Our People

We welcomed new CEO Russell Hooper to the team on 20th March 2026.

Russell is an experienced policy maker and advocate with over 15 years of experience shaping family and social services policy across the public and not-for-profit sectors. Russell has dedicated his career to improving outcomes for vulnerable families through systemic reform and close, extensive consultation and engagement.

With nearly a decade in executive positions, Russell has worked with people with lived experience, front line practitioners and Ministers to drive reforms that benefit children, young people and families. This includes leading national domestic violence strategies, developing out-of-home care reform frameworks centered on the young person’s voice, and driving significant regulatory shifts that protect from gambling and alcohol-related harm.

Russell is a strong advocate for elevating the voices of people with lived experience. He has successfully integrated the perspectives of victim-survivors, young people in care, and those impacted by alcohol and gambling harm into government policy design. His previous roles include serving as the interim CEO of the Office of the Victims of Crime Commissioner (Victoria), holding senior positions within state and federal governments, as well as the national peak body, No to Violence.

As a dedicated advocate for vulnerable children and young people, Russell’s professional expertise is complemented by his personal commitment to the sector, including his volunteer work with Backpacks 4 SA Kids and previous experience mentoring young people exiting residential care.

Sharee recently completed a term as our Interim CEO and we have appreciated her strong ongoing commitment to supporting the CF&KC-SA team whilst we navigated a change in organisational leadership.

Sharee is our Senior Advocate with a background of over 20 years of experience within the community sector. 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 was the Practice Lead at Time for Kids for 6 years.

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 is a valued member of 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.

Isabella recently completed a term as our Acting Senior Advocate and we have appreciated her strong ongoing commitment to supporting the advocacy team whilst we navigated a change in organisational leadership.

Isabella has been with CF&KC-SA as our Carer Advocate for over four years. Isabella has extensive experience within our organisation, working as Carer Education Officer in 2020 to develop and publish educational resources for the Carer community, and completing her placement for her Bachelor of Social Work with us in 2019 and 2020.

Through her roles, Isabella has developed strengths in facilitating reference groups, organising Carer information session and publishing Carer guides and has great insight to Carer experiences and an understanding of the diverse challenges they can face.

Over the years in the carer advocate role, Isabella has walked alongside carers during some of their most challenging and rewarding times. She has seen the power of advocacy in action, where carers’ voices are not only heard but also influence real change. She is constantly inspired by the resilience and compassion of carers, and it motivates her to ensure they feel informed, supported, consulted, valued and respected in the vital role they play.

Through her time with the organisation, her passion has continually grown and she is extremely excited to now be fulfilling the role as Interim Senior Carer Advocate.

We welcomed Christabel to the role of Carer Advocate in January 2026.

Christabel, previously a hairdresser, made the decision to pursue a Bachelor of Social Work, graduating February 2026. Christabel has a strong commitment to create meaningful change for young people and families. With five years’ experience as both a residential youth worker and disability support worker she brings a balance of academic knowledge and frontline experience.

Christabel’s work is grounded in empowerment and a deep belief of evaluating the voice of carers and the young people they support. Christabel’s lived experience of foster care and informal kinship care has enabled her to have a thorough understanding of the challenges families and young people face in challenging situations. Christabel uses her neurodiversity as a toolkit to think analytically and approach problems with creativity, allowing her to strengthen her commitment to inclusive, person- centered work.

Christabel is a loving parent, enjoys a healthy work life balance of advocacy at CF&KC-SA and family time, she has two large dogs and a Galah that are very much a part of the family.

We welcomed Alicia to the role of Carer Advocate in January 2026.

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.

We welcome Lauren to the team, who commenced her role as Carer Council Project Lead in October 2023.

Lauren's fostering journey started when she was eighteen and her parents became foster carers. Many years later, Lauren is now a specialist foster carer herself and a carer member of CF&KC-SA.

Lauren has a Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice, a Bachelor of International Relations, a Bachelor of Letters (Spanish), and a Diploma of Community Services Work.

Prior to joining CF&KC-SA, Lauren was working as a lawyer with a social justice focus. She also has experience across the community services sector in aged care, disability and youth work. Notably, Lauren has experience as a youth worker with children in residential and emergency care and has worked at a primary school in Spain as an English language assistant.

Emma joined CF&KC-SA as a research intern in March 2021, taking on employment as the Project Officer in January 2022. As an intern, Emma conducted a research report on the monetary cost of foster and kinship caring to carers in SA. Her role later progressed to Project Officer & Inquiry Support Officer to help carers make submissions during the 2022 Independent Inquiry into Foster and Kinship Care.

As Project Officer, Emma supports CF&KC-SA to execute systemic advocacy by (for example) identifying inquiries and making submissions, running reference groups, ensuring survey data is fit for purpose and representative of the foster and kinship carer community in SA, and applying for grants to assist with operational objectives.

Emma holds qualifications in youth work, and a Bachelor of Social Sciences, bringing with her perspectives from being employed as a research assistant in The University of Adelaide’s School of Social Sciences, and Law School, and a volunteer youth worker in the community services sector both locally and abroad. Emma is passionate about continuing to learn, analyse, and explore ways we can address social inequality both in theory and practice.

“Our foster and kinship families are, unfortunately, an example of a vulnerable demographic that are overlooked when it comes to policy and legislation that would otherwise protect their rights. Collectively, carers are marginalised and under-resourced, so whatever the project may be, I really hope that my contribution helps to improve conditions for these families.”

Introducing Rebecca Smith, our inaugural foster carer research Masters student in residence!

Rebecca has accepted our invitation to take up “residence” in our office and we are delighted to support her vital research Masters project that will most certainly benefit the SA family based carer community in the near future.

My name is Rebecca Smith
I have been an occupational therapist for over 20 years working in community health, education and disability sectors. I have done some work in aged care and mental health, but primarily worked in paediatrics (i.e. working with children and their families). In this work I frequently supported children and families involved in the child protection system.
I have also been a registered foster carer for over 15 years. I started as a respite carer and have continued this at various times throughout being a carer. I have been a long-term carer for 15 years for a young woman who has now aged out of the system, but is still in my care. I am now returning to being a respite carer.

I have recently started a part-time research Masters at the University of South Australia (Uni SA) where my project is: "Exploration of current practices supporting foster carers using play as a therapeutic tool with children in their care." This project has two phases. As this is an area that currently hasn't been well researched, the first phase of my project is to do a scoping review to explore the current literature regarding the use of therapeutic play with children in foster care in order to identify gaps and reported benefits. The second phase will involve running focus groups with some of the foster care support agencies to explore current practices, barriers and opportunities for the use of therapeutic play. At this stage I will be working on phase 1 in 2024 and phase 2 in 2025.

While I am doing this research I am going to be basing myself at the CF&KC-SA office one day a fortnight.

We warmly welcome student Lin Jiang to our team (February 2026). Lin will work closely with our Carer Advocacy team over the next 6 months whilst she undertakes her social work placement.

Lin is currently completing her Bachelor of Social Work degree and this is her first placement.

“I am working in childcare as an educator and have been in this role for four years. During this time, I observed how social workers support children and families facing challenging situations, which inspired me to pursue a career in social work.

I am really excited to spend time with the CF&KC-SA team to learn more about advocacy, develop my professional skills, and gain a deeper understanding of how I can empower carers to navigate complex systems.”