Created with grace. Delivered with grit.

Tanya has 34 years of cross-sector experience spanning child protection, family violence, youth justice, disability, community development, media, and government policy — across Queensland and Tasmania. She started in the sector at 18 and has never really left.

In April 2026, Tanya appeared before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs in a personal capacity, giving evidence on domestic, family, and sexual violence and suicide. She has also submitted a Churchill Fellowship application examining cross-sector early intervention for young people living with family violence across Canada, Scotland, England, and New Zealand.

Her career spans: Practice Lead on the Stronger Families and Safe Kids reform Leadership Team; Communities for Children program management across four Tasmanian regions (The Salvation Army); Cape York Partnership under Noel Pearson; DIYDG founding support in Cairns; Cairns Regional Council Youth Engagement programs; community radio; board roles with YNOT (Youth Network of Tasmania); and the Tasmanian Online Lions Club Safer Families Project.

Tanya holds a BA (Human Services) from James Cook University, where she was Student Union President. She is also co-writer of the ABC television series Total Control with Aaron Fa'aoso.

Marg brings more than 40 years of experience as a facilitator, researcher, trainer, and curriculum developer. She has worked extensively in cultural safety, education, strategic planning, and community development — including research and curriculum partnerships with First Nations communities — in Australia and internationally. She started her consultancy, Marg Cranney & Associates, in 1998 and has been in independent practice ever since.

A former AIATSIS Research Fellow, Marg was the principal researcher on the concept study for the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre — commissioned research supporting First Nations-led leadership infrastructure. She co-wrote the Australian Government PEPA Mentoring Guide, and her research has directly shaped national policy and practice frameworks.

Marg's curriculum design work spans government agencies, community organisations, and education providers. Her approach is grounded in self-determination, community authority, and the principle that training designed without community is training that doesn't stick — a philosophy she and Tanya share completely.

She is President of the Tasmanian Online Lions Club Safer Families Project — the community initiative that Grace & Grit's surplus funds directly support. She brings to every room deep cultural safety expertise, cultural humility, and a lifetime of relationships built through genuine partnership.