Our team

Susie is a Doctor of Philosophy of Education, qualified preschool and primary teacher who specialises in working with children at risk. Her interest in empowering children to protect themselves began in 1988 whilst studying teaching at the Ballarat College of Advanced Education and working alongside the Children’s Protection Society. Susie has dedicated her studies and career to children at risk, focusing on educating them to prevent and recover from injuries and trauma. In 1993 Susie founded the KIDS Foundation and now has a position as the CEO and is a member of the Board.

Erynne was a longtime supporter of the KIDS Foundation before taking on the Injury Recovery Coordinator role in May 2018. Volunteering at her first KIDS camp back in 2012, Erynne was not only inspired by the amazing people she met but became immediately 'hooked', finding the experience truly rewarding and life changing. 

As a registered psychologist, Erynne understands the importance of educating and empowering others to be the best version of themselves and is particularly passionate about supporting and empowering young people.

Nicholas has over 25 years’ experience teaching. Joining KIDS in 2017, he upholds the motto of #Buildingstronglives and has represented the KIDS Foundation at the Noosa Triathlon in 2017, and like others in the KIDS family, was inspired to complete the Port Macquarie Ironman in 2019. 

Nicholas brings his teaching expertise and technological knowledge to the KIDS team. Within his role he oversees the distribution of the Education program - SeeMore Safety and Connecting Generations delivered in early childhood education centres (ECEC) across Australia. 

Melanie is dedicated to raising awareness around the vital and inspiring work of the KIDS Foundation, led by their Founder & CEO Susie O'Neill. 

Her passion lies in connecting with people and telling stories through moving images. Mel has been a contractor for the KIDS Foundation since 2022, working on a wide range of visual mediums.

She has collaborated with talented producers and directors like Peter Dickson of Dickson Films, creating award-winning documentaries for many years, while also freelancing on high-profile corporate videos, producing VNR's, awards shows, commercials, branded content, product launches, and involved in major events such as for Formula 1 and MotoGP. 

Mel feels truly blessed to love what she does and to have met so many inspiring people along the way.

With over 17 years in the exciting worlds of sports and horses, Emily (Em) has become a flexible leader in public relations, media, talent management, and content creation. Her career is all about managing brand reputation, overseeing events, pushing corporate social responsibility, and building community ties through sports and the amazing influence of horses.

Em’s corporate background has honed her skills in strategic planning, handling issues, and building strong team cultures. Em has played key roles in big events, including the Melbourne Cup Carnival, excelling in getting stakeholder buy-in and building important relationships.

Em has a deep love for horses, seeing not just their beauty but also their incredible power to heal, inspire, and bring people together. This connection has shaped her leadership style and community work, showing how horses can unite different groups and build strength.

Horses are also why Em started at the KIDS Foundation and is incredibly proud to support Dr Susie O’Neill OAM and the organisation. She is excited to take on a leading role in the organisation’s major fundraiser, Tour d’Horse, and to contribute to expanding its equine and corporate relations to provide ongoing commercial support for the life-changing work of the KIDS Foundation. 

Lauren took on the role of Graphic Designer in June 2022 and creates resources for KIDS Foundation programs. 

She attends Swinburne University, where she studies a Bachelor of Design, majoring in Communication Design. Lauren enjoys a challenge and has been working on a number of KIDS key assets like resources used in the KIDS Recovery and Education programs, annual reports, flyers, and other design elements seen within the KIDS world, as well as managing the website. 

Lauren has recently started freelancing in her final year of her degree, applying her design ability in a different context and broadening her skillset.

With over 33 years of dedicated experience as an Early Childhood teacher, Jackie has spent her career nurturing and educating children aged 3 to 5 years across two preschools. Her unwavering passion for children’s safety fuels her vision to ensure that every young child receives the education, protection, and support they need to stay safe from harm and abuse.

Since joining the KIDS Foundation in 2023 as the NSW Educator, Jackie’s commitment to creating a safe, secure, and supportive environment for all children has only deepened. She often describes this role as her dream job. For over 11 years, she has been implementing the SeeMore safety program at her current early childhood service, reflecting her dedication to child safety.

When she’s not working with children, she enjoys spending quality time with her family and occasionally hitting the Muay Thai gym.

Jo is primary school teacher trained and has worked mostly with junior school children. In 2022 Jo began working with KIDS Foundation introducing SeeMore to the children at kindy’s and preschools in the south east corner of Queensland. 

She has spent many years volunteering on various committees in the community and schools.

Jen is a qualified Early Childhood teacher and is passionate about supporting, inspiring and mentoring other educators. She places a lot of emphasis on empowering, educating and enabling children (and educators) to be confident and authentic to themselves. Her background is in Early Childhood Education, in a variety of different settings, with her primary focus being on providing an inclusive and supportive environment to children, families and educators alike.

Jen is a big believer in building and strengthening the link between Early learning environments, and home, to allow for a collaborative approach to children’s learning and overall wellbeing.

I first heard about the KIDS Foundation after my two girls were involved in a bus crash. After attending our first trauma camp, I quickly knew that I wanted to be able to do as much as I could with the foundation. After having experienced the support from everyone involved within the KIDS Foundation.

I first started out as a nanny before going on to study my Diploma of Early Childhood and Care at Victoria University. I have worked within the early education industry for 10 years in a range of different roles, from Lead Educator, Educational Leader and Centre Director.

I am very passionate about early education and the importance of learning from an early age. Allowing children to guide their own learning through a supportive environment while working alongside parents and families.

Naomi became aware of KIDS Foundation after her twin boys were involved in the Exford Primary School Bus Crash. The family was invited by KIDS Foundation to an injury recovery camp a couple of months after the accident. It was still very raw for the whole family, but the KIDS Foundation set a scene of calmness, support and a safe space for all. This helped the whole family walk away from that camp feeling like they had jumped ahead six months in their recovery. It was there that Susie, Founder and CEO of KIDS Foundation realised Naomi's connection with horses. 

Naomi had grown up around horses and has always had a genuine passion for their health and wellbeing. Naomi studied at National College of Traditional Medicine, also has a degree in Tucker Biokinetics, whilst completing many other modalities. She is an Equine Myo Therapist who is recognised by the FEI as a Permitted Equine Therapist. Naomi specialises working with performance horses and teams attending many large competitions including the Paris Olympics. 

Naomi has joined the KIDS Foundation team as the Equine manager being responsible for their miniature ponies. She takes great pride in presenting these ponies to their full potential, also preparing them for all environments to keep everyone safe, calm and relaxed. 

Naomi feels extremely grateful for her connection with KIDS Foundation and is very proud to be a part of such a wonderful team with such a beautiful purpose. 

I am very lucky and excited to be working with the KIDS Foundation. The work that Susie O'Neill and her team does is nothing short of amazing.

I work with the team in the Ballarat office helping to ensure the KIDS Recovery camps are resourced and Education programs go out to all the kindergartens and preschools around Australia. My role also includes making sure the office day to day routines run smoothly.

Coming from Real Estate, running a property management team for over 20 years full time, KIDS Foundation offers a diverse working environment and it is wonderful working for a charity that is all about the safety and care of kids.

Abbie has recently come on board as our event management intern. She first heard of KIDS through her godmother and the chairman of KIDS, Jo Stuckey. She really loves the KIDS Foundation’s purpose and goals to help kids from all different backgrounds. 

Outside of KIDS, Abbie captains the Carlton Football Club women’s team, so she understands how important sport and physical activity can be for empowering kids and improving their overall wellbeing.