units. He spent his first five years of his career in General Duties, serving the Katherine, Lajamanu, Mataranka, Milikapati and Greater Darwin communities. In 2015, he transitioned into crime investigations and has since dedicated more than a decade to managing and investigating complex Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence matters through roles in the Domestic Violence Unit, Child Abuse Taskforce and the Reportable Offender Management Unit.

Drawing on his significant operational expertise, Tony has been a been a part of the development, facilitation and delivery specialist training across the Investigative Interviewing of Vulnerable Persons and Detective training programs.

Committed to strengthening the capability of NTP members, Tony now serves within the Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Training Cell. He leads a team responsible for the design, coordination and delivery of contemporary, evidence-based DFV training to recruits across the Constable, Auxiliary, Aboriginal Community Police Officer and Aboriginal Liaison Officer pathways, as well as to existing NTP personnel.

Penangke Cultural Consultants

Peta-Lee  is an Aboriginal woman from Alice Springs with connections to the Warumungu, Yawuru and Luritja people of the Northern Territory & Western Australia. She grew up 'down the gap', and is from a large local family. She is a mother of three and has been a formal and informal kinship carer over the years.

Peta-Lee has mainly worked in the community services sector, namely the area of child protection in the Central Australia and the 'Kimberleys', She has worked across a number of areas that has included case worker roles in  'out of home care' , assessment teams, intensive family support and senior co-located roles within youth justice and the WA Police, working with youth at risk and as specialist child interviewer.

Peta-Lee more recently worked  at the  Women’s Safety Service in Alice Springs as a Cultural Advisor, supporting and improving cultural safety when working with Aboriginal families impacted by family and domestic violence; at Congress as a Team Leader in the early development of their NDIS section and with Territory Families as a Senior Aboriginal Community Worker. She is currently employed as a Specialist Engagement Consultant with Penangke Cultural Consultants- carrying out projects in local and remote community regions and facilitating cultural inductions, tailored cultural training and supervision.

Peta-Lee has recently become a board member of CAWLS and continues to deliver(as a contractor) Fundamentals DFSV training and U Right Sis workshops for WoSSCA and RAMF Training in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek for the NTG. She is also an active club/committee member for the Pioneer Football and Community Club, where she has supported the club to maintain a stronger focus on wellbeing and suicide prevention.

Additionally, when Peta-Lee is not doing this type of work or having a break you'll see her involved in  First Nations film productions or multimedia projects, including researching stories, engaging talent & storytellers; locations, casting and fixer roles in feature films, documentary, art projects,  podcast & television series. 

Aboriginal Education Officer

I am a proud Eastern Arrernte woman, born and raised in community, and I have worked in education for over 16 years as an Aboriginal Education Officer. Throughout my career, I have been committed to strengthening the connection between families and the school system, ensuring our children feel supported, valued and understood in their learning environments.

My work has focused on empowering students to be strong, smart and deadly — building confidence, improving attendance, and supporting better educational outcomes. I have also worked closely with families and community to increase student participation in sport and positive extracurricular activities, recognising the important role these play in wellbeing, identity and belonging.

As a Young Mums Coordinator, I have had the privilege of walking alongside young women as they grow in confidence and work towards meaningful goals for themselves and their children. Supporting young mothers to build strong foundations, access services, and believe in their own strengths has been some of the most fulfilling work of my career.

At the heart of everything I do is a deep commitment to keeping women and children safe. I believe safety, cultural strength and strong community connections are essential to creating positive futures for our families.

Tangentyere Council

Dane Neil is the Program Manager of the Men’s Behaviour Change Program at Tangentyere Council in Central Australia. He leads the program’s contribution to integrated responses across Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence, including Women’s Safety Work, the Co-Responder Model, and the Specialist Domestic Violence Court. Dane also supports the delivery of a group-based behaviour change program, focusing on non-collusive practice and community safety for families in Mparntwe (Alice Springs).