Building resilience in Tasmanian families
Tristan began volunteering for Early Support for Parents after identifying a desire for a career change and wanting to bring together his passion for IT related work with his day to day work. Tristan brings to Early Support for Parents a keen interest in coding and website development.
Tristan loves spending time with his pet cat, watching sitcom re-runs and enjoying a good coffee.
Tristan Tatenhove
Volunteer
Our Team
Marian joined Early Support for Parents in 2019 brining with her over 15 years experience of working in the community sector. Marian is very committed to making a difference in the lives of others and believes strongly in the concepts of community and the proverb ‘It takes a village.’ It’s through shared stories, experience, and these connections that we can build our community. Marian believes in using current evidence based approaches and is a trained facilitator in widely recognised parenting programs, with a strong emphasis on the importance of play. As a Mum to three children living in the beautiful Tasmanian bush, Marian enjoys spending her spare time on family adventures, camping and eating great food.
Marian Ellul
Program Manager
As the Administration Officer for Early Support for Parents, Rachael brings a unique blend of professional experience and personal passion to my work. She is a proud parent to two little boys and her own experiences as a parent give her a deep understanding of the challenges and joys of parenting in the modern world. Rachael is committed to supporting other families through her contributions to the good work of ESP. Rachael's own family inspires her to do this work and she hope to make a positive impact on families across the Tasmanian community.
Rachael Ploughman
Administration Officer
Our Board Members
PRESIDENT
Janet Stephens
SECRETARY
Brenda Kimber
Member
Maggie Clark
MEMBER
Robyn Collis
MEMBER
Maggie Champion
MEMBER
Alison Nicholson
PUBLIC OFFICER
Sally McGushin
Treasurer
Rachel Howard
Members
About Our Board
Janet has been a teacher during most of her adult life; for 6 years with primary school children and 22 years with adults at TAFE. She has three children and 4 grandchildren. She has had a strong connection with family and youth organisations: for 40 years as a counsellor in Australian Breastfeeding Association, in the Child Health Association and later as a leader in the Tasmanian Scout Association for 25 years. She is still a member of them. Through these organisations she realised how important it was to support families and in 1989 a group of like-minded women from Midwifery, Child Health and ABA saw the need to give many families that extra support . They applied for money and now ESP has been going for over 30 years enabling many parents and children to have easier lives. Outside ESP and her counselling role, She has been in our local Landcare group, and love reading, gardening and music in between caring for grandchildren.
Janet Stephens
president
Maggie has a background in Early Childhood Education, working both in Victoria and for 34 years in Tasmania. Her main area of interest in Tasmania has been in the area of early childhood intervention and family counselling and has been lucky to work in a family partnership model with many families within the Early Childhood Intervention Service Hobart.
After retiring ESP gave her an opportunity to volunteer in a family based support service and continue using her professional training and passion for supporting families.
She feels honoured to have been a member of the ESP Board for the past 7 years.
Maggie Clark
Treasurer
Brenda went to secretarial college straight from school but after several years working in this area she then changed to nursing. From there she moved up to become a Practice Manager for 25 years. During that time she was a Brownie Leader for 9 years. Brenda has 5 children and 9 grandchildren which allows her realise the value of an organisation like ESP.
Brenda Kimber
Secretary
Rachel holds a Bachelor of Applied Science and has an extensive career in fast moving consumer goods manufacturing in Australia, predominately in risk management, compliance and sustainability roles.
She has recently moved to Tasmania from Victoria. Rachel has been a Board member since March 2023.
Rachel Howard
Treasurer
Sally has five children ranging in ages from 37 years down to 15 although only the youngest is still at school and living at home. She has volunteered with and benefited from community organisations with a family focus for many years, including the Nursing Mothers Association of Australia/Australian Breastfeeding Association, Police and Citizens Youth Club, First Queenstown Scouts, as well as her children's playgroups and various schools. Sally lived in Queenstown, Tasmania, for nearly 20 years and it was there that she raised and educated her older children. On moving back to Hobart in 2007, one of the main things that struck her was the isolation of many families; this did not really happen in a small town where everyone knew everyone's business. She joined Early Support for Parents as it seemed to be one way to fill that gap by encouraging vulnerable families through periods of isolation or other difficulties. Indeed, in the absence of supportive extended families and communities, ESP offers understanding and reassurance that can help families move forward.
Sally McGushin
Public Officer
Robyn is a retired teacher. She has worked full time in a variety of roles, at early childhood, primary, high school and adult levels for many years. With majors in French and German from the University of Tasmania, and a she has a special interest in languages and has subsequently furthered her studies in Italian and Spanish. She completed a post-graduate Certificate in Education (TESOL), and spent the final eight years of her career teaching English to Adult Migrants. She currently works as a volunteer to help individual migrants in learning English. She enjoys playing the piano, tennis, language learning, reading and the outdoors.
Robyn Collis
Member
Members
On board
I have a background in Early Childhood Education, working both in Victoria and for 34 years in Tasmania. My main area of interest in Tasmania has been in the area of early childhood intervention and family counselling, I was lucky to work in a family partnership model with many families within the Early Childhood Intervention Service Hobart.
Once I retired ESP gave me an opportunity to volunteer in a family based support service and continue using my professional training and passion for supporting families.
I have been honoured to be a member of the ESP Board for 7 years.
Maggie Clark
president of ESP
I went to secretarial college straight from school but after several years working in this area I then changed to nursing. I then became a Practice Manager for 25 years. During that time I was a Brownie Leader for 9 years. I have 5 children and 9 grandchildren so I definitely realise the value of an organisation like ESP.
Brenda Kimber
secretary
Janet has been a teacher during most of her adult life; 6 years with primary school children and 22 years with adults at TAFE. She studied at the University of Tasmania when her three adult children were young and now has 4 grandchildren aged from 4 months to 11 years. Janet has been involved in a number of community groups. She has had a strong connection with family and youth organisations: for 40 years as a Counsellor in Australian Breastfeeding Association, in the Child health Association and later as a leader in the Tasmanian Scout Association for 25 years. She is still a member of them. Through these organisations She realised how important it was to support families and in 1989 a group of like-minded women from Midwifery, Child Health and ABA they saw the need to give many families that extra support . They applied for money and now ESP has been going for over 30 years enabling many parents and children to have easier lives. Outside ESP and her counselling role, She has been in our local Landcare group, and loves reading, gardening and music in between caring for grandchildren.
Janet Stephens
Vice president of ESP
Our Volunteers can help to....
- support you during times of stress, crisis or social isolation
- provide in-home mentoring, and help develop parenting skills & education
- help build confidence and enjoyment in parenting/ caring for a child
- offer guidance on how to manage challenging childhood behaviours
- help you connect with services provided within the community
- support you during family conflict or breakdown