ACT Council of Social Service Inc.

Justice | Equity | Social Inclusion | Reconciliation

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Staff

The ACTCOSS team is keen to meet you. Check out our profiles below and contact us if you'd like to chat about our areas of work.

Management Team

CEO:
Dr Emma Campbell

Dr Emma Campbell.Dr Emma Campbell joined ACTCOSS as Chief Executive Officer in January 2020.

Dr Campbell is a former CEO of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA), Australia’s peak representative body advocating on behalf of Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. 

Dr Campbell brings with her a dynamic and diverse work portfolio and a wealth of experience ranging across academia, the community sector, international crisis responses, business and government sectors.

She has a strong commitment to social justice and the community sector.

[email protected]
02 6202 7200
Contact about:
ACTCOSS priorities and strategic direction; public statements and commentary; membership; sponsor relationships and collaboration

Deputy CEO:
Adam Poulter

Mr Adam Poulter joined ACTCOSS as Deputy Chief Executive Officer in January 2022.Mr Adam Poulter.

Adam was formerly Deputy CEO of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Association of the ACT (ATODA) and has many years of experience working in leadership roles in various countries and in Australia with not-for-profit organisations in the foreign aid sector.

Adam oversees ACTCOSS’s policy and sector capability work. He has a breadth of experience and particular skills in brokering partnerships, advocacy informed by research and program management. 

He brings a strong commitment to speaking out for a fairer society and ACTCOSS’s core values to his role.

[email protected]
0422 036 979
02 6202 7200
Contact about:
ACTCOSS priorities and strategic direction; public statements and commentary; sponsor relationships and collaboration

Head of Policy:
Dr Gemma Killen

Gemma joined ACTCOSS in early 2021 as a Senior Policy Officer and became Head of Policy in 2022. Her policy responsibilities include justice, drugs and alcohol, gender, families and young people, and education.

Gemma has a PhD in Sociology at the Australian National University, specialising in gender, sexuality and community making and has extensive experience in social advocacy in Canberra. She is also a freelance writer, educator and engagement consultant on issues relating to gender and sexuality.

[email protected]
02 6202 7223
Contact about:
Policy; justice; drugs and alcohol; gender; families and young people; education

Head of Sector Capability:
Heather Fitt

Heather joined ACTCOSS in August 2021 as the Head of Sector Capability. She has responsibility for strengthening the ACT community sector’s ability to engage with the ACT Government on policy and program issues, managing community sector consultation and engagement through the Joint Community Government Reference Group, and strengthening organisational capacities including through the Human Resources Network. Heather also oversights the new ACTCOSS Community Sector Careers Hub project.

Heather has an extensive background working on the Australian Government’s international aid program, most recently managing monitoring and evaluation for the Australian Non‑government Cooperation Program. She is passionate about social justice and inclusive policy making, and has a commitment to building the capacity of the community sector in the ACT.

[email protected]
Contact about:
Sector capability, sector policy, commissioning, community development, ACTCOSS peer networks

Operations Manager:
Stephanie Crosby

Stephanie joined ACTCOSS in March 2018 as Operations Manager. She is a Chartered Accountant with a background in finance, strategy and process improvement. Stephanie began her career working in taxation and audit at KPMG, before moving into accounting and transformation roles with QANTAS for 13 years. More recently, her work has focused on project management, governance and organisational change. Stephanie has a Commerce (Accounting) Degree and has been a member of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand since 2003.

Stephanie is keen to use her corporate experience to support the work of ACTCOSS and the community sector in the ACT.

[email protected]
02 6202 7224
Contact about:
Administration; finance; governance

Policy & Development Team

Senior Policy Officer (Research and Data):
Geoff Buchanan

Geoff joined ACTCOSS in 2015 as a Policy and Research Officer, became the Policy Analyst and Research Manager in October 2016, then on to Senior Policy Officer (Research and Data) in 2018. This position was initially created to support sector engagement in the development of an industry plan for the community services sector in the ACT. His responsibilities are sector policy and homelessness. 

Geoff has over a decade of policy research experience, having worked at the Australian National University and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies before joining ACTCOSS. He has a multidisciplinary social science background with a focus on social policy and economics and has completed a Master of Geographical Science at the ANU. He has a longstanding research interest in the relationships between the community, government and market sectors.

[email protected]
02 6202 7222
Contact about:
Community sector policy; homelessness

CASP Development Officer:
Emma Hawke

Emma Hawke joined ACTCOSS in March 2022 as the CASP Development Officer. She is responsible for the coordination and support to the Community Assistance Support Program (CASP) and focuses on policy and sector development related to community care and health. 

Emma recently completed a Graduate Certificate of Public Health through the University of Wollongong, and has extensive experience in community development and health promotion in community organisations as well as local and state government. She is passionate and committed to creating social justice and improving the health and wellbeing of the Canberra community.  

[email protected]
02 6202 7234
Contact about:
Community Assistance and Support Program (CASP)

Senior Project Officer:
Amber Bootle

Amber Bootle joined the ACTCOSS team in February 2022 to oversee project development and implementation for the ACT Community Careers Gateway.

Amber has an extensive community sector background working in women’s issues, local and national disability and carer programs, mental health, Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander supports, and organisational accreditation.

The ACT Community Careers Gateway project has further ignited Amber’s passion and commitment to the ongoing growth and sustainability of the ACT community sector.

Amber has a wonderful partner, two children and in her downtime is all about listening to music and spending time with her family.

[email protected]
02 6202 7236
Contact about:
ACT Community Careers Gateway project

Project Support Officer:
Leyanne Thompson

[Bio coming soon!]

[email protected]
02 6202 7231
Contact about:
ACT Community Careers Gateway project

Policy Officer:
Avan Daruwalla

Avan joined ACTCOSS in 2021 as the Anti-Poverty Week Project Support Officer, and in January 2022 started acting in a Policy Officer position.

Avan is currently studying a Bachelors of Development Studies and a Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics at the Australian National University. She is also serving as the ANU Women's Officer representing the interests of women and non-binary students, focusing on sexual assault and sexual harassment advocacy and pastoral care support.

[email protected]
02 6202 7200
Contact about:
[Coming soon]

Gulanga Program Team

Senior Gulanga Program Officer:
Rachelle Kelly-Church

[Bio coming soon]

[email protected]
02 6202 7262
Contact about:
Gulanga Program

Gulanga Program Support Officer:
Brendan Richards

[Bio coming soon!]

[email protected]
02 6202 7202
Contact about:
Gulanga Program

Organisational Services Team

Communications and Events Support Officer :
Patrick Johnson

(bio coming soon)

[email protected]
02 6202 7277
Contact about:

Administration Support Officer:
Tashi Choden

Tashi Choden joined ACTCOSS in February 2021 as the Administration Support Officer. She is responsible for supporting the smooth operation of the office, events, administration and management of the membership database, and finance and payroll.

Tashi’s previous experience has been in the media and her interest has been in covering social issues, highlighting the plight of socially disadvantaged people. Through her reports, she has provided a voice to those who were socially disadvantaged and helped to bring the attention of policy makers on the issues.

[email protected]
02 6202 7200
Contact about:
Office admin; membership; accounts; general inquiries

ICT Officer:
Suzanne Richardson

Suzanne joined ACTCOSS in 2008 as the Communications and Membership Officer, and became the ICT Officer in 2021. Suzanne is the first point for office ICT support and manages the website. She performs desktop publishing and graphic design for our publications and some communications. Suzanne also assists in developing ICT policies, procedures and strategies. She also acts as ACTCOSS' Privacy Officer.

With a Bachelor degree in graphic design and new media, and a certificate II in IT, Suzanne enjoys using her skills to assist organisations who support our community's most vulnerable, and to advocate for positive social change.

[email protected]
02 6202 7235
Contact about:
ICT, website