Meet our Staff Team
Mary Blake
Founder & Executive Officer
Mary is the founder and Executive Officer of Fostering Hope. Mary came to Fostering Hope after working in the community research and policy after studying community development and international law. She combines this experience with the lived experience of being a foster and respite carer. Mary and her boys attend C3 Church in South Hobart. The rest of Mary’s time is spent being a mum to five active boys and involved in their communities.
Bec De Jong
Northern Coordinator
Bec is the Northern Co-Ordinator for Fostering Hope. She has spent much of her career in the legal industry, Christian education and in both State and Federal Politics. Bec and her husband have two ragdoll felines who use what little energy they have to eat and leave their fur everywhere. She enjoys planning and hosting events, playing and watching sports and attends the Southern Presbyterian Church in Launceston.
Ellie Firth
Mentoring Coordinator
Ellie is our Mentoring Coordinator, overseeing our Mentoring Program; this includes training all our volunteer mentors and working with our mentoring team to screen, match and provide ongoing support for mentors for kids growing up in Out of Home Care. She is a professional mentor and mentor trainer with Deeply Formed, she also co-teaches the Graduate Certificate of Christian Mentoring at Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC). Ellie attends St Mark's Bellerive Anglican Church. Outside of her mentoring roles Ellie loves to read and spending time with good friends.
Anthea Maynard
Northern Mentoring Officer
Anthea is our Northern Mentor Officer, her role is to facilitate, with the support of the Mentoring Coordinator, Fostering Hope's Mentoring Program in the north of the state, to provide carers with an extra level of support as they care for kids in care. This includes the recruitment, matching, and ongoing support for mentors and mentees. Anthea has a diverse background in health and intergenerational faith formation. Along with her Fostering Hope work she works part time as the Team Leader of Launceston City Baptist and as the Program Officer for Food Plants International. She lives in a rural village with her husband and two adult daughters and loves to walk alongside people and support them to live out their faith in transformative, practical ways.
