Our Staff
Mary Blake
Founder and Executive Officer
Mary Blake
Mary is the founder and Executive Officer of Fostering Hope. Mary came to Fostering Hope after working in the community research and policy after studying community development and international law. She combines this experience with the lived experience of being a foster and respite carer. Mary and her boys attend C3 Church in South Hobart. The rest of Mary’s time is spent being a mum to five active boys and involved in their communities.
Ellie Firth
Mentoring
Coordinator
Ellie Firth
Ellie is our Mentoring Coordinator, overseeing our Mentoring Program; this includes training all our volunteer mentors and working with our mentoring team to screen, match and provide ongoing support for mentors for kids growing up in Out of Home Care. She is a professional mentor and mentor trainer with Deeply Formed, she also co-teaches the Graduate Certificate of Christian Mentoring at Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC). Ellie attends St Mark’s Bellerive Anglican Church. Outside of her mentoring roles Ellie loves to read and spending time with good friends.
Bek de Jong
Northern
Coordinator
Bek de Jong
Bec is the Northern Coordinator for Fostering Hope, her two roles are to engage with the Christian community about the work of Fostering Hope and to pastorally and practically support foster, kinship, and informal carers in Launceston. She has spent much of her career in the legal industry, Christian education and in both State and Federal Politics. Bec and her husband have two ragdoll felines who use what little energy they have to eat and leave their fur everywhere. She enjoys planning and hosting events, playing and watching sports and attends the Southern Presbyterian Church in Launceston.
Anthea Maynard
Northern Mentoring Officer
Anthea Maynard
Anthea is our Northern Mentor Officer, her role is to facilitate our Mentoring Program in the north of the state, providing carers with an extra level of support as they care for kids in care. Anthea has a diverse background in health and intergenerational faith formation. Along with her Fostering Hope work she works part time as the Team Leader of Launceston City Baptist and as the Program Officer for Food Plants International. She lives in a rural village with her husband and two adult daughters and loves to walk alongside people and support them to live out their faith in transformative, practical ways.
Allison Overton
Northwest
Coordinator
Allison Overton
Allison is the North-West Coordinator for Fostering Hope her two roles are to engage with the Christian community about the work of Fostering Hope and to pastorally and practically support foster, kinship, and informal carers in North-West Tasmania. With lived experience in foster and respite care, she is passionate about supporting children and families in the Out of Home Care community. She is also a Registered Nurse, currently working as a School Health Nurse. Outside of her professional work, Allison enjoys spending quality time with her family, and loves going on holidays with them, taking way too many photos and creating photo albums of memories. They live on a peaceful property where they care for their six miniature goats, two cows, a dog, a cat, two guinea pigs and chickens. Allison is an active member of Ulverstone Presbyterian Church.
Natalia Ross
Northwest Mentoring Officer
Natalia Ross
Natalia is our Northwest Mentor Officer, her role is to facilitate our Mentoring Program in the north west of the state, providing carers with an extra level of support as they care for kids in care.Natalia comes from a diverse background supporting children in learning how to learn, she has worked in the Department of Education, Christian education and early intervention services. Natalia finds genuine love for making others feel seen, valued, and supported. Outside of work, together with her husband, Natalia is a mum to four children, one of whom has special needs, she spends time with friends and enjoys walking her dog. Natalia attends Burnie Lifehouse Church.
Louise Woods
foster and kinship carer chaplain
Louise Woods
Louise is our chaplain for foster and kinship carers. Based in Hobart, her role is to pastorally care for, encourage and provide practical support for carers across Tasmania throughout their fostering journey. This includes connecting carers with other supports and also engaging the Christian community around carers. She has a background in aged and disability care in administrative, caring and pastoral roles. Apart from working with Fostering Hope work she also works part time in customer service for an audiology practice. Alongside her husband raising their four children (now adults) she also helped to grow up three other children over a span of several years. She enjoys watching her kids play football (think world game), pushing her granddaughter at Park Run, crocheting, keeping fit and reading. Louise is an elder at Citywide Baptist Church.
Kylie Henderson
Administration
Officer
Kylie Henderson
Kylie is our Administration Officer. She is based in Hobart and her role is to support the state-wide team with onboarding new staff and volunteers, helping with safety and compliance and website and social media management. Kylie works with us part-time and has a background in finance and payroll management. She also works as Accounts Manager for Citywide Baptist Church. Kylie currently attends Hobart Baptist Church where her husband is the pastor. Kylie is a mum with two boys, both of whom are on the autism spectrum. She is passionate about inclusion and neurodiversity advocacy.
Board Members
John Morse – Chair
Mark Patmore – Treasurer
David Miklos
Dorothy Roberts
Maddy Svoboda
Sandy Whight
