Growing Children
Dr. Deidré Nel holds a PhD in Social Work and specialises in Play Therapy. She has pursued further learning in trauma through the Neurosequential Network and is a certified Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics trainer. Over the years, she has worked closely with many children and families who have experienced hardship and challenges. Dr. Nel is passionate about ensuring the best outcomes for people whose lives have been impacted by trauma.
Ants Smit is Safe for Children’s Automation, Systems & Operations Lead — the quiet force behind the scenes ensuring our technology, data, and workflows run smoothly, efficiently, and reliably.
Nicknamed “Ants” for his worker-ant mindset, Ants is role-oriented, solutions-focused, and deeply committed to the success of the whole team. Like a worker ant within a thriving community, his focus is never on personal spotlight, but on strengthening the systems that allow others to do their best work.
Young, highly capable, and technically astute, Ants brings together the strengths of systems architecture, automation logic, and hands-on operational support. He designs, maintains, and improves the digital infrastructure that underpins Safe for Children — from registrations and payments to certificates, reporting, and internal dashboards.
Lead Operations & Admin Support
Jan is our highly efficient and resourceful Admin Support and Operations Lead. Coming from a global customer service, programme management, and facilitation background, Jan possesses a variety of administration and training skills that have helped her discover her purpose and passion for building seamless customer experiences, both internally and for clients.
Having developed programmes and led international teams through significant technical and policy changes, tutored Workplace Learning, and more recently, Alternative Education, Jan has realised her sweet spot is supporting the Safe for Children team in successful course delivery and achieving customer service excellence.
Communications & Promotions Lead
Phil is our highly skilled and hard-working Communications and Promotions Lead. With over 30 years of experience in primary and secondary school education, teacher training, and international recruiting, Phil has had a remarkable career. Initially embarking on a one-year overseas experience (OE) in Japan, Phil ended up spending several enriching years there. He has now returned to New Zealand, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and a profound appreciation for the incredible and enduring gifts gained during his time abroad.
Phil intimately understands the challenges that educators face in establishing and upholding environments where child protection, inclusiveness, and safety are paramount. He is committed to finding innovative ways to support educators and their communities.
Phil’s dedication to our vision of shaping brighter futures for children is deeply ingrained in his extensive background and commitment to education.
Professional Supervisor in Bicultural Practice
Cathy holds a BA in Education and a PG Dip in Professional Supervision in Bicultural Practice. She resides in New Brighton with her extended family and lively Jack Russell dog. Previously, Cathy worked at the OSCAR Network in Christchurch. Currently, she works as a Professional Supervisor and also facilitates Treaty and Cultural Awareness Courses for Safe for Children. Cathy brings to her work her mixed cultural background of English, Ngapuhi/Te Aupouri, and Dalmatian heritage.
Bellbird Charitable Trust
Rachael has over 20 years’ experience as a qualified social worker, in a variety of roles including advisory training, and service delivery, all with a focus on child protection and the wellbeing of whānau. Part of her roles within management have been to work within the Quality Management system, including developing systems for continuous improvement and providing practice guidance and support to teams of social service practitioners.
She is passionate about the role of community to keep children safe and support whānau.
Engage Training
Kathryn has a Master’s in Educational Psychology and is certified as a Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics practitioner under Dr. Perry. She has worked and trained in this area for over fifteen years, delivering to various organisations and individuals, including primary and secondary teachers, the Police, Oranga Tamariki, prisons, kindergartens, parents, recreation groups, mental health professionals, politicians, corporates, and Safe for Children.
Healthy Active Learning (WDHB)
Sarah is the Senior Dietitian for the Healthy Active Learning team (Public Health), collaborating with Waikato schools and early childhood centers to promote a healthy food environment. With fifteen years of experience as a registered dietitian, Sarah has worked in various dietetic specialties, including pediatrics, eating disorders, renal health, and public health. She strongly believes in nurturing curiosity and enjoyment of food in individuals and communities, advocating for food system changes to enhance access to nutritious, affordable food.
Special Science Teacher
Barbara Cook is a qualified teacher and specialist STEAM educator at STEAM-ED Charitable Trust. Her classes cover all levels of the New Zealand curriculum, catering to children aged 5 to 13 years old, and including both home-educated and school students. The foundation of her pedagogy is a respectful, restorative approach to classroom management and learning. With a background in educational psychology and wellness education, and her experience teaching neurodiverse learners, Barbara is motivated by a dedication to student and teacher well-being and a heart for students whose interests, abilities, and needs take her beyond her lesson plans.
Food Safety Educator
Tessa Clarke has over 20 years of experience in the field of food safety, working with people in various organisations to help them achieve excellence in this area. She is a qualified Environmental Health Officer with additional certifications in HACCP and Auditing. Training has always been Tessa’s passion, and over the years, she has collaborated with numerous organisations to help managers and staff understand their responsibilities in providing safe and suitable foods, along with practical measures to achieve it. Tessa is committed to providing quality training for Safe for Children, assisting organisations and schools in growing in a positive direction.
Education Leader
Kerry is an experienced facilitator, counsellor, educator, and education leader. She is passionate about supporting students who may struggle to fit into the traditional education system, those who find it challenging to engage in formal education, or those whom schools find difficult to accommodate. Kerry is driven by a strong sense of social justice, understanding that access to education can profoundly change life outcomes.
Her education experience spans both compulsory sectors, providing her with comprehensive knowledge from Years 1-13. Her restorative practice is narratively based, drawing on ideas from Te Hui Whakatika and tailored to individual school needs.
Kerry holds a Masters degree in Counselling and Educational Leadership from Waikato University and is committed to lifelong learning.
Jacob is a neuroscience educator, registered social worker, and professional supervisor. Much of his work draws on his training in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, integrating core principles of neurodevelopment and traumatology into various services in the education, social work, and counseling sectors.
Jacob is passionate about seeing people grow in their personal and professional lives and firmly believes that prioritising this growth is essential for thriving in our complex world. Through his practice, Jacob equips, empowers, and inspires people to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to live and work well with each other in our bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Trauma Responsive Education
Karina Schreurs has been working in a range of therapeutic roles for the past 20 years. She holds a Degree in Occupational Therapy, completed Post-Graduate studies in Cognition and Sensory Processing, obtained an Individual Certification in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, and earned a Post-Graduate Diploma in Applied Neuroscience through King’s College London. Karina is passionate about understanding how the brain works, how genetics and experiences shape it, and developing practical strategies for young people to achieve success relationally and in their learning.
Management Consultant
Paul has had a very busy and varied career, starting his professional journey as a teacher before transitioning into a wide range of leadership roles in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. He has also owned and run his own businesses and charitable Trust. Latterly he has held contracts with the Ministry of Education.
His expertise lies in change management, leadership, and developing high-performing teams. Paul’s mission is to assist those who work with children to achieve their goals, both professionally and personally, by sharing his experiences, expertise, and knowledge and thus helping our children reach their full potential.
Paul offers a range of services to organisations with the aim of creating workplaces that prioritise people.
In his spare time, he currently serves on the Acorn Foundations Distributions Committee and has previously been appointed to the boards of Creative Bay of Plenty, TEDx Tauranga, the Kaimai Outdoor Centre and The Beyond the Couch Trust.
He was also appointed by the Ministry of Education to sit on two Establishment Boards of Trustees who were charged with delivering two new schools within the Western Bay of Plenty.
New Zealand Red Cross
Cate Keville is a NZRC Senior First Aid Instructor based in Wellington. With a background in education and training, she has been teaching First Aid for over 10 years. Additionally, she serves as a Pacific First Aid Instructor/Delegate, traveling to Red Cross National Societies throughout the Pacific to train people to be First Aid Instructors. Additionally, over the past 6 years, she has been traveling throughout New Zealand facilitating Psychological First Aid Courses.
Halberg Foundation
John is a Lead Adviser for the Halberg Foundation, working with teachers, coaches, and enthusiastic volunteers in the school and sports sectors. He has been working in the disability sector for over 15 years, 13 of which have been with the Halberg Foundation, where he has been presenting inclusion training sessions in various formats. The Halberg Foundation believes in creating an inclusive New Zealand where we enhance the lives of physically disabled young people by enabling them to participate in sports and recreation. John is qualified with a Bachelor of Business Studies Degree, majoring in sport business and coaching. Based in Taranaki, he is also a keen sportsman involved in football, golf, and running.
Drowning Prevention Auckland
Tamsin joined DPA in 2022 and led the development of the Float first campaign. She now leads DPAs work in the new settler space and teaches our RUKU programme. She is passionate about encouraging people to enjoy the water safely and is a keen ocean swimmer, certified SSI open water diver and a volunteer surf lifeguard. Tamsin also brings over 15 years experience in marketing, leadership and project management roles within the education sector in Aotearoa and the UK. Tamsin is a British/Peruvian New Zealander with a BA (Hons) in International Public Relations and French.
Tracey is our dedicated ADHD expert with a passion for advocacy and education. Through her lived experience with ADHD, Tracey can provide that all-important personal perspective on both supporting ADHD children and being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult.
As a Board Member and educator of ADHD NZ, she works closely with Safe for Children to deliver up-to-date, evidence-based information and strategies to support children affected by ADHD. She also manages ADHD New Zealand’s Parent and Adult community groups on Facebook.
Tracey has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and is currently training as an ADHD Coach.
Kings Trust Aotearoa
Rod Baxter has been contributing to youth work for more than 20 years. He increased ethical practices for youth workers by collaboratively developing the ‘Code of Ethics of Youth Work in New Zealand’ (2008). As CEO of the Kings Trust Aotearoa, he has developed entrepreneurship education programs to support youth in their engagement with the economy. With the Ministry of Youth Development (MYD), he co-wrote ‘Te Kete Aronui: Understanding what good looks like in youth enterprise’, an evidence-based outcomes framework that has informed MYD to improve the quality of youth enterprise opportunities. He has developed projects and programs for youth across NZ, most notably at the Wellington Boys’ and Girls’ Institute. Rod has chaired several boards, including the National Youth Workers Network Aotearoa, Pathways to Professionalisation Working Group, and Korowai Tupu, and regularly facilitates youth development training with Praxis, the NZ Youth Mentoring Network, and Safe for Children.
Autism Educator
Lynne partnered with Altogether Autism in 2014 and Safe for Children in 2019. She has extensive experience presenting to groups such as the NZSTA, MOE, MSD, and schools. She has also contributed to various educational panels on inclusive education.
Lynne is a mum to a beautiful autistic teenager. She lives the experience of autism and is incredibly passionate about educating and raising autism awareness to support whānau, parents, and professionals.
Founder & Director
Donna our incredibly passionate and dedicated Founder and Director, has over 30 years of experience in education and out-of-school care and recreation. Donna has led regional and national initiatives, delivering essential advice, support and training. She has championed child protection and health & safety through Ministry of Social Development audits, served on influential Government advisory panels, and directed Children’s Services for YMCA NZ.
In 2017, Donna’s drive for change led her to set up Safe for Children to empower educators, caregivers, and all those invested in our children’s future. By sharing the collective intelligence of professionals in an easy to access, easy to understand way, Donna loves equipping people to be their best selves in supporting children’s growth, development and well-being.
