Florence Martin is the Executive Director of the Better Care Network.  Florence is a human rights lawyer and clinical social worker with over 30 years of experience in human rights, child protection and children’s rights in both emergency and development contexts. Her work over the last couple of decades has focused on reforming and strengthening national child protection systems, including the framework for the delivery of social services and social work practice with children and their families. Prior to joining BCN, Florence worked as child protection adviser to the Ministry of Social Affairs in Indonesia where she supported major reforms of the child welfare and social work systems. Florence also worked as global adviser on child protection for Save the Children UK, adviser in child protection to the East Timorese Ministry of Social Welfare, and legal adviser to the Human Rights Unit of the UN Transitional Administration for East Timor. Florence also represented Amnesty International at the United Nations for five years. Florence holds an MSSW from Columbia University and a Master of Public International Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Rebecca Nhep is the Senior Technical Advisor for Better Care Network. Rebecca has 18 years of experience in international development and child protection. Her work has included a strong focus on advocacy, deinstitutionalisation, family-based care and community-led development. Rebecca also co-founded and co-chairs ReThink Orphanages Network in Australia. Prior to her role with BCN, Rebecca was the Joint CEO of ACC International (ACCI) where she founded ACCI’s child rights and deinstitutionalisation program, Kinnected. Under Rebecca’s leadership, the Kinnected program supported the transition of over 65 residential care centres and the development of family-based care and community-based child and family welfare services in 12 countries. Rebecca also spent 11 years in Cambodia where she supported the development of the country’s first formal family-based care program. She also established an extensive network of family strengthening projects in rural communities to prevent family separation and child institutionalisation. Rebecca holds a Master’s Degree in International Development, and a Graduate Certificate in Missiology and Anthropology.

Aniruddha Kulkarni is Better Care Network’s Senior Advisor for Evidence and Learning. Aniruddha is a social worker with extensive experience in the field of child protection. His experience spans from research and evaluation to programme design, implementation, and monitoring. Aniruddha began his child protection career in 2002 in India, focusing on the prevention of and response to trafficking, sexual exploitation, and other child protection issues. From 2005 to early 2024, he served in various roles at UNICEF in India, Bhutan, and at the headquarters in New York City. His work at UNICEF primarily focused on supporting local and national efforts to strengthen child protection and care reform systems. As the global technical lead on care reform and alternative care at UNICEF Headquarters, he led and supported national, regional, and global initiatives on care reform—supporting governments and partners to build prevention and response services, community-led care models, and monitoring and accountability systems. Aniruddha prioritizes the systems strengthening approach in all his work. Most recently, Aniruddha worked at the Boston College School of Social Work where he managed the school’s global field education portfolio. 

Alena Sherman is the Knowledge and Community Manager for the Better Care Network. Alena has ten years of experience leading strategic communication and knowledge management initiatives in support of international development and humanitarian programs. Her work has focused on child protection, global health, and education in emergencies, with an emphasis on making knowledge more accessible and actionable for global audiences. Prior to joining BCN, Alena served as the Communications and Advocacy Manager for the Global Social Service Workforce Alliance where she led efforts to engage Alliance members and other external audiences in collaborative knowledge building and advocacy to strengthen the social service workforce worldwide. Alena also has five years of experience working as an English Language Acquisition and Work Readiness Instructor for resettled refugees and immigrants in Colorado, USA. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado and a master’s degree in international human rights, with a focus on humanitarian assistance, from the University of Denver.