Nerita Waight
Chief Executive Officer
Nerita Waight is a Yorta Yorta and Narrandjeri woman with Taungurung connections. Nerita is the CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. Nerita was first employed at VALS in 2014 as a civil lawyer. Prior to becoming CEO, Nerita had experience across several teams in the organisation including family and children’s law, as well as policy and advocacy. Nerita is also the mother of two young boys. Ensuring that they grow up with strong connections to their culture and kin, and in a world that is safer for Aboriginal people, is a key motivation for Nerita’s work.
Trevor Plowman
Chief Financial Officer
Trevor Plowman has extensive experience in financial services delivery and administration and leads the VALS finance unit, encompassing all key financial and risk management review. Prior to working with VALS, Trevor worked with the Department of Justice, EPA Victoria, the Bureau of Meteorology, and Domain Caravans, within senior financial management roles. He served as the CFO of the Bureau and EPA, and Finance Director of Domain Caravans.
George Selvanera
Deputy Chief Executive Officer
George has extensive international experience working with government, business and not-for-profits on organisational and service design, strategy, and transformation. George has responsibility for company-wide governance, partnership and business development. He also directs our corporate, reporting and executive services functions.
Patrick Cook
Acting Head of Communications, Policy and Strategy
Patrick has over a decade of experience in policy, campaigning and advocacy. He has a Master of Public Policy from RMIT. Patrick has previously worked as a Ministerial adviser and bureaucrat in the Victorian Government. He has a passion for building sustainable campaigns for systemic reforms.
Charmain Anton
Statewide Community Justice Program Leader
Charmain is a proud Mutthi Mutthi, Waddi Waddi, Wemba Wemba woman, who has been with VALS since 2019 where she started as the Client Service Officer for Swan Hill. In 2021, Charmain became Team Leader for Regional Client Service Officers. Charmain has previously held roles at the Department of Justice – Koori Justice Unit as the LAJAC worker for Loddon Mallee Region, MDAS – Manager Child and Family Services (Swan Hill), VACCA – Manager Child and Family Services (Swan Hill), and Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Services – Team Leader Family Services/ Cultural Support Planner. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Family Therapy from La Trobe University, a Certificate IV in Community Services (Specialising in Child Protection), and is currently completing her Diploma in Community Services at RMIT.
Principal Managing Lawyers
Anna Gibson
Principal Managing Lawyer, Balit Ngulu
Anna joined VALS as Principal Managing Lawyer Balit Ngulu in October 2022 on secondment from Victoria Legal Aid where Anna was the Deputy Managing Lawyer Child Protection. Prior to that Anna was a Senior Legal Policy Officer at the Children’s Court of Victoria, providing legal research and advice to the Office of the President and before that held various roles at the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) including establishing its In-house Legal Service to enable representation in Children’s Court proceedings.
Kin Leong
Principal Managing Lawyer, Criminal Lawyer
Kin joined the VALS Criminal Law team from private practice in 2014 and has been the Principal Managing Lawyer since 2017. Prior to legal practice Kin was a youth worker and theatre arts professional in Darwin, Northern Territory. He has extensive experience working in local government and community-based organisations. Kin holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Laws, and is a Law Institute of Victoria Accredited Criminal Law Specialist.
Juergen Kaehne
Principal Managing Lawyer, Aboriginal Families Law
Juergen is the Principal Managing Lawyer for VALS Aboriginal Families Law. He was previously the State Manager for the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community Legal Service. It has been a privilege for him to provide legal service exclusively to Aboriginal people over the past 15 years. This service included complex child-related matters in both State and Commonwealth jurisdictions, and 10 years of remote circuit work through Cape York Peninsula. He holds a Masters degree in Family Law and is a registered Independent Children’s Lawyer, as well as a member of the Law Council of Australia and the Governance Institute of Australia
Sarah Schwartz
Principal Managing Lawyer, Wirraway
Sarah manages the Wirraway Practice and represents clients in the areas of police accountability, the rights of people in prison and coronial inquests into Aboriginal deaths in custody. At VALS, Sarah has acted in the Inquest into the passing of Veronica Nelson and the Victorian Court of Appeal prison rights case, Thompson v Minogue. Sarah completed a Master of Laws at Harvard University on a John Monash Scholarship. Sarah is also a Lecturer and Honorary Fellow at Melbourne Law School. Sarah has previously worked at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Legal Aid NSW, and for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW.
Alex Walters
Principal Managing Lawyer, Civil and Human Rights
Alex has been the manager of the Civil and Human Rights team at VALS since 2020. Before then, he was the Civil Lawyer at the UK law reform and human rights charity, JUSTICE. He was admitted in Western Australia in 2013 and from 2014 worked for three and a half years as a lawyer in
the Civil and Human Rights practice at the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia, before moving overseas. He has a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Laws.