Bruce Morcombe OAM
“Our objectives in establishing the Daniel Morcombe Foundation are far reaching. We must protect our children! We can and will make a difference, ensuring that our communities are a safe place for them as it should be. Your support will assist us in providing an effective child safety awareness program and where required assist other victims of crime, especially where children are involved.”
Denise Morcombe OAM
“We have formed the Foundation not only to keep Daniel’s innocence alive and to honour our son, but to help other families from ever having this nightmare happen to them and our objectives are to keep an ongoing awareness program for child safety, help other victims of crime where children are involved and to keep the community vigilant on crimes against our children. Children are our future and must be protected. With your help we hope we can make a difference.”
Daniel Morcombe
Daniel was abducted and murdered on the 7th December 2003. He was last seen waiting for a bus on Nambour Connection Road, 2km north of the Big Pineapple, Woombye Queensland.
The predator was arrested and charged on the 13th August 2011 with numerous serious offences including child stealing and murder. Daniel’s remains were found in bushland near the Glasshouse Mountains on the 21st August 2011.
A public funeral service was held for Daniel on the 7th December, 2012.
The predator was found guilty on the 13th March 2013 on all charges and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 20 years before he is eligible for parole.
Kay McGrath, Channel 7 News Presenter
A friend from the very beginning, Kay McGrath has been a Patron and passionate supporter of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation since its establishment. Kay is a mother, an award-winning journalist and presenter with the Seven Network, alongside being an active advocate for child and family safety.
“The tragic disappearance of Daniel Morcombe touched the heart of every parent. An innocent, promising young boy cruelly snatched from his family with no explanation. A genuine desire to protect and educate other young people is now the driving force behind Daniel’s family. I strongly encourage you support the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in continuing their son’s legacy and creating a safer world for our children.”
Together, let’s support the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.”
Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin
Terri, Bindi, and Robert Irwin became Patrons of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in late 2019, as long-term supporters and friends of the Morcombe family.
With Australia Zoo based on the Sunshine Coast, the Irwin family have been involved in the Foundation since the early days, including participating in the filming of some of our first child safety DVDs. Many years on, the Irwin family are now internationally renowned, but their advocacy for child safety, and the protection and education for children to always feel safe remains. Along with Australia Zoo, these passionate Wildlife Warriors annually support our events and initiatives, while working hard to ensure wildlife and wild places around the world are protected. We are proud to have them on our team to help make Australia a safer place for all children.
Committee Members
Bruce Morcombe OAM
Tim Ryan BA
Denise Morcombe OAM
John Pearce
Dean Morcombe
Peter Boyce OAM
Jo Bryant
Dr Lara Christensen (not pictured)
Chris Austin (not pictured)
Ambassadors
Daniel Morcombe Foundation Team
Tracey
GENERAL MANAGER
Tracey has over 25 years of experience in event and project management including marketing, media and communications. Tracey completed studies in Business and Marketing and went on to hold high level leadership roles at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and 2003 Australian Rugby World Cup.
Tracey now uses her leadership and communications skills to further promote the Foundation’s work and manage our fantastic team.
Outside the Foundation, Tracey loves getting outdoors and heading to the beach with her two kids. Tracey is an avid travel and adventure lover.
Susan
ADMINISTRATION OFFICER
Susan has worked in the hospitality industry for over 25 years. As Director of Business Development and Communications Manager at Hyatt Hotel Canberra in the ’90s, Susan worked with many of Australia’s largest corporate organisations, government departments and the diplomatic community.
She moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2001 to open a restaurant and start a family, has settled in the Sunshine Coast hinterland happily and is almost a local!
A passionate Child Safety advocate, Susan is delighted to be working with the Foundation to help Keep Kids Safe.
Amanda
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OFFICER
Amanda has over 25 years’ experience designing and creating communication tools and multimedia content to support learning and development for disability services, community engagement and event management industries.
Having recently graduated from Charles Sturt University with a Bachelor of Communication, Amanda’s passion lies in storytelling and creating content that highlights the everyday needs and achievements of the community. Making sure the community has access to information to help them achieve their goals forms the basis of this passion.
Amanda is a keen photographer and spends her time outside the foundation exploring the Sunshine Coast.
Rebekah
GRAPHIC & MULTIMEDIA OFFICER
Rebekah has a passion for using her creative skills to make a difference in people’s lives. She joins the team after working with local businesses and not-for-profits in marketing, communications and design for a number of years. Having studied Fine Arts at university, Rebekah has a keen eye for detailed design and enjoys bringing communication to life in a visual way.
In her spare time, Rebekah loves to visit art galleries, spend time at the beach, and hang out with her family and friends.
Naomi
EVENTS OFFICER
After graduating with a degree in Communications, Naomi spent the first 10 years of her career working in Marketing before studying Education and shifting her focus to the classroom and teaching for the next 10 years. During this time, Naomi also founded and ran a small business within the events industry. She enjoyed supplying to a number of high profile, iconic festivals.
She is particularly proud to work for the Foundation, combining her skills in events, education and communications to deliver functions that champion child safety. A passionate advocate for the Rights of the Child, Naomi’s drive is to support the safety and wellbeing of children. Naomi brings a trauma-informed lens to her work through her studies in expressive therapy.
In her spare time, Naomi can be found spending a day in the sun with her family or curled up with a good book.
Beth
NATIONAL EDUCATION MANAGER
Beth is a social worker who lives and works on beautiful Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi country. She has worked in violence prevention for over 15 years, specifically in the areas of child sexual abuse and domestic and family violence. A career highlight was working at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse as a counsellor and lead policy writer. Beth believes every human (and animal) should be treated with dignity and have the basic right of safety.
When not at work, you can find her at home hanging with her pig friends, Margaret and Patricia, who are both fluent in food.
Emma
PROJECT OFFICER
Emma is a born and bred Sunshine Coast local who initially started with the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in 2013 as a volunteer whilst studying. She officially joined the team after over 10 years working in events and sales, with qualifications in Events, Business, and HR Management. Emma is excited to make a difference for our young people and apply her expertise to help the Foundation in their commitment to Keeping Kids Safe.
Outside of the office, Emma enjoys spending time with her family out and about on the Coast or venturing further away with her extended family camping and water skiing.
Morky
MASCOT
Morky is big, red and loves making people smile. His hands show his safety network, reminding children there are always people they can talk to if they ever need. Morky likes travelling and sometimes visits schools for child safety presentations with Bruce and Denise.
His favourite event of the year in the Walk for Daniel, where he catches up with his mascot friends, Emmy from Act for Kids, the DMF Elmo and Khan the Tiger from Australia Zoo. They may be different, but they are all great friends