Workshops +

community development

I am an experienced community development practitioner with specialised skills in youth development, community organising, project management, and the facilitation of engaging, playful, creative, experiential, evidence informed, content driven workshops and training.

I can design a workshop to meet the needs of your service, business or organisation.

What is on offer?

  • Boundary making is an ongoing practice important for all of us in our personal and professional lives. This workshop covers three important domains of working our relational boundaries - which includes videos, activities, and useful practices, grounded in a polyvagal and somatic lens.

    Who is it for? community workers, health workers, teachers, NDIS Support workers, pychologists, social workers, youth workers, nurses, volunteers etc.

  • Practical, engaging and informative workshop on understanding the stress response. Develop skills and understandings to be a support for yourself as well as loved ones, colleagues and peers in a time of multiple crisis. Contribute to creating increased connection and resilience.

    Who is it for? This program was originally developed to support NSW RFS volunteers who are faced with increasingly brutal fire seasons as a result of the climate crisis.

    This would be useful for all frontline workers, first responders and anyone working in high pressure scenario and/or with vulnerable people

  • This program aims to engage with the existing knowledge participants have about alcohol and other drugs, and build on this information by debunking myths, and enhancing participants’ confidence, skills and knowledge to take steps to minimise harm by preventing recognising and responding to potential AOD emergencies.

    This program is grounded in a trauma informed, somatically oriented framework that uses experiential, fun and engaging activities.

    We are continually updating this program based on the latest research and drug alerts.

    Who is it for?

    This program is flexible and can be designed for student groups from year 7-12 as well as students at TAFE/University. In an educational settings we find it works best to give students the choice to ‘opt in’

Collaborative community achievements

  • Walter Mangold Trust Recipient 2007 - Peace Education work with street living youth, PUE, Mexico with NGO 'Rectification Mundial' - 2008

  • Development and delivery of successful local interfaith cultural programs in partnership with Darebin Council, Yarra Trams + Local business owners - Chalice Uniting Church 2010

  • Development and delivery of innovative 'Bring your Bills Day' events in partnership with Footscray Legal Service, Energy providers and Ombudsmen Services to address widespread debt related issues in migrant and refugee populations - Lentara UnitingCare - Sunshine Mission 2011

  • Development coordination of youth development leadership committees - Yarra City Council 2014

  • Committee Member - Australian Living Peace Museum 2014

  • Development, coordination + facilitation of LGBTIQ+ Peer Mentoring Groups, Bellingen + Nambucca LGA's - 2015 - present with support from community based group 'Bent in Bellingen' and partnerships with Genhealth, Headspace.

  • Developed, authored and delivered school based Digital Leadership program addressing a range of online issues 2015-16 in partnership with NSW Health.

  • Rainbow Fair 2017 - community based response to increased tension due to the same sex Marriage Plebiscite

  • Coordinated first ever LGBTIQ+ Youth camp on NSW Mid North Coast - 2017, in partnership with community based steering committee + Aurora Group.

  • LGBTIQ+ Youth Forum, in partnership with community steering committee + Aurora Group.

  • Development, coordination, facilitation of participatory trauma informed yoga program for at risk regional young people in partnership with Dorrigo Youth Centre Committee, Dorrigo High School + St Vincent De Paul - 2018 

  • Lead Lovebites Facilitator 2016 - present 

  • Save a Mate AOD Harm Minimisation Facilitator 2019 - present. 

  • Coordinated, facilitated and produced youth podcasting skills program and podcast "The Local Queer" in partnership with Grow the Music- 2022 - PHN funded. 

Community Development practice

My community development practice is built on the belief that this work at it’s heart is about emancipation from coercive and oppressive power structures via an ethic of love.

I place importance and integrity on process, consciousness-raising, empowerment, participation and cooperation.

My community development practice is anti racist, anti oppressive and polyvagal informed. I am focused on relational and empowerment approaches to collective work.

“Embracing love ethic means that we utilize all dimensions of love-- "care, commitment, trust, responsibility, respect and knowledge"-- in our everyday lives.”

―bell hooks,All About Love: New Visions

“Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people–they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are they liberated: they oppress.”

- Paulo Friere