Our Team
Margaret Rodgers – Director, Crucial Training Options
Margaret Rodgers’ commitment to people with disabilities began in a L’Arche community in India in the early 80′s. For forty years, she has enjoyed working with people with a disability and their families in Queensland in a variety of organisations; many involved in family support and most in the non-government sector.
Following early roles in management, she first worked for CRU in the mid-1990s, coordinating the Leadership Development program. After time in Far North Queensland planning with students leaving school; leading a project with the Mamre association assisting adults move into homes of their own using Circles of Support and a project with the State government to further the implementation of person-centred practice, particularly for people caught in the cycle of Emergency and Crisis, Marg returned to CRU as CEO in 2009.
At CRU she leads a team whose work is underpinned by two key commitments - stimulating and supporting positive change in the lives of people with disabilities and their families in Queensland and intentionally developing leaders to lead that change. Having seen the benefits of this work over many years, Marg is convinced that resourcing people to lead their own change through providing information, connecting them with others and offering opportunities to grow, develop and give back is a great way to spend her time.
Marg sits on the International Initiative for disability Leadership (IIDL) Australian reference group; is a founding CEO of the National Alliance of Capacity Building Organisations and is on the national advisory group for Decision Making Possibilities, a project on supported decision making.
As one of the founding Directors of Crucial Training Options Marg is excited to play a part in resourcing, influencing and developing our emerging workforce.
Carol Brosi - Director, Crucial Training Options
Carol began her career as a Registered Nurse before travelling to England in the late 80s, where she started working with people with disabilities. On arriving back in Australia, disability support was transitioning from the health system to the community sector. Carol worked with several community organisations and spent five years with Xavier Children's Support Network, where she was part of the transition of Xavier from an institution to a community-based support service.
In 1994 Carol was employed as a Community Resource Officer with Disability Services Queensland, where deinstitutionalisation began in the Challinor and Basil Stafford Centres. After meeting many non-government organisations at this time, it became evident that staffing requirements were an issue across the sector. In response, Carol started a staffing agency business called Staffing Options for community services in 1997. The service aimed to provide much-needed backup workers when a persons or service's regular staff were unavailable.
Since then, Staffing Options has grown to offer a range of services that recognise that the person requiring support and their family are the experts in their own lives and always know what is best for themselves. Carol also understands that there is a revolving door of services and paid support in people's lives. Therefore there must be good quality support workers either as backup support or in any ongoing capacity.
As one of the founding members of Crucial Training Options, Carol is excited to be part of an organisation that aims to ensure support workers can start their careers on the right track, with the right skill and values from the beginning.
The Right Trainer Makes a World of a Difference
Danielle Mason – Trainer, Crucial Training Options
Danielle Mason decided on a career in the disability sector after working as a support worker in a small service that worked alongside people living in a long-stay public health facility. It was here that she was exposed to training that opened her eyes to a broader role for workers that was much more than simply ‘caring’ of people. Danielle went on to work in team leader and coordinator roles before starting work for Community Resource Unit as a consultant. In this role she has been involved in the development and delivery of non-accredited training on a range of topics related to people with disability getting access to the good things of life, including through the provision of high-quality disability support. Danielle is passionate about good support for people with disability and loves sharing these ideas and practical strategies as a trainer.
Diana Kerr – Trainer, Crucial Training Options
Diana joined the CRU team as a Consultant in 2020. She has a background in Learning and Development across different sectors. Diana returned to Australia in 2017 having spent 16 years living and working in the UK and travelling as much of the world as she could. During this time she had various training roles and has a passion for developing people’s leadership potential. Diana believes that diversity and difference is not only what makes the world amazing but should be embraced and celebrated.