Board
DV West’s Board of Directors make a significant contribution to the organisation’s culture, strategic focus, effectiveness and financial sustainability. They each bring a high level of skill, experience and knowledge to meet the governance and strategic directions of the organisation.
Mary Gleeson (Chairperson)
Children’s Registrar, Children’s Court of NSW (DCJ)
Mary’s is a practicing Lawyer and contributes her legal skills and knowledge to the governance of DV West. She currently works as a Children’s Registrar at the Children’s Court of NSW (DCJ). In this role she is conducting dispute resolution conferences with parties to Care and Protection proceedings to assist them reach agreement in the best interests of children. She is also conducting Schooling conferences in matters where the Department of Education has brought local court proceedings where children are not attending school.
Before this, she was the Manager of an Early Intervention Family Law program within Legal Aid NSW and has 25 years of experience as a Family Lawyer. She commenced her career in private practice before moving to Legal Aid NSW in 1998. She is an experienced litigation lawyer who has worked for parents as well as an Independent Children’s Lawyer. The focus of her current practice is providing service to Aboriginal clients against a history of poor access and use of the Family Law system.
Mary is a member of the Indigenous Issues Committee of the Law Society of NSW on legal policy and practice issues concerning Indigenous Australians.
She is passionate about early intervention legal services and has a professional understanding of the legal needs and circumstances of women and children when they are experiencing domestic or family violence. Mary brings this comprehensive knowledge to her role as a valued director on the Board of DV West.
Nita Dowel
Senior Policy Officer, Aboriginal Family Violence (now retired)
Nita is an Aboriginal worker who has worked for 30 years within justice services including probations and parole, working directly with inmates and their families and in policy. Before retiring, she worked as a Senior Policy Officer at NSW Police focusing on Aboriginal Family Violence. Nita brings her valuable policy knowledge to the governance of DV West and her in-depth understanding of culturally safe service provision to the organisation.
As an Aboriginal woman Nita has an in-depth knowledge of the effects of domestic violence in the Aboriginal community and the difficulties that Aboriginal women face in accessing culturally competent services.
Nita believes the DV West will continue to grow in its capacity to provide quality, culturally safe services to increased numbers of Aboriginal women and other culturally marginalised women. Nita is passionate about DV West’s expertise and ability to provide flexible and innovative services.
Vanessa Barnes
Acting Service Delivery Manager and Aboriginal family worker, Junaya Family Development Services
As a proud Bundjulung woman Vanessa brings a range of knowledge and skills to her governance role, as a director on the Board of DV West.
Vanessa has worked in management, counselling and mediation. She is currently employed in a management and development role with Junaya Family services. Vanessa works to strengthen Aboriginal families and increase parent’s capacity to have their children restored to their care or to prevent the removal of children. DV is commonly a factor in the removal or the threat of child removal.
Vanessa brings knowledge and guidance to DV West’s approach to working with Aboriginal families. She is committed to the work that DV West undertakes and the services it provides.
She hopes to see DV West fulfil its mission and one day see a society free of violence against women and children.
Joanna Schofield
Child Protection Case Worker, The Department of Communities and Justice
Joanna has a background in business, and training to the business sector and contributes relevant aspects of this knowledge and expertise to the governance of DV West.
In recent years Joanna changed career paths. She graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Human Sciences Degree, majoring in Community Service and Counselling. She completed this qualification to allow her to follow her ambition to work in a helping profession, to empower vulnerable people and address inequality in her community.
Joanna currently works as a child protection caseworker for The Department of Communities and Justice. The primary focus of the position is to ensure the wellbeing, safety and protection of children and young people.
Joanna is a feminist with a passion for social justice and equity. Her work on the Board of DV West is to support the vision for a society where women can live free from domestic and family violence. She is especially committed to inclusive and accessible services and contributes to the Board’s continual improvement of access and equity to DV West’s services. Joanna is excited to be part of this innovative and important service.
Susan Heward-Belle
Associate Professor, Fellow HEA, Director MSWQ, Associate Director Research Centre for Children and Families, Affiliate Sydney Institute for Women, Children and their Families – University of Sydney
Susan Heward-Belle is an Associate Professor in the Social Work and Policy Studies Program in The Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. She has a strong interest in researching innovative strategies to address violence against women, children, and young people, which are underpinned by principles of social justice and gender equity.
Eva Adamkiewicz
Senior State-wide Educator, the NSW Health Education Centre Against Violence (ECAV), President, the NSW Bilingual Educators Association Inc.
Eva is an educator who has overseas training and experience in journalism. After establishing herself in Australia she completed social science and welfare studies. She has worked in counselling, casework, community development, group work, training and management.
For nearly 30 years Eva supported individuals and groups of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds on health and welfare issues. Before joining ECAV, Eva was coordinating the Bilingual Community Education Program in Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD), managing a pool of female educators of diverse backgrounds, delivering health educational programs to women’s groups in their respective communities.
In her current role, she is working around domestic and family violence issues experienced by women and children. Eva believes that health and other government services need to be more inclusive by delivering informed and sensitive responses to migrants, refugee and asylum seekers, who have experienced trauma, violence, abuse and neglect.
Eva brings to DV West, her knowledge and experience of working with culturally diverse groups who are impacted by domestic and family violence, as well as intersectionality of other forms of oppression. Eva sees DV West as a service that has a great capacity to work effectively with women and children of diverse minority groups by recognising additional issues – different forms of tactics used against them, barriers stopping them from seeking safety, secrecy and shame associated with DFV. Eva believes DV West is in a position to increase access and equity of service delivery to clients of different cultural backgrounds.
Win Htwe
Win is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in the Australian and emerging markets. Her expertise lies in navigating complex political and regulatory landscapes and implementing risk management and financial accountability strategies.
As a passionate social justice advocate, Win brings her extensive knowledge and experience to the board of DV West. She is committed to creating a world free from violence and fear and is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in domestic violence policy — particularly for migrants and refugees. Through her skills and expertise that complement the dynamics of the board and DV West, she is determined to protect and serve victims of domestic violence.
Alison Crealy
Chief Financial Officer, iPartners Group
Alison has over 20 years’ experience in accountancy and corporate governance. She has held senior management positions across public practice, US listed entities and ASX-listed entities. She is a Chartered Accountant, Graduate of the Governance Institute of Australia, Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Bachelor of Business from the University of Technology, Sydney. She has most recently worked as the CFO for a number of ASX listed companies, primarily in the healthcare, technology and mining industries. She has experience working with boards as an executive and has served as both Company Secretary and Director on various not-for-profit and corporate boards.
