Media

Janise Mitchell

Janise is the Chief Executive Officer of Australian Childhood Foundation, a social worker, and Director of the Centre for Excellence in Therapeutic Care. She has experience in child protection, high risk adolescents, public policy analysis, program development and evaluation. Janise has extensive experience in the development of innovative therapeutic programs for traumatised children and young people. She is responsible for the development and implementation of a number of national and state-wide therapeutic out-of-home care programs, child abuse prevention programs and professional education training programs. She has a Masters degree examining the policy and practice underpinning therapeutic care initiatives in Australia. Janise is also an Adjunct Associate Professor with Southern Cross University.

Phil Doorgachurn

Phil Doorgachurn is a highly accomplished CEO, board director, and consultant, with over two decades of experience leading transformative initiatives in child safety, organisational culture, and systemic change. Passionate about safeguarding and the rights of children, Phil has dedicated his career to creating safer environments for children across diverse sectors, including sport, education, and business.

Phil’s journey is marked by a steadfast commitment to innovation and collaboration. He has worked with global organisations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIFA, and the Premier League, advising on strategies to enhance athlete welfare and safety. Notably, he pioneered the world’s first education program for welfare officers in sport and led the development of one of the English Premier League’s first wellbeing teams for elite athletes.

In Australia, Phil has been instrumental in shaping child safeguarding frameworks through roles such as CEO of YMCA Safeguarding and Advisor to the National Office for Child Safety. His leadership extends to consulting for organisations like England Cricket, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Victoria University and many more, where he has driven cultural shifts from reactive risk management to proactive safeguarding practices.

Phil is currently the Executive Director for On Us: Australian Business Coalition for Safeguarding Children, uniting Australian businesses to ensure their operations, products, and services prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children. His expertise in designing self-paced training programs, strategic frameworks, and stakeholder engagement initiatives has helped countless organisations create sustainable child-safe cultures.

Outside of his professional life, Phil remains grounded by his love for family and his cocker spaniel, Chula, who often accompanies him on beach walks and even virtual meetings. Phil’s work is driven by a deeply personal mission: to inspire systemic change and ensure every child grows up in a world where they feel safe, valued, and supported.

Karen Flanagan (AM)

Karen qualified as a social worker in N.Ireland (BSc Honours in Social Administration and Post Graduate Diploma in Social Work (CQSW) and has many years clinical, managerial, training and research experience in child protection and safeguarding. Karen specialises in prevention and response to child sexual abuse and designed award winning therapeutic programs for victim/survivors and perpetrators of sexual violence. She is known regionally and globally for her child protection advocacy work.
In 2010 Karen was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for “Service to the community in the area of Child Protection through contributions to policy and program development and legislative reform”.
Karen was a founding member of VICSPCAN in 1986 now known as Australian Childhood Foundation which she has returned to as National Executive Director of Therapeutic Services.

Previously she spent 20 years in International Development work including – Save the Children’s Principal Advisor for Child Protection, responsible for leading the provision of technical support, business development, program design/evaluation and capacity building for staff and partners nationally and internationally.

Conor Pall

Conor is a social worker, author, and survivor-advocate, and the Lead of Youth Engagement and Advocacy at Australian Childhood Foundation, specialising in children and young people’s experiences of family violence, child protection, and therapeutic recovery. As a nationally recognised advocate, Conor brings lived experience alongside practice expertise to translate complex policy and service system issues into clear, human stories that centre children as victim-survivors in their own right. He is a leading practitioner of genuine co-design and youth participation, supporting organisations and governments to move beyond “consultation” toward shared power and tangible influence for young people in decisions that affect their lives.

Conor is the author of the children’s book The Shadow that Follows and a trusted media voice on family violence impacts on children, youth-specific responses and service gaps, trauma-informed practice, and what it takes to build systems that are accessible, rights-based, and safe for children and young people.