Our People
Staff Team
Fiona Endacott has a Bachelor of Social Work, a Double Advanced Diploma in Management and Human Resources, a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration and is currently completing her MBA. Her work history is also impressive - having come to CF&KC-SA after a long stint working in mental health, most recently as Manager: Operations for Skylight Mental Health.
Fiona has already made her mark on our organisation – having worked on our winning tender, achieved our quality accreditation and established and managed our very committed advocacy team. She is a mother of two and deeply committed to the wellbeing of children and Carers.
Sharee joined the CF&KC-SA team in September 2020 as Senior Advocate.
Sharee joins us with 20 years of experience within the community sector and in the final stages of completion of a Bachelor of Social Work. Sharee's extensive career started in the early childhood sector as a Team Leader, and as an educator in the education sector with Tafe SA and Gowrie SA. Sharee has worked in the Department of Child Protection, and for the past six years has been the Practice Lead at Time for Kids.
Sharee prides herself on building relationships and working in partnership with children and families towards achieving optimal outcomes.
Sharee brings a wealth of knowledge, commitment, energy and passion, in particular for children and families, and we are excited to have her join the team.
Sharee is a mother of two girls and has a love for their 3 dogs whom she also sees as her four legged children.
Tandanya joined CF&KC-SA in April 2019 as a Carer Advocate, supporting Foster & Kinship Carers within her role. Tandanya holds a Masters of Social Work and a Bachelor of Social Sciences with experience working within a Kinship Care support team and with Anangu Youth in Education. Her time working with Kinship Carers gave Tandanya a valuable insight into the experience of carers and the profound challenges that they face. As a result she has developed a strong passion to work alongside Carers to make a positive difference in their lives.
Tandanya is excited to be working in a fulfilling role with a driven and passionate team that supports and advocates for the rights of Foster and Kinship Carers.
Isabella joined CF&KC-SA as a Carer Advocate in July 2021, supporting both foster and kinship carers. Isabella has completed her Bachelor of Social Work with experience working in this space as she completed her university placements with the organisation. Her time during placements gave her experience working with foster and kinship Carers giving insight to Carer experiences and understanding the diverse challenges they can face. Isabella was offered the 6 month role of Carer Education Officer in June 2020 to develop and publish educational resources for the Carer community. Through this role Isabella developed strengths in facilitating reference groups, organising Carer information session and publishing Carer guides. Through her time with the organisation, her passion has continually grown and is excited to now be fulfilling the role as Carer Advocate.
Natalie joined CF&KC-SA in December 2016 as Administration and Events Coordinator.
Natalie is experienced working in key administrative roles in health, research and University sectors and also event management, including key organiser of the International Conference on Community Health Research in 2009. A mother of two, she is an enthusiastic and active member of school Governing Council and Parents & Friends Committee. Natalie enjoys interacting with families and the community and is excited to apply her skills and knowledge to her role with CF&KC-SA.
Jacquie Nevin joined CF&KC-SA this year in the role of Legal Consultant.
She completed a Bachelor of Law in NSW where she is also admitted to the NSW Supreme Court. Jacquie moved to South Australia for 2 years and is now in her 16th year in Adelaide.
She has worked in the area of administrative law since 2002, and is particularly interested in the process behind government decision making and the right to appeal.
She has extensive experience in the appeals process across migration and social welfare law and hopes to combine her knowledge to support our Advocates in the process.
Jacquie joins CF&KC-SA to set up a stand-alone pro bono service for our carers to access, in the event a carer needs to appeal a decision of the Department.
She has passion for children and carers alike, and set up a Neurodiversity group to support families at her children’s school.
Jacquie has 3 children who share her love for Op shopping. When Jacquie is not Op shopping she is participating in fun runs and races around Adelaide.
Emma is our Project Officer who is currently working on a project with the Commissioner for Children & Young People and is also supporting Carers with the independent Carer Inquiry
Introducing Betsy Green
Adelaide University intern
"I am currently in my 5th year of a Bachelor of Law & Social Sciences. As part of my Social Science degree, I feel privileged to undertake a research internship with Connecting Foster and Kinship Carers. My research will be focusing on SAPOL’s engagement with carers and children. I am hoping that this piece of research will make a positive difference for carers and children in their dealings with SAPOL.
I will be providing regular updates on the progress of this research in forthcoming newsletters including an invitation to participate in a survey relating to carers experiences with SAPOL and ideas for improvements. There will also be opportunities to participate in a focus group to explore these issues in more detail. I look forward to hearing from as many of you as possible.
In addition to hearing from carers, I will be liaising with SAPOL regarding their procedures and protocols for engaging with carers and children and how they can be improved."
Board
Holly Veale joined the CF&KC-SA Board in July 2022
Holly Veale is a barrister at Jeffcott Chambers in Adelaide who practices predominately in administrative, civil and commercial law.
Holly’s first exposure to the Child Protection System was via her role in the Child Protection Systems Royal Commission.
Thereafter, she appeared in the Youth Court on numerous Care and Protection Matters, predominately acting for children. In 2017, Holly acted for a foster family who managed to intervene in a Supreme Court appeal regarding a child in their care. This demonstrated to Holly the lack of voice which carers had within the system and the need for their voice to be heard. She hopes her legal and advocacy skills will assist CF&KC-SA to ensure carers rights are understood and respected.
Outside of the law, Holly is the proud mother of two young boys and, when she isn’t acting as a taxi service to her kids, enjoys cooking and a good book.
Kelly is a current Kinship carer and has been so since 2015. She has always been involved in business taking on various roles in family business since she was very young. Upon graduating from university with degrees in both Business and Marketing, she pursued a career in Valuations practicing at senior management level for a number of years. Kelly has since moved to her own business with her husband, providing services to the poultry industry with a large staff and busy lifestyle. With four children in the family, Kelly engages in a busy and fulfilling life. She joined the board of CF&KC-SA in November 2017 after being an active member throughout 2017. After seeing first hand the effects on children in out of home care, Kelly has become very passionate about promoting change in the system to enable better outcomes for all involved.
Ben Haynes joined the CF&KC-SA Board in August 2022
Ben has been a Financial Adviser since 2009. He has been running his own practice since 2017 working with clients and businesses to manage and improve their financial wellbeing.
Ben has a Bachelor of Finance from Adelaide University, Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning and holds the Certified Financial Planner designation.
Ben is married with 2 biological children. Ben and his wife are also Foster Carers and have had a foster child in their care since she was the age of 3 weeks.
Phoebe joined the CF&KC-SA Board in January 2021.
Phoebe is a specialist foster carer to 2 long term children with disability as well as her own 2 children. The family also provide emergency and short term placements for high needs infants. She is also a teacher who supports all children to be included and celebrated for their diversity and individuality.
Sarah joined the CF&KC-SA Board in March 2020.
At home, Sarah is a foster mum and her life revolves around taking care of her two adorable children, husband Paul and their two pets.
Sarah has been a carer since 2014.
At work, Sarah runs her own consultancy.
Sarah has a Hons degree in Business Administration. She is also a Fellow of the UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a qualified coach, NLP and MBTI practitioner and a member of the UK’s Coaching Circle. Sarah has a Post Graduate Diploma in Development Trauma.
Sarah has been involved in organisational and culture change programmes at both a strategic and operational level. Sarah has worked at Director Level, managing the full scope of business support services including; Human Resource, Training, Facilities Management, Finance, Information Technology, Communication and Diversity
Sarah is passionate about unlocking the potential of people, systems and organisations.
Emma joined the CF&KC-SA Board in March 2020.
Bindee joined the CF&KC-SA Board in November 2022 and brings a wealth of knowledge regarding Board governance, execution of strategic plans and navigating the child protection system.
We are currently in the process of recruiting a Youth Consultant for 2023
“I offer my gratitude and respect to the dedicated Carer community it is our privilege to serve” (Megan Hender, Board Chairperson)