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.

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.

Kerrie Taylor

Kerrie has a background in marketing and communications and runs Pollen Communications.

Kerrie combines her bright and creative personality with her formal qualifications in integrated marketing communications producing results with an innovative edge. With more than 15 years’ experience across public relations, events and marketing, Kerrie has built a solid yet diverse clientele across the property, construction, retail, mining, tourism, health and fitness, not-for-profit and luxury product sectors.

A passionate and experienced communicator with a love for writing, Kerrie is passionate about using her skills to assist Little Stars Kids to build its presence to enable it to continue to support children in foster care.

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.

Neil Silvester

I joined Little Stars Kids in 2019 as a volunteer with the camp program and enjoyed contributing to the fun experiences we gave our Little Stars. In 2021 I joined the team at Little Stars where my role is to manage the marketing and social media platforms for the charity, as well as assist with developing and implementing special projects.

My working career has been across a wide range of industries in roles within sales, marketing, and operations, and has seen me travel the world. I bring a diverse set of skills to the team that will help us bring our programs to more of our Little Stars to provide beneficial support when they need it the most.

Working with Little Stars both as a volunteer at camp and in capacity of Program Manager for the Little Stars Learners Program is rewarding beyond measure. These children are in need of the highest level of care, and I feel grateful that I am able to contribute to their growth every day.

Katie Vaughan

I began working with Little Stars Kids in March 2019 as Program Administrator after having spent 10 years at home, being a Mother to my children. The majority of my working career prior to this had me supporting a successful team of Financial Advisers in the high-pressure world of Mergers and Acquisitions.

Having had such a long break from working, I felt a need to balance my life with caring for my children, running my household, personal health and fitness and something for me. Enter Little Stars Kids! There was no better way to fulfil this need than by using my skills for a charity working at bettering the lives of children in care.

My role is to handle the day-to-day running of our Little Stars Learners Program and Community Engagement Program. It is wonderful to be able to communicate with the carers whose children attend the camps, deal with the volunteers who give up their time to attend camps to support these children and liaise with the many suppliers, supporters and donors that make up the balance of what Little Stars Kids stands for. I am grateful every day that I have such a role in this wonderful charity!

Ana Jeanmonod

I joined Little Stars Kids in 2019 as a volunteer in the camp program and love getting to know and support the children. I studied law in Brazil and hold a Diploma of Community Services in Australia and have a passion for human rights and helping people, particularly the most disadvantaged in society.

Being able to help children in foster care through the LSK Cuddle Cases Program is immensely fulfilling and to see the difference it makes to a child entering care – its huge. These children are so helpless and we owe it to these children to do all we can to help them feel safe and protected.

Kerri Chard

Kerri Chard is a leading voice 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. She has spent significant time supporting families in the court system along with managing a regional intake service to determine intervention responses to ensure the Childs’ safety needs. She has developed award winning interventions within the Education sector, 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. TBRI® is an attachment based, trauma informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children and is a parenting model that is designed for children from “hard places” such as abuse, neglect and/or trauma.TBRI® offers practical tools for parents, caregivers, youth workers, teachers or anyone who works with children, to see the “whole child” in their care and help that child learn to trust, regulate and reach his or her highest potential.

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.