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
- Darren Lewin-Hill – Communications Manager
- 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
- Sally Goldner - Finance Officer
- Bonnie Renou- CLC Law Graduate 2011/12
- Lee Carnie - CLC Law Graduate 2012/13
- Erin Buckley - CLC Law Graduate 2012/13
- Philip Marshall - Office Administrator
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
Darren Lewin-Hill – Communications Manager
Darren Lewin-Hill joined the Federation as Communications Manager in late April 2012. With more than 15 years’ experience in communications roles, he worked most recently as Media and Communications Coordinator for the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, where he coordinated the media response to the Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children (Cummins) Inquiry. Earlier roles included communications for a national education project and not-for-profits including Australian Red Cross (Victoria).
Darren is committed to the community sector and to contributing his skills to build the capacity of organisations to advocate effectively for positive change, including through the use of social media.
Phone: (03) 9652 1510| Mobile: 0488 773 535
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 recently finished a five-month secondment at Victoria Legal Aid, where she worked as a mental health duty lawyer and assisted people with guardianship/administration and infringement issues. Chris 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. Claudia is also managing the implementation of the National CLC Accreditation Scheme in Victoria
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
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 3 other not-for-profits being Youthlaw, Thalassaemia Australia and Chamber Made Opera. 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, Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby and Bisexual Alliance Victoria.
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.
Lee Carnie - CLC Law Graduate 2012/213
Lee is one of our two CLC law graduates for 2012/2013.
Lee completed her Juris Doctor of Law in 2011 and a Bachelor of Arts (Social Theory and Anthropology) in 2008, both at the University of Melbourne. She has had substantial volunteer commitments in the community legal sector including at the Human Rights Law Centre, PILCH and the Fitzroy Legal Service. She is passionate about mentoring teenagers from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds as a Computer Clubhouse Mentor at the Fitzroy Learning Network and previously as a Volunteer Tutor at the Carlton Parkville Youth Services Homework Club. Her past paid work has included facilitating first year law students to improve and develop learning skills as a JD Study Group Facilitator and working at the commercial law firm TressCox Lawyers.
Erin Buckley - CLC Law Graduate 2012/13
Erin is one of our 2012/2013 CLC law graduates.
Erin completed her Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) in 2011 and a Bachelor of Arts (Politics and Community Development) in 2009, both at the University of Melbourne. She has undertaken diverse volunteer and paid work commitments in the fields of women’s human rights, housing rights, community development and health. These have included volunteering as a remote health care worker for women and children on the Thai-Burma border and working as a sexual harassment advisor at St Mary’s College. Most recently she joined Flemington Kensington Community Legal Centre as a volunteer paralegal for the Police Accountability Project, which involves interviewing clients, complex legal research in civil and criminal law and general case work.
