The Council to Homeless Persons team is a passionate group of people dedicated to ending homelessness. Our staff, board, and volunteers work towards this goal in partnership with people who are or who have been without a home.
Our team
Deborah Di Natale
CEO
Deborah has a career-long commitment to social justice and advocacy for those who are experiencing disadvantage.
Deborah joined Council to Homeless Persons in 2023, following her role as CEO of the Northern Territory Council of Social Service, a peak body made up of not-for-profits, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and NGOs. She previously worked at Victoria Legal Aid in the family, law and civil division for over six years, as the Principal Solicitor of the Tenants’ Union advocating for housing as a human right, as the Legal Services Director at Justice Connect across Victoria and New South Wales, and as the Principal Lawyer at the North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service.
In both 2021 and 2022, Deborah was named as one of the Northern Territory’s 100 most powerful women. She holds an Executive Masters in Public Administration from the University of Melbourne.
With a deep interest in access to justice and system reform, Deborah is committed to working with the government, the sector and its allied services to forge better social outcomes for people without a home, while supporting a strong and sustainable homelessness service sector in Victoria.
Swagata Bapat
Director, Workforce Development & Innovation
Swagata is driven by a passion for helping people and organisations achieve their potential.
With 30 years working in the mental health and community sectors, she brings a wealth of experience in workforce capacity building, learning and development, executive coaching and facilitation.
Swagata has held senior leadership roles at cohealth, Neami National, Orygen and the National Centre for Excellence in Youth Mental Health. As a consultant, she’s undertaken projects for government bodies and organisations including headspace, Wellways Australia, SANE Australia and the National Mental Health Commission.
Swagata has seen first-hand the impact of insecure housing in her work as an outreach clinician and emergency foster carer and recognises the critical role the specialist homelessness services workforce plays in addressing the needs of people experiencing homelessness.
In her role at Council to Homeless Persons, Swagata is committed to collaborating with the sector on innovative workforce development approaches that support the needs of the SHS workforce.
Lucas Testro
Director, Policy and Communications
Lucas has more than 20 years experience as a storyteller, strategist, communications specialist and creative leader working across the community services, film & television, and marketing sectors. He has developed campaigns to help organisations such as National Missing Persons Week, the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, and the National Trust grow their public engagement; and created activist art projects promoting issues such as refugee rights and youth voices in the 2022 election.
He is particularly passionate about the potential for art to overcome preconceptions and elevate marginalised voices, sparking social change.
Kathy Wilson
Director, Lived Experience Programs
Kathy is passionate about elevating the voices and impact of lived experience across the SHS sector and addressing stigma in communities. Her own lived experience includes as a young homeless person and, more recently, in the mental health consumer movement. She is keen for Council to Homeless Persons to work with the diversity of people experiencing homelessness across Victoria and with partners and allies in the SHS sector, other consumer groups and other linked sectors.
Alison Fraser
Manager Learning and Practice Excellence
Alison’s 35-year career in the homelessness and family violence sectors encompasses direct service and management roles as well as extensive state government experience in policy development and program design. Drawing on her historical sector knowledge and passion for systems thinking, Alison strives to find practical and enduring ways to support workers, strengthen services, and improve outcomes for people facing structural disadvantage.
Desiree Garnier
Accountant
Desiree is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) with more than a decade of experience working in the community services, mental health and public health sectors. She’s worked for organisations including SecondBite, Tandem Inc., Sane and Burnet Institute.
Desiree is passionate about housing for all, mental health, and early education. She’s also interested in nutrition and food as medicine. Outside of work, she enjoys visiting farmers’ and emerging designer markets, cooking and travelling.
Peinee Chaw
Learning Systems Coordinator
Peinee supports learning and training initiatives at Council to Homeless Persons. She brings experience in learning systems, training operations and process improvement. Peinee is passionate about building quality learning and practical resources that play an important role in supporting practitioners and strengthening services across the homelessness sector. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring new places and outdoor activities.
Sebastian Salay
Senior Policy Officer
Sebastian develops policy solutions that create systemic change to end homelessness. He interprets data, synthesises evidence, and collaborates with the sector to create coalitions of support. To Council to Homeless Persons, he brings experience from working on youth policy and advocacy in Victoria, a peacebuilding program in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, and a research project about urbanisation and evictions in Vanuatu. Sebastian has degrees in politics and anthropology.
Carolyn Seiler
Executive Assistant
An accomplished Executive Assistant supporting C-Suite leaders, Carolyn brings extensive experience across a diverse range of sectors, including government, non-for-profit, telecommunications, banking and finance. She is highly skilled in managing complex priorities and providing strategic support to enable the delivery of key business outcomes in dynamic and challenging environments. Carolyn holds a Bachelor of Social Science and a Graduate Certificate in Policy and Governance and has a keen interest in social policy and reform.
Kim Thomson
Communications Officer & Parity editor
Kim brings a decade of media and communication experience to her role at Council to Homeless Persons. She’s worked as a journalist, copywriter and media lecturer and, in a past life, ran an independent music journalism magazine. A large part of her role at CHP is editing Parity, the long-running publication that interrogates homelessness and housing from different angles and perspectives.
Adele Townsend
Senior Training Practitioner
Adele is a specialist in facilitation, participatory engagement and inclusive practice. Trained in trauma-informed approaches, human-centred design, social impact and IAP2 engagement, she brings both professional rigour and lived values to her work. With a background in architecture and several years in social housing and homelessness in community services and government, she has led renter engagement, client voice initiatives, service design reviews and community consultations. Adele brings a unique combination of design thinking and sector experience, equipping her to support practitioners to engage meaningfully, inclusively and with impact.
Brittany Williams
Training Practitioner
Brittany has more than 10 years of experience in the homelessness sector, focusing on youth and family services. She has worked in crisis accommodation and youth refuge settings, including as part of a management team. Brittany draws on this experience in her role as a trainer at Council to Homeless Persons, helping to build the capacity of the SHS workforce. She continues to have a particular passion for working with youth and young adults to encourage social and community inclusion.
Jil
Bookkeeper
Jil has been the bookkeeper at Council to Homeless Persons for the last 7 years, responsible for the daily finance functions, processing, accounts payable and receivable, and bank and credit card reconciliations. Alongside her role at CHP, she has 10 years’ experience in the media industry and has worked in the disability sector. She is passionate about supporting CHP’s mission to help end homelessness and is currently undertaking a psychology course.
Our board
Celia Adams
Chair
Celia Adams is a committed and experienced leader in the social services sector. A graduate in Sociology and Government (Management) from the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Celia has over 20 years of dedication to social justice and human rights in the housing, government and disability services. Celia grew up and was educated in Shepparton and is a passionate advocate for regional Victorians experiencing disadvantage, homelessness and housing crisis. Celia has been CEO of BeyondHousing for seven years, and was awarded the prestigious Beth Thomson Lifetime Achievement Award in the 2017 Victorian Homelessness Achievement Awards.
Wayne Merritt
Deputy Chair
Wayne Merritt is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Better Health Network. He brings over 20 years of experience working in the specialist homelessness services system and the adjacent service systems including not-for-profit child, youth and family services, health and local government. Wayne has overseen delivery of the state’s largest portfolio of youth homelessness services, a significant suite of adult and family homelessness services, alongside justice and integrated family responses.
Paul Turton
Board Member
Paul has worked in community-based social housing, public housing and specialist homelessness services for more than 35 years. As Executive General Manager, Client Services at VincentCare, Paul leads a team of approximately 300 people to deliver crisis and case management support, supported accommodation, outreach services, homelessness access points, family violence services and accommodation, and alcohol and other drug services. Paul has undergraduate qualifications in community development, counselling, and therapeutic practice, and postgraduate qualifications in clinical research, leadership, and management. He is also qualified in workplace and business coaching, and group-based strategic decision making.
Anthony Busuttil
Treasurer
Tony is a Certified Practicing Accountant and a member of the Institute of Company Directors. He brings over 35 years of experience in accounting. He is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for CatholicCare Victoria, and an independent Audit Committee member of the Mercy Ministry of Companions. Prior to joining CatholicCare Victoria, he was the COO for Early Childhood Management Services, a not-for-profit an organisation managing approximately 70 kindergarten and childcare centres. Anthony was also previously the Finance and Corporate Services partner at KPMG, where he managed the finances for the National Partnership which at the time consisted of approximately 400 partners.
John Cullen
Board Member
John Cullen brings over 15 years of executive leadership experience in the social and human services sectors, with a strong focus on governance, risk management, and professional excellence. As a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, John has held senior roles including Head of Social Services and National Executive Manager – Operations with The Salvation Army, overseeing multi-million-dollar budgets and leading national initiatives in accreditation, compliance and service delivery.
He successfully designed and implemented the organisation’s Enterprise Risk Management framework across eight divisions and authored the Social Services Accreditation Guide, driving best practice standards nationally. John is passionate about creating long-term value for communities through strategic innovation and advocacy for vulnerable populations.
Andrea Dwyer
Board Member
Andrea brings over 30 years of experience in the Child, Youth, and Family sector, with expertise at an operational and executive level in out-of-home care, family violence, homelessness and community services. As Director of Innovation at Anglicare Victoria, she oversees strategic initiatives, driving creative solutions to complex challenges. Passionate about ending homelessness, Andrea is dedicated to creating change for care leavers, women and children escaping violence, and overrepresented groups, including First Nations people. She is experienced in strategic planning, program development, and design thinking, with a focus on delivering programs and projects that have meaningful impact.
Bernadette McCartney
Board Member
Bernadette is the Executive Director of Services at Meli where she is responsible for the executive oversight of several youth and adult housing and homelessness services across Barwon and South West Victoria. She brings significant experience in board governance, having served on the DVVic Board from 2012 to 2019 where she chaired the Finance Subcommittee. Bernadette also held the inaugural Chair role for Geelong Youth Engagement for more than three years.
Natalie McDonald
Board Member
Natalie is currently Chief Executive of Quantum Support Service, based in Gippsland. Quantum is a leading provider of community services across Gippsland including housing support and homelessness services in the region. Natalie has extensive experience as an executive leader in the healthcare sector, and began her career as a finance professional for BHP. Natalie brings a wealth of experience in governance, leadership, strategic planning, developing, and supporting collaborative teams.
Stephen Schmidtke
Board Member
Stephen began working in the homelessness sector in the early 1990s at one of Melbourne’s large night shelters in the CBD. Over the past twenty years, he has acquired extensive experience in senior management positions in the homelessness, aged care, and health sectors. Currently, Stephen is the General Manager of Homelessness and Client Support at Wintringham and also serves as the Chair of the CHP Governance Committee.
Heidi Tucker
Board Member
Heidi Tucker has been CEO of Anchor Inc since 2015. Anchor works with vulnerable children, families and individuals to assist them to attain safe, secure and stable homes. Heidi has high level practitioner knowledge in the community services sector, having experience in both government and non-government organisations in several Australian states. She is a qualified Company Director through the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has previously served on the Victorian Parole Board and the Outer East Living, Learning and Education Network Board and as Chair of the Central Coast Community Legal Service.
De-Joel Upkett
Board Member
De-Joel Upkett is a proud Juru, Durumbal, & Gubbi Gubbi man from North QLD and the CEO of Ngwala Willumbong. He has dedicated the last 20 years of his career to supporting, advocating, and working in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander affairs, largely in AOD (Health) and a few years in the child, youth and family sectors. In his journey, solid and integral leadership drives him to stand in the position and places that he does and can, knowing that there are unheard voices that need to be represented and a leadership style that gives hope to others in both his workplace and community.