| Anne Deans, Chief Executive Anne is our tireless and committed leader, grammar wiz and in-house interior decorator. Assisted by countless cups of very strong coffee, she powers through long days in the office, followed by numerous after-hours committee meetings and nights spent designing and sewing costumes for her daughter’s dance studio. Dubbed the ‘safety police’ by her daughter’s friends, Anne has dedicated her career to the prevention and management of injury. She began her career as a physiotherapist and worked in clinical,advisory and management roles for the NSW Department of Health. More recently, she worked as the Assistant General Manager of the Motor Accidents Authority. A gifted manager and strategic thinker, Anne delights in her team’s learning and achievements. If you’re interested in partnership opportunities with Youthsafe, or simply want to know more about who we are and what we do, send Anne an
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. |  | Kristy Abbott, Deputy Chief Executive No staff profile could ever do Kristy “action that” Abbott justice. She is our much loved Assistant Executive Officer and community projects coordinator who excels at anything and everything she puts her mind to. She is heavily relied upon by the rest of the team for her in-depth knowledge of injury prevention research and her unmatched ability to provide insightful direction on everyone’s projects. Kristy’s degree in Psychology and recent completion of her Masters in Health Science reflects her passion for learning, a passion that also sees her ploughing through research papers, books and journal articles on a regular basis. Unflappable under pressure, Kristy somehow manages to balance her huge work load at Youthsafe, with study, a lively social life, family commitments and a self confessed addiction to shopping! If you want to find out more about any of our community projects, our commitment to youth participation or the work we are doing to promote safe celebrations for young people, send Kristy an
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| Maureen Owen, Deputy Chief Executive & Data Manager Equipped with a sophisticated pommy accent, groovy red mouse pad and a Doctorate in Child Road Safety, Maureen came to Youthsafe in 2004 and quickly earned a reputation as ‘the expert’. Her role sees her managing Youthsafe’s range of information needs, from current injury data and trends, to the translation of new research findings into practice, and coordinating proposals for new grants. She is also frequently called upon for her help and advice from the rest of the team. Patient, determined and down to earth, Maureen can hold her own in a room full of academics. An avid reader, dog lover and mother of two beautiful girls, Maureen likes to spend her weekend bushwalking, dreaming about sleeping in and hanging out with her family. If you’ve got a question about youth injury statistics, or would like to know more about the research informing our practice, send Maureen an
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. |  | Joanne Kemp, Education Programs Manager Former high school teacher and story-teller extraordinaire, Joanne joined the Youthsafe team in 2005 to tackle the newly-created role of Education Programs Coordinator. Her role sees her constantly busy managing the Youthsafe Presenter Program, developing and reviewing educational resources and providing guidance and direction to the team on anything remotely related to schools! Joanne’s youthful looks and personality belie her 20 years educational experience both here and overseas – including a stint in Japan teaching English in her in-home classroom. Her zest for knowledge and commitment to thoroughness is evident in everything she does and her genuine, easy going nature makes her a pleasure to have around the office. At times Joanne feels she’s been put on this earth merely to please her very spoilt cats. When she is not bowing to their every whim, she enjoys relaxing with friends and family, sharing meals and swapping stories. | Team Members | |  | Cecilie Dell, Communications and Community Relations Equally comfortable in a TV studio or in front of a room full of teens, Cec excels in her role as Youthsafe’s Advocacy and Promotions Coordinator. Her radiance, empathy and unique ability to relate to people of all ages ensures she’s a popular point of contact amongst Youthsafe’s key consumers. When she’s not busy with her own role, supporting her colleagues, or responding to consumers’ requests, you’ll find Cec pouring through the Good Living section of the Sydney Morning Herald looking for recipes, or serving up some of her homemade slices for the team to share. Working three days a week, Cec has truly mastered the happy balance between work, family, and a lively social life. |  | Dianne Naylor (AKA Dynamite Di), Administration Motivated, organised and persistently happy, Di joined the Youthsafe team in 2004 and quickly assumed responsibility for the smooth running of the office. Her exceptional work ethic and ‘can do’ attitude sees her constantly busy - supporting colleagues, maintaining the office systems, taking bookings for the Presenter Program and ensuring that Presenters are at the right location at the right time (no mean task!). If you’ve got a question for us, but not sure where to direct it, send Dynamite Di an
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. |  | Duncan Nisbet, Presentations and Design Duncan is our all round nice guy and presenter extraordinaire. With presentation experience already under his belt, Duncan joined Youthsafe in 2001 where his exceptional people skills and vision put him in good stead to coordinate the new look presenter program. Duncan boasts a creative flair and excels at anything IT, earning him the unofficial titles of ‘IT trouble-shooter’ and ‘in-house graphic designer’. He’s a proud Dad, dedicated sportsman and avid Rangers supporter. It’s not uncommon for him to be up ‘til the wee hours of the morning watching his team in the UK soccer league. When he’s not at work or watching the Rangers, you’ll find him playing basketball, swimming, or out cycling with his kids. If you want to know more about Youthsafe’s presenter program, send Duncan an email. |  | Jane Nethery, Project Officer Jane’s just a bundle of energy! When she’s not working (and sometime when she is working!) she finds it hard to sit still. Jane loves being physically active and being in the outdoors (surfing, touch football and anything where she can expend some energy).Jane spent much of her life playing and coaching sport and knows a lot about sports injury which is one of Youthsafe’s prime focus areas. She picked up a degree in Human Movement Studies and a Diploma in Education and worked as a PDHPE teacher in Australia and England for 8 years. That background makes Jane a perfect candidate to look after SafeClub – Youthsafe’s risk management program for sporting clubs - and Youthsafe’s work in schools. Jane loves to travel, the more off the beaten track the better - loved Africa! |  | Katina Dimoulias, Project Officer It takes a special person to develop safe alternative transport options for young people and Katina is just that. She was brought up in Central Queensland, studied and lectured in visual arts (environmental design) and is now in the last year of her PhD on the influence of environmental aspects of youth centres on young people’s attendance, participation in programs and satisfaction.
She brings to the Youthsafe team a deep interest and understanding of young people and youth issues, a knowledge of research methodologies and an analytic brain (well … most of the time!).
She claims that she has no life given that weekends are spent torturing herself with statistics. If that’s not working, she tortures plants (Katina’s into bonsai). |  | Kim Ray , Administration Kim’s the sort of person you would want working “front of house” – cheerful, helpful, committed, competent, welcoming, unfussed ... the ideal mother for two very lucky boys. For most of her working life Kim’s been involved in administration– including a time as assistant to the American Express Vice President Finance & Planning Asia Pacific Region – but also taught swimming for three years. Kimmy loves swimming. She’s also got a thing about Kenny, Youthsafe’s wonderful new database. Kim feeds Kenny with updates and has a rare talent for Kenny interrogation. Kim’s current goal is to get an email address for every contact on the database. |  | Michaela Zappia, Project Oficer Vivacious, articulate and very, very funny, Michaela joined Youthsafe in 2005 and quickly made her mark on the team. Whilst her official role sees her coordinating Youthsafe’s safe celebrating initiatives, her exceptional work ethic coupled with her willingness to try her hand at anything, sees her perpetually busy. Michaela is passionate about giving a voice to young people outside the school system on social issues that affect them. For this reason she is currently undertaking a Masters project investigating the effectiveness of Photovoice (a participatory methodology) to research young people’s attitudes and beliefs about risk-taking behaviours. Michaela has a degree in Russian Studies, speaks fluent Japanese and has an expansive knowledge in anything from road safety and communication management to the intricacies of pop culture. She’s exactly the kind of person you’d love to get stuck next to on a flight to London! When not studying, working or scheduling the Youthsafe team’s social calendar, you’ll find her playing the Japanese drums, knitting, dreaming about travelling or checking out the latest eateries or shoe boutiques. |  | Sandra Davis, Information Officer Sandra has taken on the mammoth task of compiling and cataloguing Youthsafe’s Resource Centre. She also provides indispensable support to the rest of the team by conducting literature reviews and sourcing references to meet even our most obscure information requests. Sandra’s thoughtfulness, efficiency and fun-loving demeanour have quickly endeared her to the team, although she does tend to be the source of envy around lunchtime when mouth-watering aromas from her home cooking permeate the office. Outside of work Sandra’s leads a hectic life as a wife, mother, Girl Guide leader, friend, movie and theatre goer, dog walker and traveller! If you have a question about Youthsafe’s Resource Centre, or would like a few hints on how to conduct your next literature search, send Sandra an
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. |  | Sonja Finteln, Project Officer Sonja joined Youthsafe at the end of 2007, cut her teeth on the bike helmet project and our annual Forum and is primed to take responsibility for more new projects. She has a degree (with first class honours) in Occupational Therapy and worked as an OT in Australia and the UK for about 6 years. Sonja travelled extensively before bringing her sense of mischief, talkative manner, immense energy and obvious talent to Youthsafe. Sonja is a people-person, when she’s not working she’s talking or eating, travelling and exploring. But definitely mainly talking! | | Presenters | |  | Wayne Teagle, Senior Presenter Wayne is a former Balmain High School student, furniture restorer and storeman and packer.
Sailing, and teaching others to sail, is a very big part of Wayne's lifestyle. Carpentry and presenting to groups on road safety are also very important to him.
Wayne was seriously injured as a 16 year old when the car in which he was a passenger crashed. Wayne's experience contributed to his understanding of risk and consequences including the role of factors such as: alcohol, speeding and the non-wearing of seat belts.
"We take risks everyday. It's when we start taking everyday risks in a dangerous way, our chances of serious injury really start to rise." If you want to know more about Youthsafe’s presenter program, send Wayne an email. |  | Chris Bettiol, Safeclub Presenter With a background in teaching and sports administration, Chris comes to Youthsafe as a SafeClub presenter. Voted as the person with the wackiest and weirdest sense of humour, Chris can be known to make a class leave with a smile on their faces but at the same time scratching their heads. Chris has had experiences with professional and local sporting teams in an official and managerial capacity and is currently working as a PDHPE teacher. So just be aware of being made to do 20 push ups for not paying attention! Outside work, Chris is a dedicated father of two who is presently teaching them how to play golf like Tiger and tennis like Roger. If you want to know more about Youthsafe’s presenter program, send Chris an email. |  | Andrew McCann, Safeclub Presenter Andrew loves sport – watching or playing just about any sport imaginable. Andrew is currently undertaking a Masters degree in Physiotherapy at Sydney University which has left him with less time for some of his much loved leisure activities,
Andrew has a degree in Exercise Science and Rehabilitation through Charles Sturt University and is undertaking a Masters degree in Physiotherapy at Sydney University but he still tries to fit in a game of Rugby or AFL wherever possible. He worked as a strength and conditioning coach for the Indonesian Olympic squad and these days is a personal trainer four times a week. In his spare time, Andrew enjoys (besides sports) playing guitar, water skiing and good times with good people. If you want to know more about Youthsafe’s presenter program, send Andrew an email. |
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