Dr. Katie Thomas is a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Development Health and Honorary Associate with the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research. Her research interests centre on issues of social justice and the nurturance of children. At the macro-social level this includes public policy and the feminization of poverty. At the meso-level it includes the psycho-social effects of exclusion, trauma recovery and the development of social support for marginalized people. Her work gives her a base of applied knowledge and she is committed to research that provides immediate practical benefits for participants and that promotes positive social change. Dr. Thomas has conducted industry and social profiling for government and NGOs at national, state and local levels; community research with rural and remote communities and social research with marginalised groups across the State. She is a member of ACP, APS, AWID, FOMEX, SCRA, WASS and UCP-SAR. For further information go to http: katiethomas.elementfx.com.