TEAM

PROBITY

The team, members all have a Minimum National Police Check and Working with Children Check – the gold standard in safety checking

PROFESSIONAL

The team, are qualified and/or expereienced

COMMITTED

The team, are Compassionate and empathetic

RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE – BOARD MEMBERS

Cindy Miles – Managing Director, Public Officer

Stephen Howald – Executive Director

MENTORS

STEPHEN HOWALD

Stephen is an executive director at MENTOR.

Stephen is a dedicated and empowered Mental Health Consumer who has made a lasting difference to hundreds of individuals and families throughout his career. Stephen has led the Child Protection and Out-of-Home-Care organisation Intensive Support P/L for over Two decades. Stephen has worked as a Lived-Experience Leader and Peer Mentor since 2012, and is an Executive Director at MENTOR Charity since 2014

Stephen brings extensive experience in the field of Peer Work and Lived Experience Leadership working predominately with the NDIS for psychosocial support coordination, recovery coaching and support.

Stephen also holds a wealth of community experience and has previously held roles including ‘Official Visitor’ at the Official Visitor Program, a member of the North Shore PIR steering committee and numerous grants through the Inner West PIR.

Stephen is a registered exercise professional with AusActive. Stephen developed (in partnership with University of Sydney) and delivered the Lived Experience exercise program GROUPFIT. The GROUPFIT program trained/trains people with Lived Experience of Mental Illness for personal training, group fitness and team sports with exceptional results.Stephen has previously worked as a Mental Health First Aid trainer, training people with Lived Experience of Mental Illness the Standard Mental Health First Aid Australia (MHFA) course.

Stephen is highly motivated toward the development and evolution of Peer Work and the Lived Experience Leadership models where Lived and living experience leaders translate their personal experiences into expertise, which is in turn mobilised for systems change.

CHARLIE DANE

Charlie is the executive officer and executive director at MENTOR

Charlie is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the charity. Charlie Dane is an up-and-coming service professional who has Lived Experience of Mental illness as a carer.

Charlie is completing a Bachelor of Social Work and has completed a Certificate IV in youthwork. Charlie has extensive experience since 2019 in the field of Peer Work as an NDIS Psychosocial Support Worker.

Charlie is dedicated to sourcing funding to enable MENTOR to get to work carry out its mission.

CINDY MILES

CINDY is the managing director at MENTOR.

Bringing personal and unique insights to service delivery, Cindy draws on her lived experience of mental illness (carer)

believes that sharing stories and perspectives fosters empathy and helps reduce the stigma surrounding mental health, encouraging greater understanding and support for individuals and their families.

Cindy, is responsible for the charity administration. Cindy brings extensive experience to the role having worked in the community as a support worker, both with families and children and with NDIS psychosocial disability participants.

SAHRA DAUNCEY

Sahra has a strong background in peer support, mental health, and community engagement, built on both professional training and lived experience. Sahra enjoys projects that bring people together to learn skills, advocate for themselves, and achieve better mental health outcomes. Sahra’s focus is on least-harm, most-effective methods for holistic wellbeing—mind, body, and soul. Sara’s current role is assisting the social peer support group at Forest Lodge.

· Qualifications: Certificate IV in Peer Support (MHCC); General Nursing experience in NSW & SA (Mental Health focus).

· Peer Support & Advocacy:

o Peer work at Croydon CHC with hospital and community outreach (Concord, Canterbury, Camperdown, Marrickville).

o Hornsby Hospital – peer support groups, welcome programs

o Richmond Fellowship newsletter & consumer advocacy.

o Boarding house health education initiatives.

· Community & Volunteer Work:

o Volunteer at 491 Living Skills Centre – group facilitation

o Walk for Wellness bushwalking group participant (Sydney).

o Habitat for Humanity – DV safehouse

· Other Work: Council gardener, bush regeneration projects.

o Horticulture – aiming to integrate gardening into disability and therapeutic recovery programs.

DOUGLAS HOLMES OAM

Douglas is a non-executive director at MENTOR.

Douglas Holmes is vice president and a founding member of TAMHSS. He is the Carer Peer Network facilitator with the NSW Mental Health Carer Advocacy Network (under contract with Mental Health Carers NSW). Douglas has had a long involvement with Association of Relatives and Friends of the Mentally Ill (ARAFMI) on the Central Coast, including as current Chairperson of the board and is a long-time member of the Yakkalla Community support group.

Douglas is the project manager and a volunteer with Super Cro, a charity set up in 2018 to aid people with lived experience of mental health distress through education, advocacy, collaboration, feedback and equal representation.

Douglas’s foray into the mental health and addictions sector came later in life after a career within the transport industry. His passion to work with mental health and addiction was sparked by a personal journey of lived experience and recovery. He has worked as an adult peer support/advocacy worker, and volunteered as a Consumer Leader.

Douglas was privileged to carry the voice of both Consumers and Carers, to local, regional, and national forums when he was a member of the NSW Consumer Advisory Group Mental Health Inc for 3 years from 1996 to 1999 and then Executive Officer for 6 years from 2000 to 2006. He was also chair of the NSW Consumer Workers Committee, Consumer Participation Officer at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, and a member of TheMHS with a focus on supporting the Consumer and Carer pre-conference day prior to the main conference. Douglas lives in Boolaroo as part of Lake Macquarie and enjoys all sports (watching more than participating now) and music, and supports people to organise MAD Pride concerts across Australia.