Speakers Biographies
Emmanuel "Manny" Collard
Manny Collard is a proud Noongar man connected to Wadjak and Ballardong boodja, who strives to carry forward the strength, knowledge, and spirit of those who came before him. Manny works for Wungening and manages several Community facing programs.
With deep respect for Country and community, he is honoured to welcome you here.
Mandy Drommer
Mandy Drommer is a qualified AMDRAS Mediator; Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner; Hague Convention Cross Border Mediator; Collaborative Professional; Coach, Trainer and Assessor.
Mandy is passionate about the promotion and delivery of facilitative mediation, which is why she has worked in this area for over 25 years. This includes with a large not for profit organization, during which time she coordinated the establishment of two, Family Relationship Centres in WA. Over 20 of these years were spent managing multidisciplinary teams at a senior level. This included operational responsibility for 50 staff, consortiums, and state-wide service locations.
In 2017 she opened her own clinical practice where she provides mediation for workplace and community disputes, family matters, relocation, parenting and property/financial matters. Additionally, Mandy provides mentoring and clinical supervision for FDRP’s and mediators.
Mandy is part of several committees including the Chair of Resolution Institutes National Family Law FDR subcommittee. Mandy was an inaugural member of the WAFLPN steering committee through to 2024.
Magistrate Samantha Craig
Samantha Craig was appointed as a Magistrate of the Family Court of WA in December 2024. Prior to Samantha’s appointment, she was appointed as Registrar to the Family Court of WA in October 2023 and worked extensively as a practitioner specialising in family law matters at Legal Aid WA.
Samantha has extensive experience working on complex family law matters and is a highly experienced Independent Children’s Lawyer.
Anne Hollonds AO
Anne Hollonds AO is currently CEO of the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA).
Anne recently concluded her term as Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner 2020-2025, a role based at the Australian Human Rights Commission. This role monitors policy and legislation to ensure that the human rights of children are protected and promoted and provides advice to governments.
Her report ‘Help Way Earlier!’ How Australia can transform child justice to improve safety and wellbeing’ was tabled in the Australian Parliament in August 2024 and was closely followed by a Senate Inquiry.
Formerly Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, Anne was Chief Executive of government and non-government organisations focused on research, policy and practice in child and family wellbeing for 23 years.
As a psychologist Anne has worked extensively in frontline practice, including in child protection; domestic, family and sexual violence; mental health; child and family counselling; parenting education; and family law counselling. Anne currently contributes to several expert advisory groups and boards.
Janet Carmichael
Janet is the Executive Director of the Court Children’s Service in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. In this role Janet is responsible for the work undertaken by family consultants (psychologists and social workers) who are engaged by the Court to assist families, registrars and judges make decisions that are in the best interests of children. Janet is also responsible for the work of Triage Counsellors who undertake risk screening and assessment as part of the FCFCOA’s Lighthouse program. Janet is a member of the FCFCOA’s executive team, sits on a number of FCFCOA committees and has played an active role in a range of court initiatives.
Prior to taking on this Court role in 2017, Janet held senior positions with CatholicCare Sydney (managing family counselling, mediation and men’s behaviour change programs), Relationships Australia NSW (as the inaugural manager of the Sydney City Family Relationship Centre) and with the Commonwealth Department of Veterans Affairs’ Open Arms program.
Janet is a registered psychologist with over 40 years’ experience working children and families. She also holds a master’s degree in community service management.
Magistrate Eric Martino
Magistrate Martino has been a Registrar and Magistrate of the Family Court of WA since October 2017. Since his appointment he has worked as both a docket Magistrate (with a case load of over 400 matters) and a trial Magistrate, where he has presided over parenting, financial and related cases.
Prior to his appointment, Magistrate Martino was a partner in a leading Family Law firm, as well as an Accredited Family Law Specialist and an Accredited Mediator. He also worked as an Independent Children’s Lawyer and represented parties and children in interlocutory and final hearings in the Family Court.
Magistrate Martino in passionate about Family Law and is committed to helping parties and children through what is often one of the most difficult times in their lives.
Registrar Samantha Padfield
Samantha was admitted to practice as a lawyer in 2004 and has worked exclusively in the family law jurisdiction throughout her legal career.
Prior to her appointment to the Family Court of Western Australia, Samantha practised in a range of small to medium private firms, representing both clients and children across the Family Court, Children’s Court, State Administrative Tribunal, and Magistrates Court jurisdictions.
In 2011, Samantha was appointed as an Independent Children’s Lawyer. In this role, she regularly appeared in complex and high-risk parenting matters in the Family Court, as well as in the Children’s Court, particularly in cases involving children placed in secure care and other high-risk circumstances. While demanding, this role was among the most professionally fulfilling of her career.
In April 2020, Samantha was appointed as a Registrar of the Family Court of Western Australia. Since that time, she has convened thousands of conferences in both financial and parenting proceedings. Samantha’s approach to family law is grounded in the belief that effective practice requires not only strong legal and advocacy skills, but also highly developed mediation skills, objectivity, and the capacity to respectfully challenge parties’ perspectives in order to promote outcomes that serve the best interests of children.
Bev Matthews
Bev Matthews has over eighteen years’ experience working in Child Protection in Western Australia.
Bev was appointed to the Family Court co-located position as the Team leader since February 2022.
Kevin Hanavan
Kevin completed his Honours degree in Psychology at Murdoch University in 2001 and subsequently completed a Master of Clinical Psychology degree at the University of Western Australia. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a Master of Arts in refugee studies.
Kevin currently works as a Family Consultant at the Family Court of Western Australia, as well as in his own private practice. He has a particular interest in Family and Domestic Violence and in working therapeutically with men.
Prior to working at the Court, Kevin worked for Relationships Australia, where he facilitated domestic violence groups for men referred through the Family Violence Court, in addition to developing training programs and providing professional supervision. Kevin also worked as a Professional Excellence Advisor at Centrecare, where he consulted in the development of Centrecare’s professional supervision practice.
Amanda Hunt
Amanda is committed to social justice, systems change and collaboratively solving wicked problems to enable people who are labelled or experiencing hardship and disadvantage to live good lives.
Amanda has been a not-for-profit leader in Australia for over twenty-five years. She is currently Director of Western Australia for 54 Reasons, which is the Australian operating arm of Save the Children. 54 Reasons exists so that all children and young people in Australia have their rights met and thrive, in all their diversity, creativity and curiosity.
With a Bachelor of Social Science (Human Services) and a Master’s in Business Leadership, Amanda is committed to building stronger connections across government, corporate and the community sectors, creating opportunities for shared learning, new partnerships and advocating for change making at a system and community level.
Amanda is a fierce and fearless advocate for amplifying the voices of people who are often not seen and heard in society.
Graham Wimbridge
Melissa Gillett
Melissa is the President of the WA Secondary School Executives Association, representing the professional needs of public secondary school principals, deputy principals and other school leaders.
She has worked in education for over 35 years as a School Psychologist, Policy Advisor, Deputy Principal, Principal and Collegiate Principal. As Principal of John Forrest Secondary College, she led the College to achieve the first “exceptional performance” Public School Review in WA.
As WASSEA President, Melissa works with both Government and senior education leaders to provide support to school principals in their work. She is passionate about influencing decision-makers to support the needs of low socio-economic kids and the schools who seek to close the massive educational gaps that currently exist.
Niel Smith
Niel is the President of the WA Primary Principals’ Association, currently serving his fifth year in the role. WAPPA provides a range of support and services to its 1160 members, in Government primary schools across the state. Their main functions are to provide support and advocacy, professional development and member connection.
In his role as President, Niel has been engaged with consultation in a range of high-level initiatives with the Department of Education, most recently including Family Law Matters.
Prior to his WAPPA role, Niel has been a substantive school principal within the Department of Education for over 25 years, in both metropolitan and regional schools.
Simone Jeavons
Simone is a Registered Psychologist at Wildfire Psychology with over 20 years of experience in mental health, psychological assessment, and complex trauma. She has specialised expertise in coercive control, family and domestic violence, post-separation abuse, and systems abuse.
Ms Jeavons has supported protective parents and their children in the Family Court of Australia across Queensland and New South Wales, and most recently in the Family Court of Western Australia. She offers services as a Single Expert Witness, specialising in complex matters involving coercive control.
She has undertaken advanced training in coercive control and stalking with Laura Richards, a UK-based Legal and Forensic Psychologist and former head of the Homicide Prevention Unit at Scotland Yard. Ms Jeavons is also a published author on coercive control, with her expertise regularly sought by media outlets.
Having established and led private practices in both Queensland and Western Australia, Ms Jeavons has worked with clients referred from frontline services, Defence, ACT for Kids, and private GPs. She holds a master’s degree in Organisational Psychology, enabling her to work across both clinical and organisational settings. Her consulting experience includes work with the Queensland Police Service (QPS), the Queensland Public Sector Commission, and major clients in the mining and oil and gas industries. Her areas of expertise include leadership development, workplace investigations, and strategic alignment of joint venture partners.
Ms Jeavons also has experience working with Aboriginal communities in Cape York while living and working in Weipa. In addition, she is an experienced Board Director and has previously volunteered her time with a Western Australian women’s health service.
The Honourable Simon Moncrieff SC
The Honourable Simon Moncrieff SC is a former Judge of the Family Court of Western Australia and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1).
With decades in complex parenting matters, judicial case management, and child-focused decision-making, he now practises as a mediator and arbitrator, leveraging alternative dispute resolution for durable family outcomes.
Dragana Blackwood
Dragana is an experienced family law practitioner with a focus on early dispute resolution. She blends legal advocacy’s rigour with mediation’s interest-based reframing for holistic solutions in complex disputes, passionately bridging courtroom and conference table to foster understanding, reduce conflict, and prioritise children’s needs.
Dr Georgina Dimopoulos
Dr Georgina Dimopoulos is one of Australia’s leading socio-legal researchers on children’s rights and participation in family law. She is an Associate Professor of Law at Southern Cross University.
Her research across family law, children’s rights and family violence aims to strengthen children’s meaningful, safe participation in decision-making processes. Georgina has successfully led research projects that implement ethical, innovative co-research methodologies with children and young people as lived experience experts, in collaboration with industry partners.
Georgina has been awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) 2026, for research that will generate new knowledge about children’s participation in family court matters as family violence victim-survivors in their own right.
Dr Samantha Hardy
Dr Samantha Hardy is the Director of the Conflict Management Academy. She is a neurodivergent conflict management specialist, with over 30 years of expertise including research, training, practice and lived experience. Sam is an experienced mediator and conflict coach and the founder of the REAL Conflict Coaching System™. Sam is an accredited mediator under the Australian Mediator and Dispute Resolver Accreditation System and is a Certified Transformative Mediator by the US Institute of Conflict Transformation. She is also a Certified Narrative Coach.
In 2021 Sam was awarded the Australian Resolution Institute Award for Service to Dispute Resolution for her leadership and innovation in the field. She was also awarded 2022 Conflict Coach of the Year at the Australian Dispute Resolution Awards.
Sam has also published widely in conflict resolution, including her books Dispute Resolution in Australia; Sex, Gender, Sexuality and the Law; Mediation for Lawyers; and Conflict Coaching Fundamentals: Working with Conflict Stories.
Deblina Mittra
Deblina is the Acting Managing Solicitor of the Dispute Resolution Unit at Legal Aid WA. She was admitted to the Supreme Court of WA in 2015 and entered the register of the High Court of Australia in 2017. She studied at the University of Western Australia and has practiced as a solicitor in family law, family violence, child protection and child support since graduating in 2014.
Being a middle child and unpaid mediator for her family growing up, she decided to pursue a Master of Laws majoring in Family Dispute Resolution. She has been chairing conferences at Legal Aid WA as an FDRP since 2025.
When not at work, Deblina juggles school and daycare commitments, playdates, sports and endless birthday parties for her three children. Her happy place is at the monthly Wine & Whine book club with friends.
Huia McGlinchey
(Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Tainui)
Huia’s leadership is shaped by culture, community and systems thinking. She brings design, strategy and evidence together to shape child and family services that respond to community priorities, strengthening connection, capability and impact for children and families.
Carolyn Alfonso
Carolyn leads place-based, collaborative work that amplifies the voices of children and families to shape the systems around them. She brings empathy and evidence together to translate community insight into meaningful action, driving change grounded in connection, story and impact.
Tiffany Rochester
Tiffany is a Clinical Psychologist and Co-Parenting Coach from Perth, WA. Recognised as a 2024 Women Changing the World Award recipient, Tiffany has two decades of experience bridging clinical practice and the family law sector. She is a sought-after international speaker, trainer, and consultant in the field of separated families and the family court system.
As the founder of The Same Mountain and Co-Parenting Companion, Tiffany has developed evidence-based frameworks that transform high-conflict family dynamics into workable co-parenting relationships. Her approach integrates Contextual Behavioural Science, along with practical strategies drawn from extensive experience, including as an Expert witness in Family Court, Court-mandated family therapy and Collaborative Law Coach. Tiffany has served as Past President of the ANZ Association for Contextual Behavioural Science, Research Associate for Telethon Kids Institute, and Council Member for Collaborative Professionals WA.
With her straightforward, practical approach, Tiffany translates complex clinical challenges into actionable solutions.
Belle Toy
Belle is a qualified and experienced Mediator specialising in Family Dispute Resolution. She is also a Certified Child Consultant, an experienced family and couples counsellor, trainer, and parent educator. With a background in counselling and psychology, Belle has worked in the social services field for over a decade. She is deeply committed to a child-focused approach in family law and is passionate about supporting families to achieve the best possible outcomes for their future.
Renae Sirons
Sophie Bretag
Sophie is an author, award-winning keynote speaker and executive human resources consultant, recognised for her thought leadership in kindness-led, human-centred leadership. She is the founder of Metta Leaders, with nearly two decades of experience supporting leaders and organisations across Australia and internationally.
She works with small businesses, complex public sector environments and global organisations, including major government agencies.
A sought-after voice on global podcasts, panels, conferences and leadership forums, Sophie is a multiple national Women in Leadership award finalist and LinkedIn Top Voice, with features in CEO Magazine, Wellbeing, Body+Soul and SmartCompany. Through her speaking and writing, Sophie is redefining performance by placing human capacity and kindness, at the centre of leadership.