about us

The situation a child is born into should not determine their future.

Welcome to the Little Stars Foundation

Little Stars Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in South East Queensland, holding public Benevolent Institution and DGR 1 Status. Our focus lies in delivering impactful programs to children who have endured abuse and neglect, residing in foster, kinship, and residential care.

Meet Our Board of Directors

"Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world" - Nelson Mandela

Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors

ASIA PACAFIC AEROSPACE
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QBE Logo
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ONER Family Law Logo
VBR-Lawyers
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In Kind Supporters and Community Partners:
keema cars logo
Minter-Ellison

We couldn’t make the impact we do without generous sponsors like yourselves. All donations over $2 are tax deductible. Thanks for your support!

Lisa Honeychurch

Lisa is an Executive Director of Little Stars Foundation. Lisa is a qualified lawyer and practised as a lawyer in private practise for over 20 years. Lisa also holds a double major in psychology and has completed a significant amount of training and assisted in developing training on the impact of trauma on the developing brain. Lisa has a particular interest in the rights of the child in the legal justice system and has been involved in advocating for the rights of the child in a litigation role and a non -adversarial role for many years.

Lisa is particularly passionate about improving the outcomes of children who are living in out of home care in Queensland and developed the first day camp program for children who have experienced trauma in Queensland.

Lisa was a finalist in the Queensland Community Foundation Emerging Philanthropists Category in 2019 for her work with children who have experienced abuse and neglect. She has worked in the area of advocating for the rights of children in care since 2012 in various ways including acting on behalf of a child living in care in court proceedings and developing social and educational programs to support children living in care.

Kerri Chard

Kerri Chard is a leading authority in Child Protection with a background in psychology and over two decades of professional experience in the Non-Government and Government Sectors. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience in working with families impacted by intergenerational trauma, abuse and neglect. Kerri has spent significant time working in the court system with these families and has also run a regional intake service to determine intervention responses to children to meet their safety needs. She has developed award winning interventions within the Education sector, and spent time assisting schools to better understand complex developmental trauma and support children in the education system as well as bringing trauma informed curriculums into the classroom.

Kerri is Queensland’s leading Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) practitioner, having studied directly with Dr David Cross and the Karen Purvis Institute of Child Development team. Kerri trains residential care workers, foster and kinship support staff and also works directly with foster and kinship carers as well as biological parents using TBRI®. Kerri has spent time working in the USA with leaders and innovators helping children heal from their trauma. She is well known for her passionate yet pragmatic approach to the complex issue of Child Protection.

She is highly regarded as someone who can think differently and translate psychological theory into practical interventions that transform lives. Kerri is also a foster carer who successfully uses TBRI with children in the care system in her own home – and also on her own 3 sons (and husband!)

Tristan Van Riel

Tristan is the Dealer Principal and Chief Operating Officer of the Keema Automotive Group in Queensland which operates over 5 sites across Brisbane and employs around 250 staff.

Tristan has an accounting background and was previously the Chief Financial Officer of the Keema Automotive Group.

Tristan has significant experience in financial matters and developing the strategic direction of the Keema Group.

Tristan is committed to making a difference in the lives of children living in care through the work of the Keema Childrens’ Foundation. He has been a Pyjama Angel with the Pyjama Foundation for several years, working with children in care to increase literacy and numeracy.

Randall Bryson

Randall is a Director at BDO Australia, an international accountancy firm, and has extensive experience in retail, particularly in the automotive sector but also more broadly with experience in food and beverage retail. His employment with a multi franchise dealership and a national automotive retail chain, as well as 15 years in chartered accounting, provides an excellent platform for specialist professional services. He is able to understand and support his clients with their operational and statutory requirements.

Randall is committed to making a difference in the lives of children living in care through the work of the Little Stars Kids and our Little Stars Kids Camps which provide so much Fun and laughter.

Katie Taylor

Katie Taylor and her husband have been fostering children for over ten years. In that time they have fostered respite, emergency and long term children. Katie has a passion for caring for kids with special needs and currently has 10 full time children in her care and one part time ranging from 7-16 years of age.

Katie has been involved with Little Stars Kids since it’s inception and is passionate about our programs and the huge impact that both the camp and cuddle cases program have on children living in foster care in Queensland. Katie also volunteers with Queensland Foster and Kinship Care as a delegate and in this role successfully supports and assists other carers to navigate what can be a very challenging system.

Katie brings a wealth of knowledge regarding the needs of foster carers and the needs of children living in foster care to our Board.

Andrea McDonald

Andrea is one of the founding Directors of u&u recruitment partners, an executive recruitment business with 110+ staff across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and London.   

Andrea commenced her recruitment career in 2003 working with an international recruitment firm before founding her business with her business partner in 2012.  u&u was acquired by a Japanese listed business, Will Group, and Andrea now works across all the Will Group brands as Director, Employee Engagement.  Her role is to help the Will Group brands thrive through their people and practices.

Having worked in the recruitment industry for 20+ years, Andrea is passionate about supporting the current and future talent of our workforce.  She has seen first-hand the importance of ensuring the next generation of talent have the opportunities provided to them to thrive, regardless of their background or life circumstances.  Andrea is committed to supporting the Foundation as an Ambassador as she truly believes that the services offered by Little Stars Foundations programs can act as a critical support in unlocking the potential of our youth, who could be tomorrow’s future leaders.

Andrea has a double degree in Business and Science from Queensland University of Technology and has completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Management through Central Queensland University.

Nicky Charman

 
From a young age, Nicky, Founder and Director of CALEXICO & CALEXICO Man, realised she had a skill in styling people, so they felt ready to take on the world. This passion evolved into a lifestyle boutique, offering an escape from the outside world.
 
A proud mother to three young children herself, Nicky understands the profound impact a safe childhood, or the lack thereof can have on a developing child and is passionate about supporting Little Stars Foundation in the mission to create brighter futures for children who have experienced abuse and neglect.

Yasmin Honeychurch

Yasmin is an Australian actress and singer. She is passionate about advocating for the voices of young Australians to be heard and has been a volunteer for Little Stars camps since the programs inception.