Our Team

Kate Minto

Director & Senior Psychologist

Kate worked in various roles with Mandala Foundation from 2008 to 2017. She commenced in a regional staff support role in the Pacific, and lead the organisation from 2014. She also played a key role in co-developing Mandala’s psychosocial risk management resources and guidelines for the aid sector. Her current role involves leadership and strategy, organisational consultancies and advisory, and psychosocial support. With seventeen years’ experience in this sector, Kate is specialised in applying psychosocial principles of support to humanitarian and development contexts. Her field experience includes work for Oxfam International and the Mandala Foundation in Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.

Iris Trapman

Senior Consulting Psychologist & Cultural Anthropologist

Before relocating to Australia, Iris worked for many years as a Mandala Foundation consultant in Timor-Leste. There she provided counselling services to local and expatriate humanitarian workers and delivered trainings on topics such as stress and trauma management, sexual harassment, and cross-cultural team management. Iris has over 20 years’ experience working on mental health, psychosocial support and gender based violence projects in the humanitarian sector, completing projects in Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Bosnia, Burundi, Indonesia, Honduras, Iraq, Myanmar, Fiji and her native Netherlands for a range of organisations.

Di Rachinger

Senior Psychologist

Drawing on her extensive experience in the careers and employment sector, Di specialises in providing vocational counselling, mentoring and training to aspiring (in addition to current) humanitarian workers and volunteers. Di worked for many years at the University of Melbourne in the areas of Careers & Employment, Student Volunteering and International Exchange and with students and staff of the Masters of International Development program. Di also has a strong background in management and organisational behaviour.

Suzanne Newman

Consulting Psychologist

Suzanne provides psychosocial counselling and critical incident support for Mandala to humanitarian workers and emergency workers both internationally, and within Australia. She is a trained mediator with extensive experience in individual, group and relationship counselling, and group work strategies. Suzanne is an experienced facilitator and has conducted workshops and trainings in team building, conflict resolution, critical incident stress management, assertiveness and stress and change management.

Janine Ward

Psychologist

Janine is a psychologist with more than 16 years experience working with people experiencing severe mental health difficulties and supporting individuals and communities affected by trauma, grief and loss. She has a particular interest in the area of trauma and is currently completing a Masters in Clinical Psychology to gain specialist training in this area. She has direct field experience working with UNHCR & UNICEF (deployed through RedR Australia) in Indonesia and Pakistan. Janine provides psychosocial debriefing, counselling and training to humanitarian workers for Mandala.

Susannah Tipping

Psychologist

Susannah is a registered clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience working in mental health and not-for-profit settings in Australia and the United States. Alongside her work for Mandala, Susannah works as a sessional clinical psychologist and trainer/facilitator at Foundation House, a not-for-profit in the refugee sector. In 2011 Susannah completed a Doctor of Philosophy in the area of refugee mental health, focusing on the resettlement experiences of young people from a South Sudanese refugee background.

Sam Farmer

Consulting Psychologist (New Zealand)

Sam is Owner-Director of Enhance Facilitation Limited and a Leadership Coach specialising in areas such as psychosocial support, stress management, leadership coaching, critical incidents, mindfulness and supervision. He has provided psychosocial support for field staff in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Haiti, Myanmar, Nigeria, Papua, New Guinea, South Sudan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan; and in post-earthquake Christchurch.

Caterina Facchino

Finance & Operations Coordinator

Caterina has been with Mandala for nearly ten years and brings long term experience as a BAS Agent and bookkeeper. She is responsible for finances and reporting, audits, and general bookkeeping duties, including payroll, invoicing and tax compliance. She also provides confidential operational support in administering our services.

Alanna Myers

Communications Consultant

Alanna provides communications consultancy support. She holds a PhD in environmental communication from the University of Melbourne and is also a Sessional Lecturer and Tutor and Research Assistant in the Media and Communications program at the University of Melbourne. She has also taught for a number of years in the subject Global Crisis Reporting, which explores the role of the media in theatres of humanitarian action.