Committee Members
Lidia Di Lembo - Chairperson
Lidia is the Founding Director of SabrinasReach4Life Incorporated and mother to daughter Sabrina Josephine who took her life in August 2017. Following the loss of Sabrina, Lidia with her husband Michael, family and friends embarked on a community raising campaign which included a 3,000km fundraising bicycle ride from Adelaide to Darwin to raise awareness of suicide, to help reduce the stigma of mental illness, promote mental health. A total of $100,000 was donated to the Black Dog Institute and some funds helped establish a Sabrina Di Lembo Memorial Scholarship at Charles Darwin University. Lidia is committed to pursue systemic change in suicide prevention, passionate to advocate for those impacted by suicide, or those caring for someone who is in distress and need of either peer led support or professional assistance; and bringing the sector together by forging strong collaborative partnerships to help reduce loss of life and trauma in our community.
In 2019, she established the first Suicide Bereavement Support group in Darwin, is Co-Chair of Postvention Australia. She is a member of: QLD & NT State Committee for Suicide Prevention Australia, the StandBY National Lived Experience Advisory Group, Roses in the Ocean Lived Experience Collective, the Wayback Service Advisory Group (TeamHEALTH). Lidia was the Coordinator of the World Suicide Prevention Day 2020 NT Forum and WSPD Breakfast event in 2019 Professionally, she works for the NT Department of Health and has over 30 years of public service experience working in leadership positions across both the Commonwealth and Northern Territory Government.
Bogusia Goring - Secretary
Bogusia is the secretary of SabrinasReach4Life Incorporated. Working in the Victorian Education Dept for 20 years, of which 12 of those years as a School Services Officer implementing and coordinating programs for children with special needs within a mainstream Primary School environment. The remainder 8 years working as an administration/finance officer within the Primary School setting. On becoming a permanent resident in the NT in 2015 Bogusia acquired a position with the Salvation Army Homelessness Residential + Alcohol and Other Drugs rehabilitation at Sunrise Centre and in 2018 as a Rental Officer with the YWCA of Darwin Housing Program. Having Lived Experience Bogusia understands the support availability challenges of those bereaved by suicide in the NT. In 2018 SabrinasReach4Life established a Bereaved By suicide Support Group for those in need of support. Bogusia is committed in helping to improve support in reducing the stigma of suicide and advocate in the intervention, prevention and postvention of suicide, and other health services.
Joe De Luca - Treasurer
Joe migrated to Darwin as a child. Joe is Lidia's brother and has been involved with SR4L since inception as was part of the support team on the Adelaide to Darwin ride. As a Certified Practising Accountant (FCPA) he has worked in both the NT and Commonwealth Government in a range of senior management positions for over 35 years. Whilst with the Commonwealth, Joe worked with the then Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. Joe also spent 5 years in program delivery of Indigenous Art, Broadcasting, Language, Culture and Sports programs in NT government. He is passionate about promoting, preserving, and maintaining cultural identity, language, and heritage, having been a community radio broadcaster and an in-house trainer for over 25 years.
Joe is also a strong advocate for the Ethnic Community and has promoted Territory issues at a national level with both the Federation of Ethnic Communities Council of Australia (FECCA) and the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasting Council (NEMBC). Joe continues to serve on several NT based community organisations including the Royal Life Saving Society NT.
Coral Osborn - Committee Member
Coral has a Bachelor of Psychology and a Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Loss and Grief); is a Crisis Support Counsellor with Lifeline and is currently a consultant with a Brisbane based agency delivering human resource services. In her Lifeline role she is involved in suicide prevention and supporting people who have been affected by suicide. Before moving to Queensland, Coral lived and worked in Darwin for more than 30 years and is aware of the unique societal and environmental context of life in the Northern Territory. She remains linked to Darwin through family and friends as well as the desire to contribute to suicide prevention and improvement in the services available to people who have been impacted by suicide.
Joan Washington - Committee Member
Joan is coordinator of Standby Support after Suicide NT, Suicide Postvention Service. Working with suicide affected across the Northern Territory, including remote communities and larger centres. Joan is the Regional Trauma Trainer for BlueKnot for Northern Territory. Specialist Trainer/Educator with over 18 years’ experience working with individuals, families and communities affected by migration and other trauma experiences. Experienced case manager of complex clients including torture and trauma survivors and asylum seekers, this has included children, adolescents, and adults individually and as family or otherwise connected groups.
Maria Vescan - Committee Member
Maria is a dedicated Provisional Psychologist with a Bachelor of Psychology (Honors) and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Clinical Psychology at Charles Darwin University. She is recognised as an associate member of both the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the Australian Association of Psychologists (AAPi). In her previous role as a Coordinator at WayBack Support (TeamHEALTH), Maria provided crucial psycho-social support services to individuals navigating the aftermath of suicide attempts or facing suicidal crises. Her commitment to mental health extends to her work with St John Ambulance NT, where she specialised in delivering Mental Health First Aid courses. Notably, Maria utilised her expertise to train Emergency Medical Dispatchers, enabling them to respond to mental health and suicide crisis calls effectively and ensuring the highest quality of care for those in distress.
Marina Vannucci - Committee Member
Marina is a registered occupational therapist who brings a wealth of knowledge to the field of mental health in Darwin. With a career spanning across various sectors including government, NGO, disability and the private sector, Marina has honed her skills and possesses a comprehensive understanding of the intricate interplay between mental health and diverse socio-cultural contexts.
Currently serving as the Clinical Lead at Darwin Head to Health's Adult Mental Health Centre, Marina plays a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of mental health care delivery in the Darwin based service. She has garnered a deep understanding of occupational therapy's pivotal role in mental health rehabilitation and uses this to shape her approach to the work.
Elisabete Ponti
Bio to come
Past Management Committee members: Nikki Ryder, Lydia Gawa, Felix Matarazzo, Matt Hull, Irene Stark, Pauline Neil
Sub Committee:
Bereavement Support Group - Joan Washington, Bogusia Goring, Joe De Luca, Maria Vescan
Advocacy and Capacity Building - Lidia Di Lembo, Coral Osborne
Governance and Risk - Joe De Luca, Lidia DiLembo, Bogusia Goring