Therese was born and educated in North Qld and successfully operated an IT company for over 20 years. Therese had eight years as a member of James Cook University Council. Her roles included Chair of Univet Pty Ltd. Her experience includes over twenty years of board experience in Not-for-Profit and government organisations in tertiary education, mental health, employment training, sports management, and domestic violence sectors as well as corporate board positions. Therese is skilled in strategic planning, corporate governance, finance, and information technology. Therese is committed to community and is an active member of Zonta Townville Metro.
Alexandra Whitney (Alex) is an experienced family and domestic violence lawyer working in the community legal sector. Alex has considerable experience in alternate dispute resolution working as a mediator for the NSW Community Justice Centre and a conciliator of the Queensland Human Rights Commission. Alex was previously a Board Director for the National Social Security Rights Network
Dr Ines Zuchowski has extensive work experience as a social worker in social welfare practice, exposing her to a broad range of interventions and fields of practice. Research has been an integral part of her professional social work practice. Ines is now employed as a senior lecturer in Social Work and Human Services at JCU. Ines social work practice experience and research interest are particularly centred around, child and youth welfare, violence prevention, professional development of supervision, social justice and human rights, women’s issues and field education for social work students.
Originally from Canberra, Penney has been in North Queensland long enough to call it home. She loves her Aboriginal and Irish heritage and believes there is always more to learn about culture. After more than 10 years working with young people in a volunteer capacity, she is one of five who co-founded an Indigenous Corporation, Queensland Youth Connections, which aims to empower young people. She completed a Bachelor of Laws at the end of 2019 and went on to complete a Master of Business Administration (Marketing Management). Currently, she combines her passion and education as Community Engagement Coordinator at NQ Women's Legal Service, a specialist Community Legal Centre providing legal help, education and reform especially for women experiencing domestic and family violence.
Lindy Edwards has more than 30 years’ experience working in the Community Sector, in particular in the area of domestic violence and women’s homelessness. Lindy has a Bachelor of Social Work degree and was the Co-ordinator of Seras Women’s Shelter for over 20 years. Now retired, she continues to contribute to the work of eliminating violence against women and children through her involvement with DVNQ as a Board member. During the many years working in the Community Sector, Lindy held Executive positions on the boards of other local Not-for-profit organisations as well as State and National domestic violence and homelessness peak organisations.
Meg Davis has been a practising social worker in Townsville since 1978 working extensively in the community inclusive of Indigenous health, homelessness, mental health, family skills and was Manager of Townsville Multicultural Support Group Inc. (TMSG) 1998-2020. She is currently mid-way through a PhD at James Cook University that has been inspired by her work in the resettlement sector through TMSG. She has a strong feminist commitment to human rights and social justice. Through her diverse work experiences, she has participated in strategic advocacy networks and has been on the Board since late 2020.
Kristin Perry has more than 17 years’ experience in strategic human resources management and has held several management roles, including her current position as Manager, Talent Acquisition at James Cook University. Kristin has qualifications in Business and Human Resources Management and is currently studying Psychological Science and Sociology. She has a strong commitment to feminism, equity, diversity and inclusion and is a member of the JCU Gender Equity Action and Research Team and Indigenous Action Group. Relatively new to boards, Kristin has been a member of the Townsville Basketball Board since 2019 and joined the Board in May 2022.
Board
Our Board is responsible for the strategic direction and performance of the organisation. We are proud of the Board’s mix of skills, knowledge, experience, and diversity, which enables DVNQ to be a leading organisation in the sector. The leadership style harnesses kindness, fairness, and empowerment, setting the tone for the culture throughout the organisation. As an Incorporated Association and Charity, we have a clearly defined purpose. Information can be found on the Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission (ACNC) Charity Register
LINK TO CONSITUTION>
DVNQ views leadership as a privilege that allows us to serve our team and drive our organisation forward, prioritising the well-being and safety of our clients and teams.
Our leadership team possesses a diverse range of skills, including social work, counselling and therapy, training and development, community safety, human services, finance, risk and compliance, human resources, and communications.
Leadership
TEAM
Our Terms of Leadership Collaboration sets out what it means to us to work together as a Leadership Team:
Respect – this leads to trust which strengths culture
Communication – so we are all on the same page
Commitment to something – our purpose, a common goal, what we set out to do
Confidentiality – knowing when things are not right to be shared widely
Accountability – to do what we say we will do, united team even where there are differences
Support each other – collective support, sense of care
Strengths base approach – draw on capabilities we have amongst us
Skills – negotiation and conflict resolution, challenging conversations, we won’t always agree
Results – want to see achievements
Acknowledgement – celebrate success
We are committed to creating a healthy and robust culture by leaning into difficult conversations, encouraging accountability and vulnerability, helping each other, and bringing our authentic selves to work.
Our staff are highly trained and experienced trauma-informed practitioner advocates who are multi-disciplined in their approach. Staff lead different programs but also provide backup support for each program to ensure shared knowledge and a holistic approach to everyone we work with.
At DVNQ, we take the safety and well-being of our clients as paramount, which is why we ensure that all of our team members have suitable, industry-recognised qualifications for their particular roles or extensive experience.
Our staff have qualifications in social work, psychology, criminology, or human services, along with a background in specialised work in this field. All of our team continually build upon their knowledge and skills through professional development and further study.
Staff
