International Keynote Speaker

Dr. Allan Wade

Allan Wade, Ph.D. lives on Vancouver Island, Canada, where he works as a family therapist, consultant, and independent scholar with a primary interest addressing violence, broadly defined. Allan is best known for developing Response-Based Practice, initially with Linda Coates and Nick Todd and, more recently, Cathy Richardson, Ann Maje Raider, and Shelly Bonnah. Allan works extensively for Indigenous communities in Canada and with ‘victims’ and ‘perpetrators’ of violence and their families. Allan conducts original research on the connection between violence and language and consults internationally to the diverse organizations that become involved in cases of violence.

Conference Convenor

Dr. Sue Heward-Belle

Dr. Sue Heward-Belle is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney and is a recognised leader in domestic and family violence research. She has almost 30 years’ experience in the domestic violence and child protection fields and has conducted many studies in these areas. Dr Heward-Belle was the Chief Investigator conducting, a range of domestic and family violence focused projects for ANROWS including: The PATRICIA Project and Invisible Practices: Engaging men who use violence. She is also Chief Investigator on two other large scale multi-state projects: Whole of Family approaches to working with families where there is domestic violence & the STACY Project (Safe and Together Addressing Complexity). Her PhD research examined the fathering experiences and practices of domestically violent men. She has a particular interest in advancing gender equitable and socially just approaches to practice that counter mother blaming.

Presenter

Monique Dam

Monique Dam, Advocacy and Prevention Manager, Domestic Violence NSW

Monique Dam is the Advocacy and Prevention Manager at Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW), the peak body for specialist domestic and family violence services across NSW. She works with DVNSW members, partner organisations and other stakeholders to understand the issues facing people experiencing violence and to advocate for changes to laws, policies and programs. She values the expertise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people of migrant and refugee backgrounds, LGBTIQ people and people with disability on culturally safe, inclusive and accessible responses.

Prior to joining DVNSW, Monique volunteered at the Women’s Legal Service NSW and worked as a Legal Officer at the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department on policy and programs relating to free legal services for women experiencing violence. She has previously convened a network of women working in NGOs, academia and government to discuss best practice and emerging issues in gender and development. She has led groups of activists to advocate for change for many years.

Monique is inspired by and learns from the strong, resilient women who survive violence and who work in specialist sexual, domestic and family violence services.

Presenter

Greg Yee

Greg Yee is a relationships therapist specialising in family violence for 30 years. He is an Australian-Chinese male with a pro-feminist, male positive, child protective perspective. For the past 20 years he balances his time between a clinical caseload, supervision of teams and individuals and preparing and delivering workshops, based in Canberra with regular visits to Sydney.

Presenter

Camilla Wawi

Camilla has extensive experience working in community development and crime prevention through various roles at both a Local and State Government level. In all roles Camilla has worked with diverse and often marginalised communities, to increase their access to and participation in government programs and services that promote increase quality of life and participation in a safe and secure community. Camilla is currently leading coordination of the Department’s Multicultural Plan, and the strategy to work with multicultural communities affected by DFV.

Speaker

Natalia Esdaile-watts

Natalia is a 38 year old Russian immigrant, who was driven only by her motherly instinct in order to survive and save her children, when she fought through the desire to end her life due to Domestic Violence. For 10 years Natalia lived in silence focusing on raising her children and suppressing her own feelings and dreams and hopes she was sure would never change or come true.
In 2017 she attended an event that changed her life and she has been standing strong and speaking out loud, promoting change in the community and inspiring women to believe in themselves and their strength ever since.
Natalia has spoken at many events, conferences, police, and through different mediums.
Natalia won citizen of the Year 2017, Westfield Local hero 2018, Sydney Fc Woman hero 2018 and received other nominations for her work and speaking out against DV. Natalia also raised money for White Ribbon and Moving Forward an organisation focused on helping women through and post Domestic Violence experience.
Natalia continues her work and has completed her Diploma in community services and hopes one day to write a book about her experience and recovery.

Psychotherapist, Executive Coach, International Leadership, Team and Organisational Development Specialist and Cheerleader of all women

Caryn Walsh

Psychotherapist, Executive Coach, International Leadership, Team and Organisational Development Specialist and Cheerleader of all women, Caryn Walsh has had an interesting and diverse career both within Australia and internationally.

She has been working with survivors of abuse for almost two decades, helping them create rich and meaningful lives by ‘coming back stronger’ and where possible, not remaining beholden to the shackles of their experiences in the past. Her experience has been in refuges, women’s shelters, community organisations and running groups and forums for women across three continents, specifically, over a 20-year period.

In 2005, she helped the Federal Government set up the original 1800 RESPECT line by writing and delivering a training program to the first counsellors who took the calls on the line, upskilling more than 200 of them over a 6-month period.

At the helm of Empowering Women to Thrive, Caryn leads a team of gifted and competent people whose life work is to help women (and men) at all levels of society and organisations grow in skills, competence and confidence to live the best lives they can.

With her leadership hat on, Caryn is at the helm of Pure Magic International Business Solutions – and international leadership development organisation where she and her team go into organisations in Australia and Fiji to develop and coach executive leaders and those down the line to help them build robust and sustainable Companies.

Caryn speaks at approximately 20 conferences each year, addressing topics around gender diversity and inclusion, international leadership challenges and the ongoing issue of domestic violence within our country and abroad.

She writes regular articles for the Australian and international media and has conducted a regular talk-back radio show in Fiji around leadership and women’s issues.

With a keen passion on developing leaders and empowering women, her primary motivation is to help people at all levels create happy, meaningful lives for themselves, and to develop and coach leaders at all levels locally and internationally, so they have the skills to make a positive difference to their troops and the world at large.

Caryn has won 7 international and national Awards for her work in international leadership development and empowering women, including Coach of the 2016 CEO of the Year Award