The team at Pacifica Congress includes our board members and committee members
Our team at Pacific Congress is responsible for meeting legal requirements and being accountable to our members, donors, and sponsors.
As a registered Not-for-Profit with deductible gift recipient status, our board ensures Pacifica Congress acts according to its mission and purpose.
Meet The Board
Mr Darren Mort
PRESIDENT
I have been a Family Law Barrister over 30 years. In that time I have realized there is more than just being a lawyer, a psychologist, a Judge or social scientist. For me it is about using my skill set to accomplish something special that will advance the best interests of children; its about resisting any apathy which may result in kids being labelled as silent victims between warring parents. The imperative is about making a real positive difference for children, giving them a voice and therefore impacting upon future generations, by effecting change. This is something at the core of Pacifica Congress (‘PC’) and something that aligns with my professional goals and ideals. For me PC is a place of hope, where experienced minds from various fields gather so as to make a visible and practical difference to the lives of kids.
Mr Phil Watts
Vice President
I am a forensic psychologist based in Western Australia and an adjunct associate professor in clinical psychology at Canberra University.
I am currently the director of Mindstate Psychology. This practice includes the treatment of clinical clients, neurofeedback, and forensic assessment.
I have 35 years of experience as a psychologist and have done many different things. To highlight a few aspects of my career, I worked as a therapist treating trauma, victims, offenders, and addictions. In my forensic role I have been Single Expert Witness in over 2500 family matters, I do care and protection assessment, criminal injuries assessments, and presentence reports on offenders.
I am actively involved in professional training and community education. I have been involved in conducting training presentations locally, nationally, and internationally on a range of topics related to giving evidence in court, assessing families, the needs of children, risk assessment, and assessment including running workshops on interpreting the PAI.
I have published or co-authored nine books including – “How to find love and not a Psycho” (2020); “shared care or divided lives: What’s best for children when parents separate” (second edition, 2024). “Casino life: Psychology and culture of Casino Gambling” (2018); “IP: DIY Internet Pornography: Do it yourself treatment guide for men” (2014); “Surviving the witness box: expert opinion in court” (2009).
Ms Rachel Oakeley
Secretary
Rachel Oakeley is a barrister practising primarily in Family Law matters
Rachel appears in the Family Court of Western Australia, Family Court of Australia, Children’s Court of Western Australia in relation to Care and Protection Matters and in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia for Violence Restraining Order matters. Rachel has worked exclusively in Family Law since 2006 and receives briefs in all areas of Family Law. Rachel is experienced in difficult children’s matters (including where sexual abuse and family and domestic violence is alleged); international and inter-state relocation applications; complex property matters, (including where there are multiple entity interests, third party interests or litigants, taxation issues and where tracing exercises are required). Rachel is experienced in drafting and advising on Binding Financial Agreements and Binding Child Support Agreements.
Rachel is a nationally qualified mediator and provides services as a Chairperson for Mediation Style Conferences for parties engaged in Family Law negotiations. Whether considering litigation or already involved in it, parties who work with Rachel are encouraged and guided towards identifying their own solution, without the need for the expense and emotional toll which Family Court litigation can have on the parties and their wider families.
Rachel has a special interest in surrogacy and adoption matters. Rachel is a regular speaker, including internationally, on the subject of fertility law and surrogacy. Rachel provides services to parties who require legal assistance advice when entering into domestic altruistic surrogacy arrangements and when applying for transfers of parentage.
Ms Kirstie Colls
TREASURER
Kirstie Colls is an experienced Accredited Family Law Specialist dedicated to helping clients achieve practical, fair, and sustainable solutions in all aspects of family law. She understands that every client’s situation is unique and tailors her approach to suit each client’s needs, whether through mediation, negotiation, or litigation.
Kirstie’s practice encompasses all facets of family and de facto relationship law and she is particularly skilled in high-conflict parenting matters and complex property settlements involving global assets.
With over 23 years of dedicated experience, Kirstie has been consistently acknowledged in Doyle’s Guide as a Leading Parenting & Children’s Lawyer and also featured in the Best Lawyers list. With a reputation for her empathetic approach and clear, strategic advice, Kirstie is committed to reducing stress for clients during what can be one of the most challenging times in their lives.
Kirstie is a founding Director of Tosh Colls Family Law, a Nationally Accredited Mediator and a Collaborative Law Practitioner. She also is a Director of Pacifica Congress, a multidisciplinary organisation that brings together family law professionals across the Pacific region, including countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong with the goal of improving family law for children and families. She continues to volunteer with Women’s Legal Service.
Ms Perpetua Kish
Practicing family law for over 12 years, Perpetua (Pepe) is a family lawyer and the director of Balance Family Law in the ACT. She is trained in conflict management coaching, mediation, advanced collaborative law and collaborative coaching, parenting coordination, and has post graduate qualifications in Human Services (specialising in child welfare). She joined the board of Pacifica Congress in 2022.
She is also the creator and co-founder of The Kind Lawyers, a movement that is all about changing the conversation in law from one of combat, to kindness.
In 2022, Pepe was invited to join the Australasian taskforce of the International Association of Collaborative Professionals and is a member of the Australian Association of Collaborative Professionals and she is also an active committee member of the ACT Law Society’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.
Her innovative approach to law has seen her, and Balance Family Law recognised with over 23 national and international awards and accolades since 2020 including the prestigious Lawyer’s Weekly Family Law Partner of the Year 2021, Australian Law Awards Sole Practitioner of the Year 2021, Australian Law Awards Boutique Law Firm of the Year 2020 and the Gold Ausmumpreneur Award for a Service Business in 2020 and 2021. She has also received consecutive Chief Minister’s Awards for Excellence for my work with families and children on the frontline during her time working in child protection. In 2022 and 2023, she was invited to be a Judge at the Lawyers Weekly 30 Under 30 Awards, and Partner of the Year Awards, and the National Ausmumpreneur Awards.
Pepe believes the key to practicing law well is to embrace an abundance mindset, engage in daily reflective practice and always foster collaboration over competition.
Ms Clare Rowe
Clare Rowe is a registered psychologist and the founder of Rowe & Associates Child Psychology Practice in Sydney.
With a wealth of experience in child and adolescent mental health, Clare is renowned for her evidence based and practical, approach to parenting and family dynamics.
She holds a Master’s degree in Educational Developmental Psychology and has extensive experience in the assessment and diagnosis of childhood disorders such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, learning disorders and giftedness.
Clare appears as a Single Expert in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and is a sought-after speaker and trainer on the topic of high conflict family separation. She is also an adjunct research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs and advocates for developmentally appropriate education and supports empowering young minds without overwhelming them.
Clare is a regular media commentator, writer and host of the podcast “On The Couch with Clare”.
Clare loves the collaborative ethos of Pacifica Congress and the multidisciplinary support that it provides professionals working in the Family Law space supporting families.
Ms Elizabeth Picker
Liz practices as a barrister, formerly a Solicitor for 12 years. She is a Mediator, Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP) and accredited Arbitrator.
Dispute Resolution is her specialty.
Liz’s preference is to preserve relationships wherever possible, be they personal, (family) or commercial (business).
In Family Law settings She feels privileged to be able to take on the role as an Alternate Dispute Resolution Practitioner which enables her to achieve the goal of keeping families out of court.
She is able to assist families to improve their communications which benefits the most important people in the equation in family relationship breakdowns – the children.
Pacifica Congress is close to her heart as a living example of like-minded Family Law professionals seeking to achieve the same end goal – Doing it for the Kids!!
Ms Lilia Szarski
As a Child and family psychologist, Family Report writer, Parenting Coordinator and FDRP, Lilia’s discipline and training and knowledge of the Family law sector has been important in supporting families in distress to navigate, support and resolve many of their entrenched issues though change and conflict management to build sustainable and liveable arrangements for their children.
Being part of the Pacifica Congress Board is an exciting and wonderful opportunity to engage and support good practice, research and the connection of psychology and the law to assist the families in distress who use the Family Law process.
Ms Angelina Hing
Angelina is the Founder & Managing Director of Integro Law Chambers in Singapore. Her distinguished background includes serving as a District Judge of the Family Justice Courts (2009 – 2016) and then founding her firm focused on family law, mediation and cross-border financial/relational matters.
Her mediation credentials are extensive — she handles complex child-custody cases involving international relocation/abduction, cross-border financial divorce issues, and emphasises early mediation to reduce adversarial litigation. See more about Angelina’s work here
Focus for our Board: Angelina will bring international perspective, strong governance experience and expertise in complex relational/financial intersections across jurisdictions — a great asset as we grow globally.
Ms Stephanie Reid
Stephanie Reid is the Founder and Director of Empower Family Law & Mediation.
Stephanie’s clients appreciate her calm, considered manner, her pragmatic approach to resolving matters and her humility.
Stephanie has practised solely in family law since 2008.
During her career Stephanie has represented clients in complex financial and property disputes, negotiated and drafted agreements geared towards asset protection before, during and after marriage or cohabitation, and represented parents in high-conflict parenting disputes.
Stephanie has a wealth of experience, a keen eye for detail and a desire to get the best outcome for every client. Her focus is on providing expert advice and practical solutions to assist her clients to resolve their disputes as quickly and efficiently as possible. She has represented a diverse range of clients in financial and property disputes; from the modest to the complex, she is thorough and analytical.
Ms Jennifer Veitch
Jennifer is a Partner at Pilot Partners, a chartered accountant specialising in business valuation and forensic accounting. Her work spans commercial litigation and family-law matters, helping parties navigate complex financial environments through expert valuations, modelling and strategic planning.
She is regularly appointed as a Single Expert in legal proceedings across multiple industries — including professional services, engineering, mining-support and private investment groups with cross-border interests. Read more about Jennifer and Pilot Partners here.
Focus for our Board: Jennifer will bring deep financial insight — especially in valuation, structuring, tax-effective wealth transfer, CGT planning, family trust usage and the importance of involving accountants early in structuring decisions.
Mr Brintyn Smith
Brintyn is a barrister based in Warkworth / Auckland, New Zealand, specialising in family law, children’s care and protection, relationship-property and parenting/guardianship matters.
He is further accredited as a mediator and collaborative lawyer, with a strong emphasis on non-adversarial dispute resolution and holistic support for families and children. Read more about Brintyn and his work here
Focus for our Board: Brintyn’s strength lies in combining legal acuity with empathy and values-based practice. He will help us ensure governance decisions are grounded in fairness, respect and human-centred approach.
Ms Joplin Higgins OAM
Joplin Higgins OAM has dedicated her career to championing the safety of women and children and is a vocal advocate for domestic violence awareness. She splits her time between managing her firm, Joplin Lawyers, and engaging in public speaking on family law and domestic violence issues.
In 2016, Joplin was one of only ten recipients of the Westpac Social Change Research Fellowship, where she studied domestic violence perpetrator programs in the United States and explored how to implement effective strategies within the Australian legal system. Her work has resulted in nationally and internationally recognised evaluations of these programs.
Her contributions to law were acknowledged in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours, where she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).
Joplin is the co-author of Domestic and Family Violence Law in Australia (LexisNexis, 2025), a comprehensive guide for practitioners navigating complex domestic and family violence matters. She has also published Split Happens: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Parenting After Separation (Self-Published, 2025), providing practical advice for parents aiming to raise confident, resilient children after separation.
Through her legal practice, writing, and speaking, Joplin continues to support families, inform practitioners, and advocate for safer communities.
Annual Conference
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Conference Committee
Venue & Program Co-ordination, Sponsorship, Entertainment, Media, Publishing, Presenters, Finance and Hospitality are just some of the many value-adding roles undertaken by the Conference Organising Committee at Pacifica Congress