Mentees pictured at 2022 Mentoring Program mid-year event (on Gadigal land aka Sydney).
Amy Pereira, Franco Morelli, Sarah Black, Deb Shroot, Dana Beiglari. Leonie Cooke not pictured.
The CFA Mentoring Program matches early to mid-career consumer advocates with highly experienced professionals who mentor them throughout the program. Participants also undertake governance training and attend a series of peer workshops. Participants develop clarity on their professional goals, improve their effectiveness as consumer advocates and learn about the consumer representative opportunities available to them.
The CFA Consumer Advocate Mentoring Program commenced for the first time in January 2021, learn more about the program and current mentees.
Dana Beiglari, Legal Aid NSW
Dana is a Senior Solicitor in the Consumer Law practice group at Legal Aid NSW. She helps the most vulnerable people in NSW to access their consumer protection rights in credit, insurance and general consumer protection matters. She is a passionate advocate for social justice and financial inclusion. Dana currently represents Legal Aid NSW on several forums, including the AFCA Consumer Advisory Panel and the ASIC Consumer Advisory Panel. Dana has provided a consumer advocate perspective in a number of public inquiries, including the Financial Services Royal Commission and the Senate Inquiry into Resolution of Disputes with Financial Service Providers within the Justice System. Dana started her career as a lawyer at the commercial law firm, Allens, and has worked at community legal centres.
Sarah Black, North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency
Sarah Black lives in Alice Springs, NT. She is a senior lawyer working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA). Sarah Black coordinates the debt & consumer law practice within NAAJA’s broader civil law practice. Sarah has been practicing civil law in the NT since 2016. Prior to this, she practiced refugee law in Nauru, as well as civil and administrative law in Sydney. Sarah is thrilled to be participating in the 2022 CFA Mentorship Program to develop her personal and professional growth, and to foster connections in the consumer advocacy space.
Leonie Cooke, Anglicare Victoria
Leonie has been a Financial Counsellor for 10 years , and is currently Team Leader Bush Fire Recovery with Anglicare Victoria in East Gippsland and prior to that was Senior Financial Counsellor for Gippsland. She came over to Financial Counselling from the “Dark side” (Banking). Leonie has a strong sense of social justice, and commitment to her community to assist in their recovery form the Black Summer fires.
Franco Morelli, Super Consumers Australia
Franco Morelli is Policy Manager at Super Consumers Australia. As policy manager at Super Consumers Australia, he enjoys ensuring that the most important group in our super system, the millions of Australians with super accounts, have a strong voice in policy debates. He is responsible for the organisation’s submissions and representations on policy and their impact on consumers in a heavily industry represented space. Prior to joining Super Consumers Australia, Franco was the Policy Manager at the SMSF Association. He has a Law and Commerce degree from Adelaide University.
Amy Pereira, CHOICE
Amy Pereira is a Senior Campaigns and Policy Advisor with CHOICE and has worked as a consumer advocate since 2019. Prior to joining CHOICE, Amy worked for five years in various policy roles across state and federal government. Amy holds a Master of Policy and Applied Social Research from Macquarie University, a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Sydney, and has attained a Graduate Certificate in Public Administration from the University of Canberra.
Deb Shroot, Care Financial Counselling
Deb is a financial counsellor at the National Debt Helpline and Care Financial Counselling. She is also the Financial Counsellor Industry Liaison at Financial Counselling Australia, the peak national body for financial counsellors. Deb is very passionate about helping people who are experiencing financial difficulty. As a Financial Counsellor, Deb advocates for her clients to ensure they are supported, well informed and receive fair treatment.
Before moving into financial counselling in 2017, Deb has over 15 years’ experience managing Budget and Reporting functions for companies across several industry sectors including higher education, media, retail, property, aviation, hospitality, not-for-profit and professional services.
Deb holds a cert IV in Training and Assessment and is also an Associate and Chartered Accountant through the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
If you have any questions please email us at mentoring@consumersfederation.org.au.