Rate My Professor Louise Rak

Louise Rak is a Lecturer in Human Services in the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences, College of Human and Social Futures, at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her academic background encompasses a Master of Counselling, Graduate Diploma in Social Science (Psychology), Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology, and Graduate Diploma in Counselling for Health and Social Care from the University of New England; a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Newcastle; and a Graduate Certificate in Business from the University of Southern Queensland. Rak's career history includes senior leadership in community services. She served as Operations Manager – Community Services at CatholicCare Social Services Hunter Manning, responsible for the operational and financial management of four program areas supporting vulnerable and marginalised people. Earlier, as Early Intervention and Intensive Support Manager at the same organisation, she developed and implemented a pioneering program to assist young people exiting court-ordered care in securing housing and acquiring essential living skills for adulthood transition.

In addition to lecturing, Rak holds the position of Widening Participation Programs Manager at the Centre of Excellence for Equity in Higher Education, where she manages stakeholder relationships, strategic program development, and initiatives such as the Live, Learn Grow project aiding students from out-of-home care backgrounds to access higher education. She also manages the Name, Narrate, Navigate (NNN) program addressing youth violence through trauma-informed and culturally safe approaches. Her research specializations include community development, equity and widening participation in higher education, youth violence, and social justice. Key publications feature the co-authored book Working with Youth Violence: The Name.Narrate.Navigate Program (2023, with T. Blakemore, C. Krogh, S. McCarthy, G. Stuart); chapters including "Empathy Disrupted?" (2026, with T. Blakemore, C. Krogh), "Trauma, culture, and youth violence" (2023), and "Justice responses to youth violence" (2023); and journal articles such as "Now.See.Hear!: A Visual Conversation Tool for Trauma-Informed Practice with Justice-Involved Youth" (2025, with T. Blakemore et al.), "Don't Worry About Her; Intersectionality, and the Role of Systems and Structures..." (2025), "Who I Am, and Why That Matters" (2025), "His, hers and theirs: comparative narratives from young people who use violence" (2023, with T. Warton), "Deep Listening and Relationality: Cross-cultural Reflections on Practice With Young Women Who Use Violence" (2021, with T. Blakemore et al.), and "Live, Learn, Grow: Supporting young people with a care experience through higher education" (2017, with E.A. Fuller). Her contributions extend to numerous presentations, legislative submissions, reports, and practitioner training, impacting youth justice, social work practices, and educational equity.