Carla Thomas
Carla is a Senior Commercial Knowledge Lawyer with Hall & Wilcox’s national Legal Excellence and Risk Team. She holds a BA/LLB (Hons) from the University of Melbourne.
Carla brings almost 20 years of legal and writing experience to Next Steps Australia, together with a drive to use her skills for social purpose.
She is inspired by the powerful simplicity of Next Steps Australia’s mission to empower women and their children to make a new start in safety, comfort and dignity.
Carla is a proud member of Next Steps Australia’s Marketing and Media Committee. She also assists with grant applications and edits Next Steps Australia’s newsletter.
Charmaine Bacon
Charmaine works as an administrator for Next Steps Australia.
Charmaine worked initially as a private nanny for many Melbourne based families and travelled extensively overseas in that role for over twenty-five years. She then transitioned to estate management overseeing the day to day running, maintenance and upkeep of large suburban properties.
Charmaine has been interested in supporting the survivors of domestic violence and is using her extensive management and administrative skills to assist with the Queensland refuges that Next Steps Australia supports with the donation of manchester packs for mothers and children.
David Jones
David is a financial administrator and researcher for Next Steps Australia.
He has more than forty years experience in creating, growing and managing businesses in the field of Information Technology, including software development, and Human Resources.
David is currently a director and consultant to businesses in the Corporate Advisory field and Distribution and Export sector with a particular strength in finance systems and governance processes.
David has held directorships on the boards of Vision Australia, Mentone Girls Gramma School and the Acclaim Awards.
Felicity Cadwallader
Felicity is a Senior Associate at Hall & Wilcox and has 15 years experience in Energy and Resources and Corporate Law. She holds a BA/LLB from the Australian National University.
Felicity is committed to supporting other women and their children to lead a happy and safe life and is pleased to be able to assist Next Steps Australia in helping to achieve this.
Felicity assists Next Steps Australia with managing its’ grant applications.
Kendell Farley
Kendell is a Board Consultant to Next Steps Australia.
Kendell is an operations and transformation professional with over 18 years experience across a range of industries including financial services, technology and education.
Most recently Kendell lead the operations and service delivery capability of a high growth NASDAQ listed company’s expansion in Japan, South-East Asia and Australia.
Prior to this, Kendell has worked in London, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Melbourne, delivering organisational transformation, Mergers and Acquisitions integration programs and establishing scalable new business operations.
Kendell holds a Masters of Business Administration, a Masters of Project Management and a Bachelor of Finance.
Kimbal Dunsmore
Kimbal is the New South Wales Administrator for Next Steps Australia.
He served as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy for thirty years and then more recently as a consultant to the Ministry of Defence. During his long career with the Navy Kimbal served in many seagoing positions including command of a warship, shore-based staff positions as well as representational positions overseas.
In the naval environment Kimbal was responsible for the welfare of the officers and sailors under his command. As a result he came into direct contact with cases of domestic and family violence involving Naval personnel.
As a veteran himself, Kimbal is actively involved with a Sydney based program (Alfred’s Community Sailing) supporting veterans and others with trauma, particularly first responders such as police, paramedics, and firefighters. He is also a member of his local sub-branch of the RSL.
Lauri Reid
Lauri is a Senior Associate at King & Wood Mallesons, and a Board Consultant and Company Secretary to Next Steps Australia.
She has worked in the legal sector for over 15 years in a range of capacities and holds degrees in Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Criminology and is presently undertaking a Master of Laws at the University of Melbourne.
Lauri has previously worked in the Family Violence Court Division of the Magistrates Court of Victoria and has had first-hand exposure to the devastation that family violence can cause.
Lauri has come to Next Steps with a keen interest in Australia’s ability to provide safe spaces for women and children escaping domestic violence and a desire to assist a charity that supports those safe spaces.
Lisa Nicholson
Lisa has worked at Spotlight for 24 years as a department and operations manager. She is involved in staff training and development, administration and team supervision.
Lisa has been associated with Next Steps Australia since 2017 supervising the packing and processing of the Manchester Starter Boxes as well as liaising with transport companies in delivering the boxes to refuges around Australia.
Lisa also collaborates with Spotlight department managers in Western Australia and Queensland to ensure the smooth processing and delivery of the manchester packs in those states.
Lisa is also the project manager for the Next Steps Australia’s Future Steps programme involving the administration, packing, processing and delivery of the relationship boxes to fifteen rural refuges in Victoria.
Lyndal Barrington
Lyndal is the administrator and research support for Next Steps Australia.
Lyndal began her career as a registered nurse working in the Emergency Departments of both major and rural hospitals in Sydney and Orange.
In these environments Lyndall first came into contact with cases of domestic and family violence.
Since relocating to Melbourne Lyndal has been working as an administrator for a private medical practice for over 20 years.
Lyndal is a member of the Camberwell Grammar Foundation Board which encourages the financial support of the local community.
Megan Collins
Megan enjoyed an extensive career in Banking and Private Wealth Management which extended over 40 years, notably 35 years at JBWere, across a number of diverse roles in management and advice. Megan is now interested in taking a different direction, supporting the Non For Profit sector.
Megan’s interest in helping vulnerable women and children aligns with Next Steps Australia’s core objective of assisting families who have experienced domestic violence.
Megan is delighted to bring her experience and compassion to support Next Steps Australia with their charter by using her administrative skills as an Executive Assistant.
Nicola O’Connor
Nicola is a small business owner and proprietor of Kinderplay Playthings, an educational toyshop that has been based in Melbourne for over 45 years.
With 20 years experience in the Toy Industry she brings her expertise in selecting products that will help children explore their environment, and allow them to develop emotional and social intelligence.
Nicola focuses on choosing age appropriate educational toys which challenge children’s minds by promoting cognitive development, critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
Nicola is pleased to have the opportunity to work with Next Steps Australia to source and curate the items for the Future Steps boxes.
Nicola has a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from the University of Melbourne.
Rhonda Moore
Rhonda, supported by her husband Neil, has been supporting Next Steps Australia since February, 2021.
During that time they have enrolled other donors and volunteers from the Mornington Peninsula to support mothers and their children in establishing new homes after escaping domestic violence.
Rhonda’s team have compiled hundreds of manchester starter packs and now concentrate on children’s back packs which are distributed to refuges at Christmas. The backpacks cover ages new-born to 12 year olds.
A group of five ladies assist Rhonda and Neil to assemble the backpacks which contain clothing, toiletries, activity books, story books, a toy, and a teddy. Rhonda and the team spend an enormous amount of thought and effort in making these gifts a source of joy for children at Christmas.
Richard James
Rich is an Integration Specialist with Environment Essentials. He holds a Bachelor of Computing from Monash University.
He has worked in IT consulting across multiple organisations for over 20 years. He brings a wealth of experience in IT infrastructure, website development and deployment.
Rich is delighted to help Next Steps Australia maintain their web presence and advise on all things technological.
Sandra Greaves
Sandra provides administrative support for Western Australia and South Australia.
Sandra worked for many years in Special Education in Primary and Secondary schools and in voluntary leadership roles in an associated professional organisation.
Sandra’s involvement with Next Steps Australia arose from working with many children and families over the years and having a deep insight into the importance of readily accessible resources.
Sandra holds a Dip Teach (Primary), Grad. Dip. Special Education., B. Ed. (Melb.) M Ed. (Melb).
Suzi Ralph
Suzi is a dedicated and innovative business professional, specialising in Organisational Development, Human Resources, and Business Consulting.
With over 20 years of diverse experience, she has held national roles across industries ranging from retail to manufacturing, working with both large corporations and small businesses, including non-profits and multi-national companies.
Driven by a deep passion for helping others, Suzi is especially interested in supporting women and children fleeing domestic violence.
She strives to make a positive impact on their lives and those she collaborates with, embodying her commitment to fostering meaningful change.