Meet the Team
Dedicated to healing, empowerment and creating safer communities.
Our team brings together expertise in psychology, trauma-informed care, education, community engagement, violence prevention and organisational leadership. We are united by a shared commitment to helping individuals and communities heal, grow and thrive.
Our strength comes from diverse expertise and a shared purpose: helping people heal, build confidence and create safer communities.
Jace Cannon-Brookes is a Clinical Psychologist, trauma specialist, researcher and Co-Founder of the Birchtree Group.
For more than two decades, she has worked alongside people living with the impacts of complex trauma, while advocating for systems of care that are accessible, evidence-based and trauma-informed.
In 2015, Jace co-founded Birchtree Centre with Dr Sophie Reid in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. What began as a vision for a safe and compassionate trauma-informed practice has grown into a multidisciplinary service supporting adolescents and adults across Sydney. Alongside her leadership role, Jace continues to work clinically and provide supervision to mental health professionals.
Jace began her career in nursing before moving into psychology. She has extensive experience designing treatment programs, coordinating specialist services, and teaching postgraduate psychology students at the University of Sydney, UNSW and UTS.
A passionate educator and advocate, Jace has delivered trauma-informed training to more than 5,000 health and legal professionals through Birchtree Education and partnerships with organisations including the NSW Law Society, Lander & Rogers law firm and the NSW Department of Justice.
In 2018, Jace co-founded Birchtree Foundation to address inequities in access to trauma treatment and recovery services, particularly for people living in regional and rural communities. Through the Foundation, she has helped develop innovative education programs, Empowered Self Defence (ESD) initiatives, and community partnerships that strengthen prevention and recovery responses to trauma and gender based violence.
Jace is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Sydney, researching Empowered Self Defence as a trauma-informed intervention for victim-survivors of gender-based violence. Her work explores how empowerment-based approaches can support healing, agency and recovery, bringing together clinical practice, research and violence prevention.
Driven by a belief that meaningful change requires collaboration, Jace works with clinicians, researchers, educators, community organisations and policymakers to improve Australia’s
response to trauma and gender-based violence. She remains committed to creating innovative, evidence-informed solutions that expand access to care and help individuals and communities thrive.
Sophie is a leading clinical psychologist, trauma specialist, mental health innovator and co-founder of Birchtree Group.
Sophie has over 20 years of clinical experience. She holds a Masters of Clinical Psychology and a PhD in Child and Adolescent Psychology.
Understanding families, relationships and the day-to-day challenges of both growing up and raising children underpin her clinical work. A passion for child advocacy has led Sophie to focus her clinical work on helping people heal from the trauma of childhood difficulties and trauma and to assist people to become a more peaceful integrated self and return to the person they were born to be.
In her work with parents and couples, Sophie seeks to support adults to interrupt the intergenerational impact of childhood trauma. Sophie has extensive experience working with adults, children and adolescents, parents and families at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, with Sydney’s homeless community, school communities, and in private practice. Sophie specialises in helping both individuals and families to recover from trauma, anxiety and depression, eating disorders, grief and loss, addictions, relationship issues, workplace and childhood bullying, and childhood illnesses.
Together with Jace Cannon-Brookes, Sophie co-founded Birchtree Centre in 2015 to address the pressing need to provide a place for adult survivors of childhood trauma to be welcome, held and heal. Sophie is a passionate educator and runs regular workshops and training for clinicians and allied health professionals on complex trauma. She co-founded Birchtree Foundation in 2018 to provide trauma support and care to regional communities and to conduct cutting edge research to impact and interrupt the outcomes of childhood trauma.
Qualifications:
- PhD (University New South Wales)
- Masters Clinical Psychology (University of Melbourne)
- Bachelor Science (Psychology), Hons 1 (University New South Wales)
Professional Memberships:
- Australian Psychological Society
- Australian Clinical Psychology Association
- Australian Health Practitioners’ Registration Agency – Clinical Psychology Endorsement
Sophie Welman is a Project Coordinator and Research Officer at Birchtree Foundation, where she works across research, program delivery, community engagement and strategic initiatives focused on trauma recovery and the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV).
Passionate about creating safer and more connected communities, Sophie is committed to translating evidence into practical programs that empower individuals and contribute to meaningful social change.
Sophie recently completed her Advanced Graduate Diploma in Psychology under the supervision of Dr Sophie Reid. Her research explored victim-blaming attitudes towards gender-based violence among university students in Sydney and reflects her broader interest in understanding the social and psychological factors that contribute to violence. She is particularly interested in evidence-based approaches that support prevention, recovery, resilience and empowerment.
At Birchtree Foundation, Sophie plays a key role in the development, coordination and evaluation of community programs, including the Empowered Self Defence (ESD) initiative. Through this work, she collaborates with clinicians, researchers, educators and community organisations to deliver prevention-focused programs that enhance safety, confidence and wellbeing for women and LGBTQIA+ communities.
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Psychology, Macquarie University
- Graduate Diploma in Psychology (Advanced), University of Technology, Sydney)
Our Team
Birchtree Foundation is powered by a dedicated team of volunteers and a network of clinicians, trainers, educators, and community practitioners who contribute their expertise to our programs. This flexible model allows us to bring together specialist skills as needed, ensuring our prevention and recovery initiatives are evidence-based, trauma-informed, and tailored to the communities we serve. Together, we are committed to creating safer, stronger, and more connected communities across Australia.
David was a Major General in the Australian Army, retiring in 2019 after serving in Australia and abroad for 36 years. Having witnessed first-hand the impacts of trauma and the profound effects on survivors, their families, and communities, David is determined to deliver meaningful and sustainable change.
Following his retirement, David was appointed through 2020 as the Senior Advisor (Defence Reform) to the Minister of Defence. He commenced providing strategic advice to corporate clients in early 2021, before joining the National COVID-19 Vaccination Taskforce as the national lead for vaccination rollout to Australia’s disability sector and aged care workers. Today he runs his own small business and is appointed as a Director on the Board of the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, and as an independent advisor to the Birdon Advisory Board.
With specialisation in logistics and a nearly a decade in senior military command appointments, David has deep experience in service delivery, commercial contracting, governance and risk management, complemented by high-level expertise in cultural and organisational change, reputation management, and managing relationships with Ministers, Government and regulatory agencies.
David joined the board in December 2018.
Directorships:
- Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation
Qualifications:
- Masters of Engineering (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University)
- Masters of Defence Studies (University of Canberra)
- Graduate Diploma of Strategic Studies (Australian Defence College)
- Post Graduate Diploma of Transportation Planning and Management (Cranfield University, United Kingdom)
- Bachelor of Professional Studies (University of New England)
Sarah is a business and marketing executive whose career has spanned Financial Services, Management Consulting and Technology for the past 20 years.Â
She has held management positions at ANZ, Bankers Trust, Zurich Financial Services and Westpac. She made the transition to Technology in 2007 by joining Red Ant Design where she continues to hold a Business Management position. Sarah is passionate about providing all Australians who are experiencing the effects of complex trauma the chance to thrive.
Sarah joined the board in 2018.
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Business (International Marketing) (UTS)
Meet the team 👋
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