Our Experts
Professor Nicole Lee
CEO (VIC office)
Professor Nicole Lee is well known across the globe for her expertise in policy and practice translation, with over 35 years’ experience across clinical services, academia, teaching, research, management and policy. Nicole's advice is sought after by Australian and international governments, and major organisations like the WHO and the UNODC.
Not your typical academic, Nicole's surprising but informative presentation style bridges that gap between research to practice to make the complex crystal clear.
Nicole is a practising psychologist, and Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Curtin University), CEO of Hello Sunday Morning, board member of The Loop Australia, and former member of the Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and other Drugs. Nicole’s work bridges rigorous academic research with practice and policy implementation, with particular expertise in evidence based treatment and service system design.
Nicole is frequently highlighted in the media and is an active contributor to various articles.
Senior leadership
Paula Ross
HEAD OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT (VIC OFFICE)
Paula Ross is one of Australia’s most experienced alcohol and other drug trainers, with 25 years’ experience across hospital, community and private settings. Paula brings deep expertise in clinical practice, research, training, supervision and service design, and is a specialist in family work and evidence based interventions.
With her extensive experience in counselling psychology, Paula really understands how to bring the evidence into clinical practice so participants get the skills they need to be more effective. She is highly sought after all around Australia for her training and supervision skills and our clients love her combination of warmth and pragmatism.
Paula is also a counselling psychologist in private practice.
Dr Richard Cash
HEAD OF SERVICE DEVELOPMENT (VIC OFFICE)
Dr Richard Cash leads our service improvement and evaluation programs. With over 20 years’ experience in clinical service management, research, policy and service development across the alcohol and other drug and mental health sectors, Richard really understands the complexities of real world service delivery. He is a master at translating research into practical solutions so governments and services stay up to date and on the cutting edge of evidence-based practice, providing the best possible responses for service users.
A forensic psychologist and expert in trauma, Richard has authored clinical guidelines, developed policy resources and created innovative post traumatic mental health treatment tools, including digital mental health applications.
Richard is also a psychologist in private practice and was previously Director of Education and Training Phoenix Australia.
Tim Hilton
HEAD OF HEALTH SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT (VIC OFFICE)
Tim is our expert in developing, costing, and modelling health systems. He really knows that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. With his background in accounting and his clear head for complex logistics and health systems analysis, even the most challenging projects come off without a hitch. Our clients love his positive and optimistic approach and his second to none client relationship skills.
Devushka Blake
ChIEf operations officer (QLD OFFICE)
Devushka is the backbone of our office, serving as both the Chief Operations Officer and Executive Assistant to our CEO. With her exceptional organisational and project management skills, she ensures that the business runs smoothly and efficiently. Devushka is always ready to assist with any need, making her an invaluable asset to the team. Beyond her professional talents, Devushka always brings warmth and a personal touch to our workplace.
Consultants
Dr Katinka van de Ven
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT (NSW OFFICE)
Dr Katinka van de Ven is an expert in alcohol and other drug service systems, with extensive experience in program evaluation, workforce development, policy and client outcomes. Her work spans prevention, harm reduction and clinical guideline development. Katinka is a Visiting Fellow at the Drug Policy Modelling Program (UNSW), Editor in Chief of Performance Enhancement & Health, and Director of the Human Enhancement Drugs Network. She regularly advises Australian and international governments on alcohol and other drug policy and program development.
Dr Amanda Davies
principal consultant (nT OFFICE)
Dr Amanda Davies is a skilled health consultant with expertise in research, evaluation, counselling and health system reform. With a PhD in effective social and public health policy and experience in clinical service delivery and the community and university sectors, Amanda has strong skills in translating evidence into practice at systems and service levels. Amanda brings lived experience of both the mental health and alcohol and other drug systems to her work that enables her to provide context driven and sensitive outcomes. Amanda maintains advisory and board positions across health service organisations in the Northern Territory.
Administration
Nicole Dimond
senior administration officer (QLD OFFICE)
Nic D is our ever-smiling administration guru. She provides the support and backend management to ensure our many workshops go off without a hitch. She also is our style guru, keeping our branding in check and engaging. Her amazing administration skills are second to none, all delivered with a smile.
Suz Stainthorpe
policy and communications officer (act OFFICE)
Suz, our Policy and Communications Officer. With a keen eye for detail and a talent for writing compelling content, Suz is our go-to person for all things related to inquiries, social media, annual reports, blogs and submissions.
Rebecca Low
financial controller (nsw OFFICE)
It's all about the numbers for our super financial controller, Bec. She monitors the ins and outs of our finances with lightning precision. We love her attention to detail and always-happy disposition.
Associates
Professor Steve Allsop
Associate
Steve is Professor at the National Drug Research Institute Curtin University and an award winning international leader in the alcohol and other drug sector. He is also Chair of the Boards of the WA Alcohol and other Drug Advisory Board and the WA Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies; Deputy Chair of Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and other Drugs; and, Board Member of the Australian Drug Foundation.
Professor Amanda Baker
Associate
Amanda is an internationally renowned Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Professor at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre University of NSW. She was previously Professor at the University of Newcastle. An award-winning innovator, she specialises in alcohol and other drug treatment, and especially well known for her work in treatment of people with co-existing mental health and alcohol and other drug problems.
Dr Monica Barratt
Associate
Monica is Senior Research Fellow at RMIT University and an international expert in drug harm reduction and drug policy. She is Executive Director of the global drug harm reduction community, Bluelight.org, and research lead for the drug checking organisation, The Loop Australia. She Australia’s key expert in digital drug trading, legislation of novel substances, and innovative responses like public drug alerts, drug checking and psychedelic use.
Professor Nicola Newton
Associate
Nicola is Professor at the University of Sydney and Director of Prevention at the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use. She is internationally renowned for her work prevention of alcohol and other drug and mental health disorders. She is a leader and innovator in the use of technology in school based drug education. She developed Australia’s lead drug education program, OurFutures.
Dr Sue O'Neill
Associate
Sue is Honorary Senior Lecturer in Special Education with the School of Education at the University of New South Wales. She is a leading expert in improving the educational and life outcomes for students with special needs, particularly those with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Her expertise spans teacher development to positively manage their classrooms to support at-risk and justice-involved youth. She has a special interest in rural and remote Indigenous communities.
Dr Moira Junge
Associate
Moira is CEO of the Sleep Health Foundation and Director of the Australian Sleep and Alertness Consortium. She is a Health Psychologist and one of Australia’s foremost experts in sleep and sleep disorders. Moira developed and delivers our “Good Night. Sleep Tight.” workshop on improving sleep among people who use alcohol and other drugs.
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