Christine Thomas
Chief Executive Officer
Cygnet Centre for Peace Building and Transformation
Christine is a Wakka Wakka woman, social worker, educator and leader; working with young people, families and First Nations communities to shape services, navigate complex systems, address structural inequities and responding to adversity and harm for 30 years.
Christine is dedicated to working across all levels of community in the pursuit of social justice and healing; working on local, national and international levels in the areas of anti-racism, human rights and peace initiatives. Christine has worked in both service delivery and senior leadership across housing and homelessness, child protection, youth and adult justice, Aboriginal youth suicide prevention and domestic and family violence sectors.
As CEO of the Cygnet Centre for Peacebuilding and Transformation, Christine leads initiatives that centre healing, justice, community engagement and self-determination. Known for her ability to connect big-picture strategy with grounded community-led practice, she offers strategic insight grounded in lived experience, a commitment to truth telling and accountability. Whether working at the boardroom table or in circle on Country, Christine brings clarity, care and an unwavering belief in our collective capacity to heal, transform and lead together.
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From punitive pathways to healing journeys
Exploring the continuum of harm when local and state responses fail to address root causes
Centring Aboriginal lived experience and leadership
Reimagining systems that move from control to care
Christine Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Cygnet Centre for Peace Building and Transformation
Murray Benton, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak (QATSICPP)
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A Tale of Two Tiddas: From harm to healing, from dreaming to doing
Join this deeply personal narrative exploring the parallel journeys of two Aboriginal sisters whose lives diverge through the presence or absence of timely, humanising supports. Beginning in their dreaming the story reflects on intergenerational trauma, colonial harm, family violence, sexual abuse, substance use and entanglement with education, mental health and justice systems. Ultimately, it calls us to move from dreaming to doing and from listening to living - together.
Christine Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Cygnet Centre for Peace Building and Transformation