I have worked in the community sector for over 35 years. I started my career in grassroots roles working with children and young people in out-of-home care and facing family breakdown, before moving into policy and advocacy roles. My areas of specialism include enabling young people’s participation in decision making, and empowering refugee and migrant communities. In 2015 I was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the NSW Youth Work Awards, in recognition of my passion and commitment to achieving positive outcomes for young people.After more than a decade leading national and international organisations, I established ACT&C in 2013 in order to work as a freelance consultant, trainer and writer. I have written extensively on youth and settlement issues, with over 50 published works. These include text books, training manuals and resource kits published by organisations in Australia, UK, Denmark, Belgium and Canada. I have also developed a wide range of training programs on youth and settlement issues, delivering these to over 3,500 professionals and more than 1,000 young people.The organisations I have provided consultancy services for include:*Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (Australia)*Settlement Council of Australia*Australian Youth Affairs Coalition*NSW Advocate for Children and Young People*Youth Action NSW*CREATE Foundation*Australian College of Applied Psychology*Multicultural Youth Affairs Network of NSW*Youth Affairs Council of WA*Youth Network of Tasmania*Youth Work WA*Cumberland City Council*Shellharbour Council*UK Youth*National Youth Agency (UK)*Right to Play (Canada)