Who’s Who

Micaela Cronin is the CEO of MacKillop Family Services, one of the largest providers of specialist services to vulnerable and disadvantaged children, young people and their families in Victoria, and more recently with branches in NSW.  Micaela has worked in the community sector for over 20 years. She has extensive experience in the delivery and management of a broad range of community services, and has previously held senior management positions with Wesley Mission Melbourne and St Vincent de Paul Aged Care and Community Services. She has a passionate commitment to social justice issues and wants to see children and young people’s voices heard in strong, inclusive communities. Micaela enjoys working in partnership with other community sector organisations, and is Chairperson of National Lifeline Australia board, Vice President of the Victorian Council of Social Service and a Council member of Catholic Social Services Victoria.

Julie Edwards joined Jesuit Social Services in 2001. She was the Program Director prior to her appointment as CEO in June 2004. Julie has over 30 years experience engaging with marginalised people and families experiencing breakdown and trauma. She is a social worker, family therapist and a grief and loss counsellor. Julie has a Masters in Social Work and is currently completing her doctorate in this discipline. Julie serves on a number of government committees that work to promote a more just society and to contribute to the health and wellbeing of members of our community. She is also a member of the International Working Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement. Julie is passionate about finding ways to give practical expression to her social justice values, about exploring the most effective means to build a more just society and promoting a values-based model of leadership.

Gavin Kempin is the Director of Advocacy & Service Development at MacKillop Family Services. Gavin has worked in the community sector for over 30 years. He was previously an operational General Manager with responsibility for MacKillop's out of home care services in metropolitan Melbourne. He has also held a range of management and project positions with DHS and the Community Services & Health ITB, and during his earlier career worked across areas including youth services, community development, homelessness and community housing, as well as being a representative on state and national peaks in the areas of youth services and homelessness. Gavin is a strong advocate on social justice, policy and practice issues, aiming to achieve excellent outcomes for disadvantaged people in the community.

Kathy Landvogt works as a social policy researcher in Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service, where she is engaged in action research, policy research and system advocacy on issues related to living on low income. Kathy is a social worker with experience in service delivery, management, and service evaluation in both government and community-based organisations. She has been an educator in welfare and social work, and in community and adult education. Kathy completed her PhD in social work in the area of community-based women’s learning and support groups.

Robyn Roberts is the Chief Executive Officer of Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service. Robyn is a trained social worker and teacher with an extensive practice background of nearly 20 years of working with children, families and young people in the community sector. Robyn was appointed CEO in November 2010. She has been working with Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service for nearly seven years and is drawn to the organization by its strong values and its commitment to achieving justice for all.

Marilyn Webster is the Manager of the Policy and Research Unit at Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service, an organization with a long history of action and advocacy for people on the margins.  Good Shepherd is a community based organization which provides micro credit, financial counselling, youth and family support and women’s services among others. Marilyn has worked for over 20 years with government and not for profit organizations in both direct service and in program and policy areas. Research priorities for Good Shepherd this year include fringe credit and the development of financial literacy strategies for women living on low incomes as well as education costs, respite care and mental illness and bankruptcy.

Lea Campbell studied in Germany and Australia where she completed a Bachelor of Arts and her PhD. The sociologically inspired doctoral thesis looked at how human service workers work with drug users. She has researched school exclusion, student health and wellbeing as well as drug and social policy for 10 years. She also taught family studies at the Australian Catholic University and drug studies at Monash University. Lea published two book chapters, various articles and book reviews, presented her work at international and national conferences and was a member of the editorial board of Just Policy, a former VCOSS publication, for many years. She now works for Esther’s Voice as a Research Coordinator and investigates educational disadvantage. Lea is interested in everyday narratives and how they reflect the types of societies we imagine and aspire to.

John Honner was Director of the Practice and Policy Unit at MacKillop Family Services (2001-2005) before being appointed interim Director of Edmund Rice Community Services in NSW (2006-2008). He has served on the boards of the Victorian Council of Social Service, Jesuit Social Services and Sisters of Charity Community Care. His qualifications include degrees in science and theology, culminating in a doctorate from the University of Oxford in the field of scientific method. His research interests include: leaving care and youth homelessness; the strengths and weaknesses of evidence based practice; the welfare state and the secular state; and the value of personal commitments in community services. John has published widely, his most recent book being Love and Politics: The Revolutionary Frederic Ozanam (David Lovell, 2008)