Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine

CEO

Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine is CEO of ANROWS, Australia’s national organisation for women’s and children’s safety research. She leads ANROWS’ work to strengthen the evidence available to prevent and respond to domestic, family and sexual violence, and to support its use across government, policy, practice and public understanding.

Tessa’s career has focused on building stronger connections between evidence, services, communities and systems. Before joining ANROWS in 2024, she was the founding CEO of Health Justice Australia, where she established and led the national centre for health justice partnership. She was previously Deputy CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service and the inaugural Fulbright Professional Scholar in Nonprofit Leadership.

Trained as a criminologist, Tessa has worked across health, criminal justice, human rights and social policy in Australia and internationally. Her PhD examined the detention and release of people experiencing mental ill-health within the criminal justice system.

She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and brings significant governance experience to her leadership. She is Chair of the Australian Pro Bono Centre and an Independent Director of Australian Communities Foundation.

Her public speaking and writing explore the role of partnership, evidence and institutional power in creating social change. Her TEDx talks have examined the connection between legal need and health, and the importance of more equitable approaches to philanthropy and cross-sector collaboration.

Tessa was born and raised, and lives and works, on unceded Gadigal land in Sydney.