BA (Hons), LLB

Lauri is a local, growing up in Warragul where her parents were a local dentist and school teacher. Her siblings and grandparents also live in the area, and her family is very close.

Lauri is an Immigration and Constitutional lawyer. She spent more than 10 years working in the not-for-profit sector before commencing her own practice in Warragul, Stewart Administrative and Migration Lawyers, and a continuing professional education training organisation, Chapagain Stewart Training.

Lauri and her family are passionate about supporting and encouraging positive growth and development in all aspects of our wonderful community.

BA(SocSc), PGDip(SocWel), GdCert(Developmental Trauma)

Cindy has more than 25 years experience working with both voluntary and statutory services in the provision of care and support to our community in the areas of child, youth, family services, homelessness and family violence. She has a background in managing service development, planning and evaluation with extensive experience in mentoring and coaching emerging and new leaders in the field. Cindy is a strong advocate for our community members experiencing vulnerability, ensuring they have a voice in program development to meet their identified needs.

CA, BBusCom

Stephanie has over 15 years experience in the accounting and business industry and is an owner of a local business services firm.

Having grown up in Warragul and surrounds, Stephanie is raising her family in the area. As a mother to three young boys, she understands the importance of support and having a village around you during pregnancy and parenthood. As a result, Stephanie jumped at the opportunity to join the Olivia’s Place board when it presented itself in 2021.

BN, GdDipNrsg(Emerg), DAPS

Kirsten is one of the co-founders of Olivia's Place and continues to be involved in multiple levels of the organisation.

Holding the role of General Manager of Operations until late 2021, Kirsten has now moved into a volunteer role working within the team as a Salesforce Administrator as well as focusing on community engagement, partnerships and activities that contribute to the financial sustainability of Olivia’s Place.

Kirsten has been a qualified ALS Paramedic since 2008 and worked locally until late 2021. She is also a Registered Nurse with qualifications specialising in Emergency and Intensive Care Nursing and with experience in education at a tertiary level in the clinical setting.

Kirsten, her husband Julian and their 4 children Liam, Zoe, Joshua and Nate are all actively involved in many aspects of our community and have together lived in Drouin since 2010.

BA (SocSc), MBA

Solange has 15 years experience in relationship management for government and the charity and community services space.  Solange owns a Melbourne based business management consultancy working to advance the collaboration between business, government and not-for-profits. Solange spends her spare time advocating access, fairness and progress through a number of committees that prioritise the needs of marginalised communities including migrant and refugee groups as well as creating equitable opportunities for women and children. Solange’s first interactions with Olivia’s Place were as Victoria Manager for GIVIT Listed, supporting the material aid functions of Olivia’s Place. She brings a generalist approach to strategy, capacity building and community engagement in support of our functions and growth.

BN, MNursing(Emergency), MAdvNursing(NursPract)

Julian is a local, growing up in Drouin where his parents still live in the family home.

Julian is an endorsed Nurse Practitioner working in the Emergency Department at Latrobe Regional Hospital in Traralgon. He has advanced qualifications specialising in emergency and intensive nursing care and has completed two Master’s Degrees. His professional experience has included working several years at Monash Clayton, 8 years as a Registered Nurse at West Gippsland Hospital Emergency Department and many years in specialist agency nursing in hospitals across metropolitan Melbourne.

Married to Kirsten, Julian is a very dedicated and involved father to their four children – Liam, Zoe, Joshua and Nate. He is very passionate about seeing supports in place for dads in our community, and recognises the value and importance of the role of a dad to his children.

CA

Prajita is a highly motivated professional with 12+ years of experience in the fields of accounting, auditing and advisory services. She is currently a Senior Manager with PwC and has wide experience working closely with senior executives and Boards through her career.
Prajita migrated to Australia a decade ago and now happily calls Melbourne home. She is a wife and a super mom of two beautiful kids. Having gone through challenges herself through pregnancy and postpartum Prajita instantly connnected with Olivia’s Place and its purpose and could not let go of the opportunity to serve as a
Director for Olivia’s Place.
Outside of work most of her time is spent with family and she is passionate about love yoga and pilates. She is fluent in English, Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi.