Save the Children is delighted to announce the appointment of Natalie Siegel-Brown as Managing Director of Child Wise, one of Australia’s leading child safeguarding organisations.
Ms Siegel-Brown is the current Queensland Public Guardian and CEO of the Office of the Public Guardian, where she is the chief advocate for children in the child protection, youth justice, disability and mental health systems.
As Public Guardian, Ms Siegel-Brown dramatically increased support from her agency to individual children and young people, advocating on behalf of thousands of children per year during her four years in the role. Under Ms Siegel-Brown’s leadership, an incredible 97 per cent of issues raised were then resolved – an increase of 85 per cent.
Ms Siegel-Brown also advocated for important changes to youth justice legislation in Queensland, including increasing the non-custodial mandate for children under 14 years, and improved external oversight for the rights of children in detention and police watch houses.
Save the Children Australia CEO Paul Ronalds said he was thrilled that Ms Siegel-Brown has decided to join Child Wise.
“Natalie has a wealth of knowledge and experience protecting the rights of children and young people,” Mr Ronalds said.
“She has repeatedly spoken out boldly to protect the most vulnerable children, including those going through the youth justice system. She will be a huge asset to Child Wise.”
Ms Siegel-Brown will start at Child Wise, a social enterprise of Save the Children, on June 22.
“I am honoured to lead Child Wise, a national organisation that has been a leading voice on child rights in the Asia Pacific region for more than 25 years,” Ms Siegel-Brown said.
“The organisation has an incredible track record working to ensure the safety of children and young people across Australia. I look forward to joining the team and to help grow the organisation’s footprint even more. I have always been passionate about protecting and advocating for vulnerable children, and will endeavour to continue doing just this in this exciting national role.”
Ms Siegel-Brown previously worked as an Executive Director with the NSW Department of Family and Community Services where she led on a range of portfolios including child protection and domestic violence, and as a Director heading up social policy practice at Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Child Wise works to strengthen the capacity of organisations, communities and families to keep children and young people safe from harm. This includes by developing and delivering child safety training – such as the award-winning Choose with Care program – accreditation, coaching and communities of practice.
