SHARC Management

Sarah Etter is the Manager of Residential Peer Programs and Peer Mentors in Justice at SHARC. Sarah has worked across the Alcohol and other Drugs (AOD) sector for more than fifteen years in both government and non-government organisations, with leadership roles spanning service delivery, advocacy, and systems reform. Their work is informed by both professional experience as a qualified social worker and lived experience as a queer, non-binary person in recovery from alcohol and other drug use. Sarah is passionate about strengthening lived experience leadership, inclusive practice, and community-led approaches within the AOD sector.

Jen Riley is the Intentional Peer Support (IPS) Manager at the Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC). She leads the Australian IPS Hub and works alongside the peer workforce to strengthen and expand IPS practice across Australia. Jen has lived experience of mental health challenges, which informs her commitment to mutual, relational ways of working and supporting organisations to embed lived and living experience leadership.

Jen has worked in the community health, mental health and AOD sectors for more than 25 years and has held senior leadership roles across strategy, evaluation and service design. She has served on the boards of Windana and Eating Disorders Victoria, and previously ran her own consultancy focused on systems change and community-led practice.

Jen holds qualifications in social policy, community development and evaluation. She lives in Bayside with her wife and two children.

Emer brings 30 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector to her role as APSU Manager at SHARC including as a campaigner, policy advisor, fundraiser and project lead in Australia and overseas.

She has worked on diverse issues and projects in health, disability, education, labour rights and corporate responsibility. Emer studied Community Development and tackles all projects through a lens of collective action. inclusion, social justice, human rights, and empowerment.

She combines these broader skills and experiences with her own lived experience as a supporter. Emer is passionate about working with individuals and communities to ensure lived experience drives service and system change.

Catherine is an NFP finance professional with credentials from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) Australia. With a robust career as a CFO in the not-for-profit sector, she has consistently demonstrated her expertise in implementing advanced financial systems and improving processes, significantly transforming financial and shared service operations. Her leadership in executing projects has led to notable cost savings and business process enhancements, establishing her as a key driver of financial efficiency and innovation.  Catherine’s professional experience spans several significant roles, including her role as CFO for TaskForce Community Agency and Bayley House, where she managed financial and IT operations.

Andrew is the Manager, Organisational Support and Development.

Andrew has a Bachelor of Business (Human Resources/Industrial Relations) and is a Fellow of the Institute of Management and Leaders, and is a Certified Member of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI).

He has worked in human resources environments in public health and not-for-profit organisations for more than 20 years.

Clare is the CEO of Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC). SHARC is a peer-led organisation that co-produces programs to support people impacted by alcohol and other drugs (AOD), and more recently, gambling. SHARC has been promoting and advocating for lived experience through services, programs, and policies for more than three decades. Clare joined SHARC in 2022, having held leadership positions in the non-profit sector for more than 15 years. Her work is informed by her own lived experience as well as qualifications in social work, governance, psychology, and AOD work. Clare is a Churchill Fellow, a Harvard Club of Victoria Non-profit Fellow, and Vice President of the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association (VAADA).

Rob has been working in the human services field for over twenty years across a number of fields including alcohol and other drugs, men’s behaviour change and family violence, couple and family work, community health, brain injury, and acute and ambulatory services.  His qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Social Work in Management and Human Services, Master of Counselling, Graduate Certificate in Family Therapy, Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs and Certificate IV in Work Place Training.  He has also been involved in research projects with Beyond Blue, Deakin University and ARBIAS.