About the DAFA trainers

Xan
Xan is a Digital Counsellor Case Manager at Lives Lived Well, drawing on a decade of experience in counselling, group facilitation, peer support, and harm reduction across regional NSW and digital settings. Her background includes work in both clinical and peer-led community organisations.

Xan first put up her hand to deliver DAFA in 2022 and has since facilitated sessions nationwide, as well as training new DAFA facilitators. As co-developer of the DAFA Digital training, she has helped transform the program into an accessible online format that maintains the evidence-based, person-centred approach of the face-to-face training. She also regularly delivers internal training on harm reduction in practice, supporting staff to integrate evidence-based, person-centred approaches into their work.

Outside of LLW, Xan has held frontline and leadership roles with DanceWize NSW, providing peer-led harm reduction at music festivals. She holds a Bachelor of Public Health, a Diploma of Alcohol and Other Drugs, and a Diploma of Mental Health.

Xan is passionate about harm reduction and health promotion as pathways to healthier, more inclusive, and connected communities. She believes that practical, non-judgemental support, when rooted in dignity and compassion, can open doors for people who might otherwise be overlooked. Xan sees centring lived and living expertise as essential to building safer, more effective services that genuinely respect people’s agency and choices.

Clare

Clare has been a dedicated advocate for education, wellbeing, and social inclusion throughout her extensive career in community services. Her journey with Drug and Alcohol First Aid (DAFA) began in 2018, when she became a facilitator - a role that has since seen her deliver numerous workshops across Australia, train new facilitators, and, most recently, coordinate DAFA programs nationally for twelve months.

With a professional background spanning sexual assault, family violence, mental health, alcohol and other drugs, and family services, Clare brings deep insight and empathy to every learning environment she creates. Her decade-long tenure teaching at TAFE Tasmania reflects her belief in the transformative power of education to build understanding, compassion, and connection - particularly for those who experience marginalisation.

Clare holds a Graduate Certificate in Human Services Practice, an Advanced Diploma of Community Services Work, a Diploma of Community Services, and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. With extensive experience supporting individuals with complex needs across Tasmania and Far North Queensland, Clare is deeply committed to fostering communities that are informed, compassionate, and empowered.

 

Nick

Nick is a clinical psychologist and board approved supervisor with experience working across a range of settings in mental health and alcohol and other drugs clinical work. As chair of the Lives Lived Well Research Working Group, he coordinates research activity across LLW and ensures contemporary evidence-based practice is reflected in our clinical practices. In addition to DAFA, Nick is a frequent contributor to other organisational learning and training activities, and a facilitator of several implementation projects including First Step, Red Dust Healing, and Cognitive Processing Therapy.