Staff

Emma Iwinska - CEO

As the CEO of Women’s Health and Equality Queensland, Emma leads the organisation as specialists in gender equity and women’s health in Queensland. Nationally, Emma is a member of the Australian Women’s Health Network Board, which works collaboratively to improve women’s health policy and practice. At the state level, Emma is the Co-chair of Ending Violence Against Women Queensland, a peak body which brings together the women’s health, refuge, domestic and sexual violence sectors. Emma holds formal qualifications both in health and in higher education and embraces a philosophy of lifelong learning. Emma has worked in health for more than 20 years and has supported women in a range of diverse environments including crisis accommodation, substance rehabilitation, prison, maternity settings, private practice and tertiary education teaching clinics.

Emma’s work focusses on improving health outcomes and health equity for women and marginalised groups, and creating the structural and social change needed to stop men perpetrating gendered violence. Emma works to create communities built upon equity, respect, the celebration of diversity and the recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the custodians and knowledge holders of the lands, seas, and skies where we all live, work and play.

Emma is a single mum with two awesome children, a cat and a bunch of possums who live in her roof and eat everything in the veggies garden.

Emma is passionate about working collaboratively and listening to the experts in women’s lives – women!

Morgana - Operations and Policy Coordinator

Morgana is passionate about creating change for Queensland women. Her aim is for supportive, safe and healthy communities, full of equal opportunities for all. Morgana values engagement and collaboration with the community and learning everyday.

At WHEQ, Morgana’s roles focus on policy reform and advocacy, compliancy and operations. She has experience working as an office manager and social media assistant for small business. She also has experience in assisting the provision of mediation and business development services for corporations, Native Title holders and Indigenous communities.

Morgana holds a double degree in Journalism and Arts with an Extended Major in International Relations from the University of Queensland and she is currently studying a Bachelor of Laws, Honours at the Queensland University of Technology.

Lyndal - Finance Officer

As the Finance Officer, Lyndal looks after all the accounting for the organisation and financial reporting to the board and our regulatory bodies. Lyndal believes the work of WHEQ is valuable to many women in our community and enjoys being one of the supporting staff to assist our frontline support workers.

Bianca- Administration and Project Officer (Health and Equality Team)

Bianca is an avid supporter of women’s health and equity. She views the work that WHEQ does as crucial to advance the health and wellbeing of Queensland women through advocacy, education and support. With a Bachelor of Public Health (Hons) from The University of Queensland, she brings to WHEQ passion and knowledge from her studies in public health and health promotion, with a focus on women’s health.

In her spare time, you can usually find Bianca enjoying live music or a good book. Bianca loves bring able to contribute to WHEQ’s vision and values with her administrative and operational skills.

Melissa- Education and Engagement Practitioner (Health and Equality Team)

Melissa is passionate about creating long-lasting change with, and for, communities. She values community and individual wellbeing and is a strong supporter of each person finding what that means to them.

In her role with Women’s Health and Equality Queensland, Melissa utilises health promotion and community engagement strategies to guide community-driven solutions that aim to transform the systems that influence women’s health and wellbeing.

Melissa holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences from La Trobe University and a Master of Public Health from the University of Melbourne. It was during her studies that Melissa embraced collective ways of understanding and working to disentangle complex problems.

Melissa is also a qualified Pilates instructor. In her spare time, you will find Melissa spending time with family or walking her dog through Brisbane’s parks.

Charlotte- Communications and Education Practitioner (Health and Equality Team)

Charlotte is passionate about creating healthy and safe communities for all. In her role, she works with community members to educate on violence prevention and gender equity, with a focus on young people and youth programs.

Charlotte also oversees and creates all our communications and resources, including social media, branding and graphic design. She believes that great design can bring awareness and advocacy to equality.

Outside of WHEQ, Charlotte is the Secretariat for Ending Violence Against Women Queensland (EVAWQ), a member of ERA’s Young Women’s Advisory Group, and a member of yourtown’s Youth LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council.

Gita - Team Leader (Women's Wellbeing Team)

Trained as a counsellor through a Master’s Degree in Counselling, Gita has extensively worked with women who have experienced various forms of gendered-based violence. With a background of therapeutically supporting migrants for years, Gita has accumulated a wealth of experience in facilitating culturally sensitive individual and group counselling. Her work is informed by narrative and collaborative therapies within which she infuses a range of creative and art-based strategies to promote storytelling in a safe and welcoming manner. She centres her work on expanding the possibilities for women to design their recovery by telling and living stories of justice, hope, and skills.

Natasha- Intake and Case Manager (Women’s Wellbeing Team)

Natasha’s passion lies with working alongside people who have experienced trauma; she strives to provide inclusive, compassionate, empowering, evidence-based support.

Natasha graduated as a Social Worker in 2017. She has worked in Australia and the UK mostly in community mental health as well as in public hospitals and homelessness services.

Bec- Intake and Case Manager

Bec has a passion for creating a just world that allows us all to live a life free from violence and control. As an emerging social work practitioner, Bec has a deep appreciation for the need to actively listen and prioritise the expertise of women so that we can work in partnership to achieve their goals. Bec works from an intersectional feminist and trauma-informed framework and she strives to create safe spaces for healing-centred support.

ANNA- Groups Co-ordinator and Facilitator (Women's Wellbeing Team)

Anna works from a trauma-informed, intersectional feminist, decolonising and social action focused framework.

Her work experience over the past 20 years has focused on supporting survivors of sexual and domestic violence, and includes; counselling and support, group work, community engagement and development, advocacy, professional development, supervision and service management. She has worked in not-for-profit community-based settings as well as at the United Nations.

Anna believes that groups are transformative and powerful for women in recovering from, responding to and resisting trauma and violence.

Qualifications: Bachelor of Social Work and Post Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education.

Wendy- Groups Co-ordinator and Facilitator (Women's Wellbeing Team)

Wendy has been practicing Social work for over 10 years, working within the homelessness and housing sector with women, families and youth. She has worked in direct service delivery and in leadership/managerial positions.

She is passionate about seeing individuals build their confidence, self worth and hope through working together. Through a trauma informed approach she invites individuals to share and feel empowered as the expert in their own lives and reflect on their resilience despite challenging circumstances.

Kelly - Counsellor and Social Worker (Women's Wellbeing Team)

Kelly is trained as a social worker and counsellor with extensive experience in the gendered violence sector including domestic and family violence, sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse. Alongside of this work, Kelly has worked with women relating to refugee settlement, homelessness, women’s health, eating issues and youth work.

Using a healing-centred approach, Kelly invites women to share their experiences and the meaning of those experiences at a pace that they feel comfortable. Centring women as the experts in their own lives and their own recovery from the impacts of trauma, Kelly encourages women to explore their own strengths, skills, values and beliefs. Kelly is passionate about social justice, human rights and working toward eliminating violence against women and children.

Claire- Counsellor and Group Facilitator (Women's Wellbeing Team)

Claire is trained as a counsellor and has extensive experience working with children, adolescents and adults from diverse backgrounds. Her work as a counsellor has primarily been in the gendered violence sector working with people who have experienced domestic and family violence, sexual assault and sexual abuse including historical & ritual abuse.

Claire utilizes a gentle, trauma-informed, integrative approach to therapy with the aim to provide a safe and collaborative process and with a focus on holistic wellness.

As a qualified Pilates instructor, Claire is also passionate about incorporating a body-oriented approach in counselling to assist healing and recovery. She is trained in trauma-informed yoga and can incorporate this into counselling sessions.

Jess- Counsellor (Women's Wellbeing Team)

Jess is trained as a counsellor and has extensive experience working in women’s wellbeing. Her work as a counsellor has primarily been in the domestic and family violence sector including individuals who have experienced any form of gendered based violence. She also has experience working with people impacted by trauma including complex trauma from childhood.

Jess strives to provide safe, caring, and supportive therapy through a client centred and trauma informed approach. This means providing a space for women to feel safe, accepted and understood with choice and options in their support and how they want to be supported. Jess uses evidence-based emotion focused and body-orientated therapies to help individuals understand their experiences and the impact of trauma, honour survival skills and connect to strengths and inner resources.

Jess honours the opportunity to walk beside another on their journey towards growth and change with the belief that every woman deserves to be free from burdens that no longer serve them to live life with hope and peace. She is inspired by each and every woman’s story and feels privileged to connect at their moment in time to recover and heal.