Bernie is a Co-Founder of the Centre for Relational Care, and the Founder and Director of BackTrack. Early in his career, he saw kids dropping out of school, getting into trouble, and falling through the cracks of a system that couldn't meet their needs. This inspired him to start BackTrack in 2006, with a shed, volunteers, and a mission to keep kids alive, out of jail, and chasing their dreams. BackTrack offers vulnerable young people holistic, flexible, and long-term support through educational, training, and diversionary activities, transitional employment, residential accommodation, and youth work. The BackTrack Network now supports other communities in regional NSW and QLD. Bernie was named Australian of the Year Local Hero (2020).

Sophi is CEO with the Centre for Relational Care and Director of Adaptive Leadership Australia. Sophi's work centres around people, purpose, organisations and systems change. As co-founder of a systems-thinking research centre and a leader of programs and teams across a range of organisations and sectors, Sophi has developed a toolkit of human centred and practice-based methodologies that have directly contributed to national change initiatives and capability uplift in the UK and Australia. She holds an Industry Fellow role with the Institute for Public Policy and Governance at UTS where she spent a decade building leadership capacity across the public sector.

Aunty Rhonda is a Gadigal, Bidgigal and Yuin Elder. She is a compassionate advocate in the fields of social justice, human rights self-determination, decolonisation, self-governance, community strengthening and cultural revitalisation for the future generations. She is an Academic with a Masters in Aboriginal Studies, (Social and Emotional Well Being) and is currently pursuing her PhD in Memory, Solidarity and Relationships (Connecting Youth back to Country). In her capacity as the Elder in Residence at the Centre for Relational Care, Aunty Rhonda draws on her many years of cultural, political, historical knowledge and advocacy.

Bronwyn is an experienced engagement and communications consultant with a strong background in stakeholder engagement, corporate communications and government relations. Bronwyn's career includes senior engagement roles in energy and infrastructure industries. She has IAP2 certifications in engagement and facilitation, and is a volunteer with the Pyjama Foundation, supporting their Love of Learning program for children in out-of-home care.

With a background in out-of-home care and system innovation, Jessica brings valuable firsthand insights into how the system operates and a deep passion for driving positive change. Jessica is dedicated to placing relationships and connection at the heart of care, working to transform the out-of-home care system into one that truly prioritises the relational well-being of children and families.

Dilip is a co-founder of the Centre for Relational Care, and a proud Social Worker. He has deep experience of working within Out of Home Care, Mental Health, and Violence Prevention care systems going back over the last twenty years in casework, clinical, leadership, and management roles. Dilip now enjoys the freedom of working for himself and being creative in his practice as Psychotherapist, Supervisor, Trainer, and Systems Consultant. Dilip is a relational therapist at his core, and a systems thinker who has found various ways to engage in system transformation over the years; from practice, to research, and advocacy. Dilip brings his unwavering commitment to relational thinking and practice to his role with the CRC. He looks forward to building more fruitful connections and helping lead sustained, relationally-driven system change for those most vulnerable in our community.   

Tracey brings over 25 years of experience in NSW's Education and Human Services sectors and is committed to promoting Aboriginal self-determination in all areas of social policy. Commencing her career as a teacher on the south coast of NSW, Tracey has worked in leadership roles in child protection and out-of-home care in the government and non-government sectors. She worked as an independent reviewer on the Family is Culture Review into Aboriginal children in out-of-home care, chaired by Professor Megan Davis, from 2016 until 2019. She currently works in service design, research, innovation and implementation support in a large out-of-home care provider. Tracey is a passionate advocate and ally for all children, parents, and families impacted by the child protection system, and she actively promotes the role of family and community in children’s lives. She co-founded Shoalhaven Illawarra Families Together (SHIFT) in NSW in 2022, which promotes family participation and inclusion in child protection and out-of-home care processes.  

Vafa is a Lecturer in Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Sydney, where he specialises in the ethical dimensions of social, political and economic life. He was previously the inaugural Executive Director for Research and Policy at the James Martin Institute for Public Policy and before that taught political philosophy at the University of Oxford. Vafa has worked at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including in its policy planning branch, and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and served as an Australian diplomat in Afghanistan, the Balkans and to the United Nations. He has been a Visiting Researcher at Google DeepMind and a Carr Center Fellow at Harvard University. Vafa currently serves on the Research Committee of Amplify. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA) and a Graduate    of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). 

Martin is a published author, analyst and facilitator.  He has been a public servant, a Ministerial advisor and Chief of Staff and a consultant and advisor. He has held positions in the federal and NSW public sector and worked for Cisco’s innovation and strategy group for 12 years leading a practice across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. As well as his own consulting and advisory work, Martin has held advisory roles with Deloitte and PwC and chaired or been on the boards of think tanks, advisory groups and committees for state and federal governments and a range of civil society organisations including the Australian Centre for Social Innovation and the Centre for Policy Development. Areas of focus include digital transformation, strategic thinking and planning for public sector organisations, management and leadership development, social care, cities and urban planning and learning and skills, including higher education. He is part of the team supporting The Possibility Partnership exploring approaches to human services systemic change and is a Practice Fellow at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government for digital government strategy and leadership.    

Stephen Lewin joined Youth Insearch as General Manager in December 2014 and was appointed CEO in November 2019. Over the past five years as CEO, Stephen has led a transformative journey, scaling the organisation's impact. Under Stephen's leadership, Youth Insearch has expanded its reach and deepened its impact by clearly defining it core capabilities, elevating lived experience of young people, and advocating for systems change, to provide a care system that focuses on connection, belonging and identity, through peer based dialogical practice and relational care for vulnerable young people. Stephen's commitment to creating public value is rooted in his own lived experience as a former Youth Insearch participant. Prior to his role at Youth Insearch, Stephen worked with the NSW Government for 19 years, in Child Protection, Out of Home Care, and Disability Services. His extensive experience in delivering services to society's most vulnerable people has been instrumental in his success at Youth Insearch. Stephen holds an Executive MBA from the University of Wollongong, a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management from Flinders University and is a Graduate of the Australian Insitute of Company Directors (GAICD).   

Emily is an Australian-born Māori woman whose personal journey through Australia's Out-of-home Care system shaped her life's mission. After becoming a mother while in high school, Emily began working in residential care where she recognised the critical need for youth representation. Today, Emily serves as a Director and Secretary with the International Foster Care Organisation and sits on CREATE Foundation's board of directors after years as their young consultant. As a Brand Ambassador and National Changemaker with Adopt Change, she contributes to national policy recommendations and programs. Through her work with Creating Chances, Emily empowers youth through sports-based development programs in schools. She represented Australia at Festival23 during the Women's FIFA World Cup, connecting with female leaders globally. Driven by her lived experience, Emily remains dedicated to advocating for children and young people in care as they transition to independence. 

Brendan is a senior Clinical Psychologist who has worked in child protection and out-of-home care systems since 2001.  Originally from New Zealand, Brendan has worked internationally and in Australia in not-for profit and public mental health services as a clinician-therapist, supervisor and researcher before entering private practice in 2021.  Brendan has a keen interest in building relationally informed communities of practice in the health sector and is a founding member of the Centre for Relational Care.