People

David’s career in the social services sector began in the mid-1990s,  when he escaped the world of banking and finance to manage what was at that time Australia’s largest needle and syringe exchange program. From there he worked as a child and family services social worker in Victoria and Northern Ireland, before moving into roles in public policy. David’s career has spanned portfolios including child protection and out-of-home care; mental health; alcohol and drug services; higher education and skills; employment; and Aboriginal economic development. The constant theme across his career has been how government and service providers can work together to improve the quality, effectiveness and impact of the social services they deliver – and how we can build a more inclusive, fair, and prosperous community.

David joined WIDI in 2023 as Director. He has qualifications in business, social work, public policy, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Chris Halacas joined WIDI in April 2021 to manage the Disability Standards Research Project, commissioned by the Victorian Disability Worker Commission and is also leading a project to design a common workforce dataset in the specialist homelessness services sector. Chris has extensive experience in designing and leading not for profit projects and programs, including executive and management leadership roles across public health, community services and primary care.

Chris is interested in using systems, data and information for good and enjoys bringing people together to adopt and share evidence-based approaches. He is particularly interested in understanding complex systems in order to simplify and refine to make information easier and quicker to access and understand for all staff to use, particularly through data visualisation.

Lesley is the Senior Program Manager at RMIT’s Workforce Innovation and Development Institute. (WIDI) leading the implementation of the Skills in Employment Project and Higher Apprenticeships and Traineeships Social Service Extension Project (HATSSEP). She has more than 20 years’ experience working in community services, predominantly in disability, aged care and mental health, across the government, not-for-profit and private sectors both in Australia and in the UK.

Lesley’s industry experience is the disability, aged care and mental health sectors. In her early career she started as a disability/aged care worker and progressed to managing dementia and disability residential houses. This then led to management roles leading learning and development teams for Government and not-for profit organisations.  

Lesley’s passion is for lifelong learning, collaboration, partnership working and continually figuring out new ways of working all ensure she makes a difference in an individual’s life.

Jean Cameron joined the team in April 2021 to manage the Family Violence Workforce Project. She has a strong commitment to social justice and extensive experience in working in response to violence against women in both specialist sexual assault and family violence settings. Jean has performed in a range of roles including direct service delivery, project co-ordination and organisational management. She has been responsible for staff development, quality improvement, training design and delivery, employment initiatives in community health, violence against women and multicultural sectors.

Jean is interested in the identification of program initiatives that promote equitable access and has been involved in substantial consultation and networking at regional, state-wide and national levels.

Carly Millar joined WIDI in April 2021 as a communications advisor, supporting the Disability Standards Research Project and the evaluation of the Leadership Intensive Program. She provides research and communications support and is currently part of the Family Violence Workforce Project team.

Carly holds a PhD in History from Monash University and brings a wealth of writing, research and managerial experience from her previous work in academia and the publishing industry, where she held senior editorial and project management roles. Carly is passionate about social justice, championing diversity and supporting feminist leadership initiatives. She is excited by the breadth of innovative work currently underway at WIDI that will inform the growth and transformation of the social services sector, as well as the chance to contribute to positive social change in her day-to-day work.

Jess joined WIDI in January 2022 as an evaluation officer primarily supporting the Higher Apprenticeship Training and Skills in Practice Program. Since then she has moved into the role of Senior Advisor- Evaluation and Projects and oversees monitoring evaluation activities and provides support to a number of other WIDI projects.

Prior to joining WIDI, Jess worked across International and community development in both Australia and Cambodia and is currently undertaking her Masters in Clinical Psychology. Jess is passionate about challenging traditional power dynamics and actively including marginalised voices in data collection to drive meaningful change

Declan commenced at WIDI in June 2020 as a Research Officer supporting research into the impact of the NDIS on the Victorian disability advocacy sector, he now supports the evaluation of a number of WIDI projects including the Higher Apprenticeship Program, Innovative Traineeships Pilot Project and the Community Traineeships Pilot Project. He also holds the critical role of WIDI Quizmaster!

Prior to joining WIDI, Declan worked across a number of initiatives at the Department of Education and Training which aimed to support capability building within the teaching workforce. Declan is passionate about the cause of inclusive education and is most proud of his work in managing projects that built the capability of Department staff to support students with complex behaviours of concern using an evidenced based approach.

Alyssa has been with the WIDI team since early 2020 as the Project Officer supporting the Leadership Intensive Program. Alyssa has supported three online cohorts of family violence sector leaders through the Leadership Intensive Program and has provided support to other WIDI projects. Currently Alyssa is supporting the SkiP and HATSSEP projects. Alyssa brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to WIDI from a range of previous administrative and project roles during her career at RMIT University.

As a natural collaborator, Alyssa thrives when working with others and she prides herself of the strong and diverse professional networks she has built throughout her career. Alyssa is a staunch supporter and ally for both BIPOC and LGBTIQA+ communities, and is an advocate for representation and diversity in all the projects she is involved in. Holding strong personal passions for the work being done by WIDI and our broader partners, Alyssa has a strong desire to support the growth, quality, and adaptation of the social service sector for the benefit of everyone in the community.

Casey joined WIDI in April 2021 as the Project Officer supporting the Family Violence Workforce Project. Casey is passionate about the work that WIDI does, and is excited to be involved in projects that assist in making positive social change.

Prior to her commencement at WIDI, Casey began at RMIT in 2014 as a Research Assistant in the School of Mathematics and Geospatial Science, in which she collected and analysed data, and co-authored a textbook and teaching guide. Since then, she has been involved in countless learning and teaching projects, including the implementation of the Course and Program System, forging relationships with international counterparts to offer STEM programs, as well as championing allyship and inclusion in the STEM portfolio and RMIT more broadly through her involvement with the Diverse Genders Sexes and Sexualities network.

Kerry joined WIDI as a casual Project Officer in August 2019, providing research and communications support for the Leadership Intensive Program. Since then, she has worked across a number of WIDI research and evaluation projects, including Stories into Evidence and the Reach, Train, Employ Project. With a background in corporate communications, commercial photography and secondary education, she brings a diverse skill set and an unshakable belief in the power of the written word to change the world. 

Ioanna Forgac joined the WIDI team in June 2022 as the Industry Training Coordinator and Workplace Mentor (Homelessness). Ioanna is supporting the Specialist Homelessness Sector Internship Program and as a Workplace mentor with co-design and implementation strategies, lead stakeholder engagement, evaluation and mentoring students on their professional journey in the sector. Ioanna has extensive experience in the Homelessness sector in both the sector directly and in other supporting case management roles.  

Ioanna has a Social Science background with years of experience in community development and the social services sector. Ioanna has worked in both government and non-for-profit settings has expertise in service delivery and operational and program management. Ioanna has performed in a range of roles in the community services sector including case management within employment and education settings, mentoring and coaching, crisis and emergency initial assessment support, leadership and management, analysis and evaluation, community support development.   

During Ioanna’s professional career, she has developed a strong passion for supporting CALD communities and developing pathways to address barriers and explore opportunities for individuals to pursue their goals and aspirations. Ioanna has a strong commitment to social equality and building a strong, vocal community where each person has a voice and is part of building an empowering and inclusive culture of innovation development.