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

Head of Policy:
Craig Wallace

Craig joined ACTCOSS in 2015 as the Housing Campaign Manager and became Advocacy Manager in October 2016 and Head of Policy in 2020. Craig has led work on housing, election campaigns, NDIS, transport and planning.

With a background in the Australian Public Service including in policy areas for housing, youth, volunteering and disability, leading a community housing association and as the President of a national peak disability rights body, Craig is passionate about social justice, human rights, better transport and infrastructure, plus the importance of affordable and accessible housing for all Canberrans.

[email protected]
02 6202 7208
Contact about:
Campaigns; advocacy; housing; transport; infrastructure; planning

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

Senior Policy Officer:
Gemma Killen

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

Gemma recently completed 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:
Justice; drugs and alcohol; gender; families and young people; education

Senior Capability Officer:
Heather Fitt

Heather joined ACTOSS in August 2021 as the Senior Capability Officer. She has responsibility for engaging with the ACT Government on the Commissioning Roadmap and the Service Costing Project, along with supporting the Joint Community Government Reference Group and the Human Resources Network.

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

CASP Development Officer:
Bianca Williams

Bianca joined ACTCOSS in 2020 and works on the coordination and development of the Community Assistance and Support Program (CASP) Network and policy related to health, disability and ageing. Bianca has over a decade’s experience working in the ACT community sector and has served on various ACT boards, including two years as the President of Brindabella Women’s Group. She has project managed, and contributed to a number of women’s community art projects. Additionally, she was a regular host of the Yes She Can multicultural women’s radio show.

Bianca is a final year PhD Candidate in Gender, Sexuality and Culture at the Australian National University. Her research interests include feminist history, intersectionality, maternal wellbeing, Reconciliation and disability rights.

[email protected]
02 6202 7234
Contact about:
CASP, health, disability, ageing

Anti-Poverty Week Project Support Officer:
Avan Daruwalla

Avan joined ACTCOSS in 2021 as the Anti-Poverty Week Project Support Officer. Her responsibilities surround support of the ACT Anti-Poverty Week Executive Committee, social media campaigning and event planning.

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:
2021 Anti-Poverty Week

Organisational Services Team

Project Officer:
Carmen Byrne

Carmen joined ACTCOSS in July 2020 as the Operations Manager (maternity leave placement), then moved into Project Officer in 2021.

Carmen is an experienced business leader, spending most of her career in the health care manufacturing sector. Her corporate career spans a diverse range of roles from clinical research, quality management, sales, marketing, general management, industry association board member and an international assignment. Carmen is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and has completed a Bachelor of Applied Science, Masters of Business Administration and Post Graduate Certificate in Health Policy.

More recently, Carmen has embarked on a career and tree change, moving from Sydney to the Canberra region and dividing her time between work with ACTCOSS and leadership-related coaching and facilitation work.

[email protected]
02 6202 7234
Contact about:
Administration; finance; governance

Media and Communications Support Officer:
Tom de Hennin

Tom joined ACTCOSS in August 2021 as a Media and Communications Support Officer. Tom is in his final year of studies at the Australian National University studying a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in marketing and management. Tom has an interest in the applications of traditional marketing methods towards enacting impactful social change.
[email protected]
02 6202 7200
Contact about:
Communications, media, social media, CommsNet

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