Staff
The Federation is a member-based organisation which employs secretariat staff to carry out the work of the organisation on a day-to-day basis.
Federation staff are responsible for:
- coordinating and facilitating the activities of the Federation's members;
- promoting cooperation and communication between Federation members, funding bodies and other relevant organisations;
- representing the views of member centres, and their communities, in a variety of forums, including state and federal governments, the legal sector and the media; and
- conducting a telephone information and referral service for the public.
The current staff are:
- Hugh de Kretser - Executive Officer
- Chris Atmore - Policy Officer
- Lucinda O'Brien - Policy Officer
- Michelle McDonnell – Policy Officer
- Jacqui Bell - Policy Officer
- Claudia Fatone - Sector Development Officer
- Jane Staley - CLC Law Graduate Scheme Manager
- Parvathi Suriyakumaran - CLC Law Graduate 2010/11
- Bonnie Renou- CLC Law Graduate 2011/12
- Sally Goldner - Finance Officer
- Philip Marshall & Amanda Thompson - Office Administrators
Hugh de Kretser - Executive Officer
Hugh de Kretser is the Federation’s Executive Officer. He is also a Commissioner of the Victorian Law Reform Commission and a Director of the Sentencing Advisory Council. Hugh has extensive legal practice and policy experience in human rights and criminal justice issues, working on both victim and offender issues. Hugh has previously undertaken volunteer, employee and governance roles in community legal centres. He managed the Brimbank Melton Community Legal Centre and was on the board of the Human Rights Law Centre before joining the Federation in 2007. He started his legal career in 1999 at the commercial firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques where he practised principally in employment law and civil litigation.
Phone: (03) 9652 1505
Dr Chris Atmore - Policy Officer
Dr Chris Atmore is a Policy Officer at the Federation. She is a former Monash University academic who has volunteered and worked in the community legal sector for the last ten years, including as policy researcher with the Communications Law Centre, and a board member for the St Kilda Legal Service. She rejoined the Federation in 2007 after a previous period of policy work with us.
Chris has worked extensively on sexual assault and family violence issues in both her academic and community legal sector roles and is the author of over 30 publications. She is currently on a five-month secondment at Victoria Legal Aid, where she works as a mental health duty lawyer and assists people with guardianship/administration and infringement issues. When she returns to the Federation she plans to continue community collaborations on how best to meet GLBTI legal needs in Victoria, and co-leading the Australian Inquest Alliance, a recently formed campaign for national coronial reform.
Phone: (03) 9652 1506
Lucinda O’Brien - Policy Officer
Lucie works part time at the Federation as a Policy Officer, providing policy and law reform support for the Taxi Driver Legal Clinic at Footscray Community Legal Centre. Lucie also supports the Federation’s Civil Law and Elder Law working groups and contributes to the Federation’s policy work in these areas.
Prior to joining the Federation in 2009, Lucie completed articles at Holding Redlich, working mainly in personal injury law. She has also worked as a judge's associate in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Her first involvement in the CLC movement was as a volunteer lawyer at the Western Suburbs Legal Service.
Phone: (03) 9652 1512
Michelle McDonnell - Policy Officer
Michelle has over 15 years experience working in legal practice, research, policy and reform roles across the community sector, Parliament, courts and government. Michelle joined the Federation as a Policy Officer in 2010. Prior to joining the Federation, she worked in a range of areas including criminal and coronial law. Her work before this was focussed on responding to violence against women and children. During this time, she worked in a specialist sexual offences prosecution unit and in family violence law at Queensland Legal Aid. At the Federation she works Monday to Thursday on a number of criminal justice projects including the Smart Justice project and police accountability work.
Phone: (03) 9652 1507
Jacqui Bell started working as a Policy Officer with the Federation in 2010 and undertakes law reform work and projects in the areas of civil law, human rights and infringements. Jacqui previously worked for Blake Dawson in its Employment Law Practice and was actively involved in Blake Dawson’s pro bono program working in the areas of infringements, crimes compensation, public housing, debt and discrimination and sexual harassment in employment. Jacqui also worked with Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) on the Victorian Supreme Court case of Castles v Secretary to the Department of Justice concerning the Victorian Human Rights Charter and a prisoner’s right to health care. She then undertook a secondment with the HRLC during 2010.
Jacqui holds a double degree in Laws (Hons)/International Relations from La Trobe University. Her law honours thesis examined the concept of “reasonableness” within the definition of indirect discrimination and considered the application of this area of the law to women workers with family responsibilities.
Phone: (03) 9652 1511
Claudia Fatone - Sector Development Officer
Claudia joined the Federation in 2010. Her role as Sector Development Officer focuses on building capacity in community legal centres, including financial, human and IT resources. Through the Community Law Partnerships program, she promotes collaboration between pro bono firms and community legal centres.
Prior to joining the Federation, Claudia was Associate Director with Sport Employment Australia, a role she held for five years and in which she assisted a range of organisations with both recruitment and human resource requirements. Claudia has an extensive sport management background, including a role as Executive Officer of the Victorian Women’s Cricket Association where she oversaw integration with Cricket Victoria. Claudia’s governance experience includes a number of years on the Board of Womensport & Recreation Victoria, four years as President of the Victorian Women's Cricket Association and her current position as a Director of Cricket Victoria. With tertiary qualifications in Sport Management from Deakin University, Claudia also recently completed the Australian Institute of Company Director’s Course. For the past four years, she has volunteered with the YWCA’s Asista Program, a mentoring and friendship program for young women.
Phone: (03) 9652 1504
Jane Staley - CLC Law Graduate Scheme Manager
Jane Staley joined the Federation in 2010 as the Manager of the CLC Law Graduate Program. Jane has a background in not-for-profit management in a range of organizations. She was the CEO of the Australian Plaintiff Lawyers Association from 1997 – 2002, and Manager of the Asbestos Diseases Society of Victoria from 2004 – 2006 where she was very involved in the Make James Hardie Pay campaign. She balances her two days at the Federation with caring for her two small children at their home in Castlemaine. Jane’s position as the CLC Law Graduate Scheme Manager is funded through a grant from the Legal Service Board.
Phone: (03) 9652 1502
Parvathi Suriyakumaran - CLC Law Graduate 2010/11
Parvathi is our 2010/11 CLC law graduate. She is undertaking placements at Footscray CLC, Gippsland CLC and at the Women’s Legal Service.
Parvathi completed her combined Law/Arts (Gender Studies) degree in 2009. Throughout her degree she volunteered at five different CLCs and contributed to a range of community organizations and services, including the Friends of Kolkata (welfare, education and environment projects in India) and editing the Australian Development Review. Her past paid work has included working as a disability support worker and as a research assistant in a number of legal and community development projects.
Bonnie Renou - CLC Law Graduate 2011/12
Our 2011 Graduate, Bonnie Renou, recently completed her final year of Law at Victoria University. She will undertake her practical legal training in the first half of 2011 and then commence her CLC placements in August 2011 beginning at Eastern CLC before moving on to Murray Mallee CLC and the Environmental Defenders Office.
Bonnie has previously completed a Bachelor of Science (psychology) and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in criminology. She has also completed a Masters of Philosophy in criminological research at the University of Cambridge. Bonnie was awarded the Chief Justice’s Medal for Excellence and Community Service in June. She has volunteered extensively, with a particular focus on prisoners rights.
Sally Goldner - Finance Officer
Sally Goldner has been part-time finance officer for the Federation since 2005. Outside of this role she is finance officer with 4 other not-for-profits being Youthlaw, Thalassaemia Australia, Chamber Made Opera and Aphids. Sally has specialised as an accountant in the not-for-profit sector since 1998 as part of 25 years accounting experience.
Sally also works one day per week as project worker at Southern Health’s gender clinic. She is actively involved in organizations in Victoria’s GLBTI community including TransGender Victoria, Zoe Belle Gender Centre, Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby and Bisexual Alliance Victoria.
