Our Board of Directors
Llani Kennealy – Chair
Llani Kennealy (LJ) is an International Consultant specializing in Women, Peace, and Security, drawing on her extensive military background to advocate for gender equality and improved outcomes for women in the global security sector. With over 15 years of experience in cultural reform within large organizations, she is a trusted advisor to senior military leaders, known for her ability to deliver tangible results that elevate the role of women in the military. In her role as a gender advisor, she deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria where she collaborated with local civil society and women in security roles to enhance their participation in post-conflict stabilization efforts. She spent three years at UN Women in New York focused on increasing women’s meaningful involvement in peacekeeping operations. In this role, she also partnered with military counterparts from the Global South to help integrate women more fully into their security architecture. As a consultant and military gender expert, Llani is affiliated with the Monash Global Peace and Security Centre, the International Peace Institute, and UN Women. Llani holds a Master of Strategic People Management from UNSW and a Graduate Certificate in Gender Mainstreaming and Policy Analysis from Flinders University. Her career continues to influence policies and practices advancing gender equality and security worldwide. As a military veteran, she is dedicated to amplifying the voices and lived experiences of women veterans, particularly through her work with Women Veterans Australia.
Kerry Parry, Treasurer and Director
Kerry Parry is an expert in her field of accounting and as a Treasurer. She served 16 years in the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corp, has 19 years’ experience as a business owner, volunteered with the Scouts for 23 years and holds a Bachelor of Commerce, Graduate Diploma in Management, Graduate Diploma in Tax, and Diploma in Financial Services (Financial Planning). Kerry has also been a Tax Agent since 1982. Kerry is passionate about the welfare of women veterans, and is an avid believer in equal opportunity and giving her time to causes she believes in.
Claire Pearson, CSM – Secretary and Director
Claire Pearson served 22 years in the Air Force. She is now an Australian Public Servant Director within the Department of Defence, while continuing to serve as an active reservist. Claire’s operational experience includes being a UN peacekeeper deployed during the crisis in South Sudan (2016), with NATO and as an embed in a US Army unit in Afghanistan (2010-11 and 2012-13 respectively), and enabling Australian AP-3C Orion aircraft Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations over Iraq (2007-08). Claire holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Air Power theory, a Graduate Certificate in Gender, Peace & Security (GPS), and a Master of Intelligence. As the third generation of military women in her family, Claire is passionate about supporting and lending a voice to other women veterans. She is a committed mentor to National Security professionals, and a staunch advocate of GPS initiatives across the National Security sector.
Lyndsay Freeman – Director
Lyndsay Freeman is a mother of two and continues to proudly serve in the Australian Army. She was awarded the Chief of Army Scholarship in 2020 to research gender and conflict, and was the Senior Instructor for the ADF’s Gender, Peace and Security courses. She co-founded ‘Proper Her’, a globally-recognised publishing platform that seeks to amplify the voices of defence women by sharing their experiences and insights. In 2021-22, Lyndsay deployed as a Military Observer to the UN Truce Supervision Organization in the Middle East, where she also served as the mission’s Gender Focal Point. A graduate of Monash University’s Master of International Development Practice, she is passionate about the ADF’s pivotal role in women’s empowerment across the globe, and is a driver for positive change.
Kate Yaxley – Director
Kate Yaxley is an Electronics Engineer in the Royal Australian Air Force. She was the 2021 Sir Richard Williams Scholar and 2021 Australia-New Zealand Women in AI in Defence award winner for research on biologically inspired swarm guidance, human systems engineering, and artificial intelligence design philosophy. Kate holds a M.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.Eng. Before pursuing higher education, Kate received a Certificate IV in Aeroskills and worked as an avionics technician. Kate seeks to foster curiosity in diverse teams to realise innovative outcomes, and she brings her experience working on STEM diversity projects to Women Veterans Australia.
Kate Robinson – Director
Dr Kate Robinson is the founder and Director of CommuniKate Consulting. She holds a Bachelor of Business, Master of Business Administration, Master of Applied Social Research, and is a Doctor of Philosophy. With over 30-years experience, Kate has worked both nationally and internationally (Australia and the US) for top ASX-listed companies and notable not-for-profit national organisations at senior levels. Her career has spanned leadership, consulting and advisory roles specialising in change management and communication. Kate’s research has appeared in leading journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics and she has presented at notable international conferences in Paris and Boston (ICBEML and AOM). Her research has been developed into a seminar education and training video for the Australian Defence Force. Kate’s book, Values, Moral Courage and Bureaucracy, based on her research of leadership in the military, has been internationally published. With a family history of three generations serving in the ADF, Kate previously served seven years in the Royal Australian Air Force.
Our Expert Panel
Dr. Madeline Romaniuk
Dr Madeline Romaniuk is a Clinical Psychologist, Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, and Principal Investigator at the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation. She has authored over 40 peer-reviewed articles and conference proceedings in veteran health and has been the leader of research projects totalling over $15 million in funding. For the past 10 years, Madeline’s clinical practice has also focused on current and former Defence personnel suffering mental health and transition difficulties. Madeline is an appointed member of the Prime Ministerial Advisory Council on Veteran Mental Health and was invited to speak/provide advice at the Parliament Senate Inquiry into Transition from the ADF, the DVA Veteran Mental Health & Wellbeing Summit in Parliament House and the Symposium convened by the National Commissioner for Defence and Veteran Suicide Prevention. Madeline’s role within Women Veterans United is as an expert advisor, providing both research and clinical advice to support the operations of the organisation.
Louise Pitcher
Louise has a Masters of Occupational Psychology (Clinical), Masters of Business Psychology (in progress), Yoga Teacher Training Certificate and Executive Coaching Certificate. She has had an extremely diverse career working for the Army, Police, charities and the Mental Health Commission. Louise is passionately committed to supporting people to thrive. Louise derives this from both her work with people and lived experience. She is a facilitator for the support and mentoring groups and is passionate about the welfare of veterans and making a difference in the lives of those who are in need.
Dr. Katelyn Kerr
Dr Katelyn Kerr is a clinical psychologist with strong experience working with currently and ex-serving military personnel from all three services, as well as emergency services personnel. She holds the positions of Lead Clinical Psychologist at Toowong Private Hospital Day Programs, Adjunct Principal Research Fellow at the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (Griffith University), Honorary Principal Research Fellow at Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation, as well as conducting a busy private practice. Katelyn has published a number of papers related to the sequela of military service, and has acted as a consultant to various organisations including expert witness roles at the Royal Commission and the Senate Inquiry into Suicide by Veterans and Ex-Service Personnel. Katelyn is a passionate advocate of post-traumatic growth and assisting women to achieve their goals after adversity.
Anne Nguyễn
Anne Nguyen is a Clinical Psychologist who completed her Master’s in Psychology (Clinical) in 2004 from the University of Sydney. Her clinical experience includes acute mental health both in community and hospital settings, with adults and adolescents, working in schools and private practice, developing, and facilitating group programs, supervision, and training. Anne continues to serve as an Army Reserve Psychologist and has deployed to the Solomon Islands and the Middle East. Her role within the organisation is providing professional advice and overseeing the welfare and mentoring programs, ensuring they are evidence-based and tailored to supporting the varied needs of women veterans.
Our Ambassadors
Peta Irving
Peta Irving is a Navy (Permanent Force) and Army (Reserve) veteran of over thirty years. Peta was a Maritime Logistics Officer, having served in Operation Relex and becoming a Logistics IT specialist. Peta has a Master of Business Administration, a Graduate Diploma in Management, and a Graduate Certificate in Vocational Education and Training. She has also completed the Australian Institute Company Directors course. Peta is a sessional lecturer in the Master of Project Management course at Victoria University, Melbourne, and consults with Supply Chain and Logistics companies on gender requirements. Peta has been the main researcher and author of the Women in Supply Chain discussion papers on the Unseen Gender in Transport and Logistics. Peta was previously a member of the Victorian Veterans Council, an independent statutory body that provides advice to the Minister for Veterans on support for veterans’ commemoration, education, and welfare. She is currently a member of the Department of Veterans Affairs Deputy Commissioner Victoria Ex-Service Organization forum. Peta’s passion is seeing women veterans’ stories told and supporting women veterans through lobbying for recognition of their issues and has used this platform to further her advocacy efforts.
Sarah Watson
Sarah Watson served in the Australian Army from 1997 to 2015, performing roles primarily as an Intelligence Officer. Various postings at the strategic level saw her oversee international intelligence analysis within a multi-national security agency framework, including a 7-month deployment in Iraq with the Overwatch Battlegroup West – 2. In her final posting within Army, Sarah worked on policies and initiatives to improve gender equality and workplace culture in order increase retention and recruitment of women in the Australian Army. In 2015, Sarah was medically retired from the Army which led to a challenging period of healing and personal growth. Sarah found sport to reinvent herself post military and has since competed on international sporting stages, including Invictus Games and World Championship events for Ironman, Cycling and Triathlon. Sarah has also completed Yoga Teacher training and regularly brings trauma informed Yoga to other veterans through her collaboration with Frontline Yoga Inc. Sarah is Chair of the Young Veterans Committee for the Returned Services League (RSL) NSW and holds the Contemporary Veteran position for the Department of Defence and Veterans Affairs Human Research Ethics Committee (DDVA HREC). The rest of Sarah’s time is taken up with looking after her sons George (10) and David (8), volunteer coaching for her local junior rugby and Little Athletics clubs, President of the Yass Valley Triathlon Club and holds a part-time job with Strategic Development Group, who specialise in programs that improve gender equality and women’s leadership developing countries.