Board Of Directors

Vickie Louise is a proud Wiradjuri woman, born and raised in Griffith, NSW. She has been a Board member of ACDAN since 2022. Vickie Louise is the Regional AOD and SEWB Co-Ordinator at the Griffith Aboriginal Medical Service. Her role includes co-ordinating AOD service provision to Aboriginal people across the Riverina Murray Region as well as Mental Health, Psychology and Counselling services, Bringing Them Home Programs and SEWB services to the Western Riverina Murray area.

In addition to this, she sits on a number of other Boards including being the Chairperson of the Griffith Local Aboriginal Land Counci and the Griffith Aboriginal Community Working Party. Committee member for the Griffith Wiradjuri Preschool, Marrambidya Dance Group, as well as advisory roles with St Vincent’s Hospital in Griffith and the Griffith Base Hospital Aboriginal Engagement Committee.

Vickie Louise is passionate about her community and seeing positive changes to assist in healing through community engagement processes and the facilitation of Women’s groups, Youth Cultural Camps and organisation of events such as NAIDOC Week activities, Survival Day, National Sorry Day and other significant dates for her community.

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Kurt Simpson, is a proud Gamilaraay man. He has recently rejoined the ACDAN Board of Directors. Kurt has been working in the area of alcohol and drugs for about 7 years. 
He has worked at Riverina Medical & Dental Aboriginal Corporation in Wagga Wagga where he grew up, as well as at Katungul Aboriginal Medical Service in Bega. He has also managed Yitjawudik Men’s Recovery Unit, located in Shepparton VIC. 

Kurt is passionate about his work in the area of alcohol and drugs. Prior to working in this area, he was a qualified fine dining chef, which he was pretty good at. 
However, in his life experiences and his passion, his heart was somewhere else. He saw many of his brothers and sisters struggling with alcohol and drugs. He was driven by his own successful fight with addiction of alcohol and drugs. Kurt is now sober from both, alcohol for nearly 21 years and drugs going on 16 years. He felt his personal experiences and success meant he was well placed to understand and support others who wanted to take on the challenge to overcome their addictions.

He obtained academic qualifications to support his known and lived experiences in alcohol and drugs.

He loves his work, letting others know, there is light and success at the end of the tunnel.

Being present with others when they achieve
success for themselves, is the greatest reward.

Kylie Paulson is a proud Worimi, Minjungbal woman, however, grew up on Biripi Country. Her great grandfather William Yettica was taken as part of the black birding practice, stolen from Tanna Island, Vanuatu. She was first voted in as a leadership rep for northern region on the ADAN board in 2015 and is a current ACDAN board of director. Kylie started working in the AOD sector in 2012 with HNELHD as a trainee AHW with the AMIHS team and went on to become a general Aboriginal Health worker for the drug and alcohol sector. Within that time Kylie has managed to gain experience and upskill herself within the sector. Working within the sector she has had the opportunity to gain experience in dosing within and opioid treatment ( as second person) , NSP, counselling and the intake team. Kylie moved off country to Awabakal country and had taken on the role of Aboriginal Health worker for DACS still working for HNELHD Drug and Alcohol services. This role would be more challenging than her previous role. Covering a larger geographical area and being the only AHW within the drug and alcohol sector. Kylie supports many multidisciplinary teams, which included, MERIT, Drug court (attending drug court fortnightly), Detox (one day a week), SUPPS, ACM, Community counselling, Cannabis Clinic, Cessnock (one day per week) and Newcastle Antagonist Opioid Treatment Services (OATS), Youth DACS, Neuropsychologist and local GPs. Kylie’s current role is a Policy Officer with the Governance and Systems Team in the ministry of Health - Centre for Alcohol and Other Drug (CAOD), Kylie took up a secondment in 2022 for 5 months and was offered a 12-month contract since the release of the SCI funding.

Levii Griffiths is a Gamilaraay man from the Gawambaraay clan who has been working on Gadigal land for the past six and a half years in different roles with different residential rehabilitation program. He has been on the ACDAN Board of Directors since September 2022. Levii began his career working as a detox support worker at William Booth House focusing on the immediate need of clients in the early stages of recovery until changing positions in a new program in in Sydney’s CBD the Bourke Street Program where he worked primarily with Men in this post rehabilitation service. Levii’s current role is Project Lead for Allawaw Aboriginal Corporation working with young people on Gadigal and Bidjigal land in the Bayside Council of Sydney.

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Tina is a proud Ngiyampaa Wailwan women, born on Wiradjuri country in Cowra, NSW & is currently living on Dharawal Country. Tina has been an ACDAN Board of Director since 2021. She is currently on a 12 month secondment at the Ministry of Health - Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs as the Senior Project Officer, Strategic Projects. Within this role she has lead the development of the Aboriginal Engagement Strategy for the Government response to the Ice Inquiry, supported the development of a collaborative design strategy to develop new treatment and support services established as part of the Ice Inquiry response, works with CAOD managers to ensure that Aboriginal communities, consumers and service providers are empowered to partner with CAOD and NSW Health agencies in the design and implementation of new and enhanced services & lead the development of an Aboriginal Workforce Development Strategy in collaboration with key Aboriginal stakeholders.

Tina has been in her substantive role since 2020 as the Aboriginal Program Coordinator for the South Western Sydney Local Health District Drug Health Services. This role entails coordinating the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of DHS Aboriginal services and projects, supporting the development of accessible, responsive and culturally safe environments for Aboriginal consumers and community & providing cultural support & advice to care for DHS Aboriginal consumers and care coordination for DHS Aboriginal consumers with higher risk substance use issues.

Between 2015 – 2020, Tina was the Manager of Social Emotional Wellbeing at Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation. During her time in this role Tina managed the day-to-day operations of the office, provided leadership, direction, support and supervision for the Social & Wellbeing team, developed and delivered quality preventative programs to the community whilst leading a team of health promotion workers proactively involved in educating community members & represented the interests of the organisation in a variety of forums, community, government, Indigenous, local and regional.

Kenneth Neale (KJ) is a proud Wiradjuri man, raised and living in Wagga Wagga. He is new to the AOD sector and is currently working at RivMed as the Senior Drug and Alcohol Case Worker but has always worked amongst the community in various roles. KJ was inspired to begin working in the sector as he was seeing too many of our people being affected and dying from drugs and alcohol. 

He has a Diploma in Child, Youth & Family Intervention, Diploma in Leadership & Management and is currently studying a Certificate 4 in Drug & Alcohol. 

KJ has sat on previous boards for RivMed & the Personnel Group. He also has experience in Child Protection and Family Preservation. 

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