Our People

Our CEO

JACQUI REED

Chief Executive Officer

Jacqui has been Chief Executive Officer of CREATE Foundation since December 2007. She has over 20 years experience in child protection, out-of-home care, family services and community work and has undertaken social research and held several management roles. She has written not only policy, training manuals and research papers, but also a children’s book. Jacqui is an accomplished public speaker presenting at many national and international conferences. Jacqui firmly believes that children and young people, given the right opportunities, have the capacity to transcend their adversity and reach their full potential.

Jacqui is a member of the Board of Directors and Leadership Committee at CREATE.

Our Board

Chairman
Richard Hill

Richard is an investment banker and lawyer and spent many years working in London, Hong Kong and New York with the HSBS Bank Group. He held the position of Chairman of Westmead Medical Research Institute, Sirtex Medical Limited and Biota Holdings Limited. He has been admitted as an Attorney of the New York Bar. Richard has been a Director of CREATE since 2010 and Chairman since 2013.

Treasurer
Jann Skinner

Jann was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers specialising in the financial services sector, particularly the insurance industry. She was the auditor of CREATE Foundation for a number of years. After nearly 30 years she retired from PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2004. Keen to maintain her involvement with CREATE Foundation, she volunteered to assist in the year-end financial reporting process and to help out with other financial reporting requirements during the year. Jann has been the Treasurer and a Director of CREATE since 2006.

Adina Gunnis

Adina is a lawyer and social worker with experience in the child protection and criminal justice sectors. She was previously a Young Consultant for the CREATE Foundation for a number of years and participated in the Carmody Inquiry and the Out-of-Home Care Inquiry. Adina is also an Ambassador for Children’s Rights Queensland and a passionate believer that child protection is everyone’s responsibility.

Andy Parton

Andy is a Partner at Ernst and Young with over 23 years of experience in consulting, primarily in Financial Services with a focus on the General Insurance industry. Originally from the UK, Andy has worked to help transform many of the worlds leading Financial institutions in the UK, US, mainland Europe and Asia, before moving to Sydney in 2008 where he ran Accenture’s insurance business across Australia and New Zealand. Andy has two young sons and is passionate about helping disadvantaged children reach their potential. He joined the CREATE board in October 2016.

Kirsten Grey

Kirsten is a Muruwari and Yuwaalaraay woman with family connections to North Western NSW. She has a background in human rights, reconciliation and child welfare and has had roles as Senior Adviser at the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Royal Commission into Youth Detention in the Northern Territory and as CEO of the NSW Reconciliation Council. Kirsten has also represented vulnerable families within the statutory child protection system and was placed in care herself at a young age. Kirsten is a passionate advocate for the rights of all children in the care system as well as their abilities to transcend the expectations set for them and to lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. 

Vanessa Knight

Vanessa has over forty years working across a number of industries including financial and professional services, insurance and petroleum in senior marketing, change management and operational roles.  She is married and she and her husband have been respite carers with Barnardos for the last sixteen years.  Vanessa is strongly committed to the welfare of children and ensuring that they have the support to live their best lives no matter what their background and experience.

 

Our Leadership Committee

Emma Davies
Deputy CEO

Emma joined CREATE in July 2022 to support its vision that all children and young people with a care experience reach their full potential. Prior to working with CREATE, Emma worked in senior policy and program management roles in government for over a decade, primarily in the areas of child safety and family violence, and as a volunteer solicitor in community legal centres. She has seen firsthand the power of effective advocacy work through elevating the voices of children and young people. Emma feels privileged to be working with CREATE to connect and empower children and young people with a care experience, and to support our important advocacy work to create better lives for children and young people in care.

Jecelyn Anjani
National Finance Manager

Jecelyn has worked in not-for-profit organisations since 2005, with a focus on all areas of finance. She joined CREATE as Finance Assistant in October 2008 and was appointed as National Finance Manager in March 2015. Jecelyn left the role of National Finance Manager in April 2016 for maternity break and returned to the role in September 2017.

Linda James
Operations Manager
Linda has worked in the Child Protection system for more than 15 years in front line service delivery and brings a wealth of knowledge, strategic management and professional leadership experience with her to this role. She understands the value of working collaboratively and in partnership to achieve great outcomes for children and young people, embracing every opportunity to develop relationships with field professionals and young people alike to ensure that the system stands up and takes note of key issues and ways to enhance better outcomes for those with a care experience.
Tameika Joy
Operations Manager

Tameika is innovative and creative, and enjoys encouraging, uplifting and building others. Passionate about the wellbeing and rights of children and young people, Tameika feels privileged to have joined CREATE in 2023. Embedding trauma informed and integrated practices, Tameika has had over 24 years delivering social and community services for children and young people, within the family early intervention, mental health, counselling and wellbeing, homelessness, specialist courts, drug and alcohol, and disability sectors.

Stef Coles
Stef Coles
National Marketing and Communications Manager
Stef is a passionate marketer and brand strategist with over 15 years of experience in both the corporate and non-profit sectors covering a range of products and services. Stef has a track record of success in building and developing relationships with stakeholders, and is responsible for overseeing the management of CREATE’s marketing and communications business areas. She has worked for CREATE Foundation since December 2012 in a variety of roles and stepped back into the role of National Marketing and Communications Manager in May 2021.
Hannah Kelly
Business Administration Manager

From an early age, Hannah knew that her passion in life was to help children and young people, and went on to study Early Childhood and Human Services at University. After joining the team at CREATE in 2015, as PA to the CEO, she finally felt like she had found the perfect organisation that aligned with her beliefs and passion. In 2021 she gave birth to her daughter and went on maternity leave then came back to CREATE as the Business Administration Manager a year later. Hannah has had the privilege of working with children and young people in many different aspects at CREATE since starting in 2015, and looks forward to many more years ahead supporting the organisation in its business operations.

Our Patron

MARGARET WHITE

Former Justice Margaret White is a long time champion of CREATE, and brings a wealth of experience to the role. Before becoming a Patron of CREATE Foundation, Margaret White worked as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland. In 1992, she became the first woman appointed to the court when she was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. During this time she was also a member of the University of Queensland senate and then deputy chancellor of the University of Queensland. She received an honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Queensland in 2005.

Margaret White was the first member of the revived Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service Reserve (WRANSR) in 1968, served as a commander in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve between 2002 and 2010, and was deputy president of the Defence Force Discipline Appeal Tribunal.

In 2013, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia “for distinguished service to the judiciary and to the law particularly in Queensland, as a leading contributor to legal education and reform, and to professional development and training”.

More recently Mrs White was joint chair of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory with Mick Gooda, an experience she says re-emphasised the importance of systems listening to those most affected by the decisions it makes.

Watch Mrs White talking about her support for CREATE here.

What is expected from the CREATE staff and Volunteers

Working in a child safe manner is a shared responsibility between CREATE’s employees, and volunteers.

Everyone working at CREATE Foundation is responsible for the safety of children and young people and are required to report information about suspected child abuse. Refer to CREATE’s Child Protection Policy for further information.

According to CREATE’s Code of Conduct, all staff involved in the support of children on behalf of CREATE will:

  1. Work towards the achievement of the aims and purposes of the organisation;
  2. Be responsible for services, programs, and activities in their area of responsibility;
  3. Maintain a duty of care outlined in Risk Assessments towards others involved in these programs and activities;
  4. Establish and maintain a child-safe environment in the course of their work;
  5. Treat children and young people with respect and value their ideas and opinions;
  6. Act as positive role models in their conduct with children and young people;
  7. Respect the privacy of children and young people, and their families, and only disclose information to people who need to know;
  8. Operate within the policies and guidelines of CREATE.

CREATE Board, Management, staff, and volunteers will not:

  1. Shame, humiliate, oppress, belittle or degrade children or young people;
  2. Unlawfully discriminate against any child or young person;
  3. Engage in any activity with a child or young person that is likely to physically or emotionally harm them;
  4. Initiate unnecessary physical contact with a child or young person, or do things of a personal nature for them that they can do for themselves;
  5. Be alone with a child or young person unnecessarily
  6. Develop a “special” relationship with a specific child for example, showing favouritism
  7. Show favouritism through the provision of gifts or inappropriate attention;
  8. Arrange contact, including online contact, with children or young people outside of the organisation’s programs and activities;
  9. Photograph or video a child or young person without the consent of the child and his/her parents or guardians;
  10. Work with children or young people while under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs;
  11. Engage in open discussions of a mature or adult nature in the presence of children;
  12. Use inappropriate language in the presence of children;

Those who breach the above Code of Conduct will face disciplinary action, including and up to termination of employment, or cessation of engagement with the organisation. If you are aware of a CREATE staff member, or volunteer who has breached the above, please email create@create.org.au or call 1800 655 105; you may want an adult to help you with this. If you don’t want to contact CREATE, you can talk to your carer or caseworker or contact the relevant government department in each state and territory, which you can find at the bottom of this document and discuss your concerns with them.