Dr Meaghan Katrak Harris

Dr Meaghan Katrak Harris

Senior Lecturer

School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci (Social Work)

Career Summary

Biography

 

Dr. Meaghan Katrak Harris is a social worker, academic, and writer whose career spans diverse facets of the field. With extensive experience in direct practice, community development, research, and education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, she brings a holistic perspective to social work. Her research focuses on exploring communities and developing creative, place-based solutions to challenges faced by rural and regional areas. Meaghan is part of the high impact Name.Narrate.Navigate program which delivers direct service, professional training, resource design and research for youth violence. 

Meaghan is particularly passionate about the arts as a vehicle for social justice and the telling of untold stories. Her current creative portfolio includes a collection of memoir-based essays that evolved into a play, alongside her co-written screenplay "Two Mile to Town". This fictional drama set in a small soldier settlement town in Australia in the 1960's, explores the intersectionality of the community within the historically factual context of assimilationist policies. With her team, Meaghan is actively developing a proof of concept for this screenplay as a community arts initiative in her hometown, where the story is set.

As a Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Meaghan is dedicated to social work education, combining her academic expertise with community engagement and creative practice to inspire future social work professionals.

  

 

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Monash University
  • Bachelor of Social Work, La Trobe University
  • Master of Social Work, Monash University

Keywords

  • Social Work Education

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title Organisation / Department
Senior Lecturer University of Newcastle
School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci
Australia
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Publications

For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.


Book (3 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2022 Howard A, Rawsthorne M, Joseph P, Terare M, Sampson D, Katrak-Harris M, 'SOCIAL WORK AND HUMAN SERVICES RESPONSIBILITIES IN A TIME OF CLIMATE CHANGE: Country, Community and Complexity', 1-212 (2022)

This book provides an accessible, research-informed text for students, social workers and other social service workers and community development workers focused on prac... [more]

This book provides an accessible, research-informed text for students, social workers and other social service workers and community development workers focused on practically linking climate change to social justice. The book is designed for: Those who want to embed an understanding of climate change and its social justice impacts in their everyday practice Those keen to explore the explicit but also often invisible ways we see injustice playing out and exacerbated by climate change Those interested in embarking on research and action which addresses climate change in an inclusive, creative and fair way Utilising existing and current research with organisations, government and communities, it examines key themes and contexts where work has been done and where more work is needed to design and implement inclusive and just action on climate change. With a core position revolving around the idea and practice of justice ¿ for earth and everything that lives here, it draws on First Nations worldviews, critical analysis, community-led approaches and complexity theory, to outline some practical ways to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change as well as a strategy to reshape our life and work for the longer term. It will be required reading for all scholars, students and professionals of social work, social welfare, community development, international development, community health and environmental and community education.

DOI 10.4324/9781003146339
Citations Scopus - 6
Co-authors Dara Sampson
2016 Howard A, Katrak M, Blakemore T, Pallas P, 'Rural, Regional and Remote Social Work : Practice Research from Australia' (2016) [A1]
Citations Scopus - 9
Co-authors Tamara Blakemore
2015 Katrak M, 'Welfare, Social Work, and an Indigenous Community Mission to Town' (2015)

Chapter (1 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2021 Sampson D, Katrak Harris M, Rawsthorne M, Howard A, 'Way more than a Town Hall Meeting: Connecting with what people care about in Community Led Disaster Planning' (2021)

Journal article (4 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2025 Blakemore T, Rayment-McHugh S, Menzies K, Randall E, Rak L, Harris MK, McCarthy S, 'Now.See.Hear!: A Visual Conversation Tool for Trauma-Informed Practice with Justice-Involved Youth', Australian Social Work, 78, 429-441 (2025) [C1]
DOI 10.1080/0312407X.2025.2517611
Co-authors Louise Rak, Tamara Blakemore, Shaun Mccarthy
2025 Rak L, Blakemore T, Randall E, Harris MK, 'Don't Worry About Her; Intersectionality, and the Role of Systems and Structures in the Embodied Experiences of Young Women's Use of Violence', Australian Journal of Social Issues (2025) [C1]

Systems and structures designed to protect and support young people, specifically (in this paper) young women, are ironically the same systems that maintain gender disp... [more]

Systems and structures designed to protect and support young people, specifically (in this paper) young women, are ironically the same systems that maintain gender disparity. Consequently, this has influenced the embodied identities of young women who experience and use violence. Such systemic and structural intersectionality has impacted upon and is enacted through generations of women, especially those who are more likely to be disproportionately impacted by micro and macro layers of discrimination due to age, race, religion, dis/ability and socioeconomic status. This paper draws on the narratives and experiences of 24 young women aged 13¿18 who have experienced and used nonfatal violence. Their narratives chart the role of systemic oppression, community expectations, hierarchical group dynamics and identity formation in their experiences of violence. Findings centre on the experiences of young women, their words providing insight into motivators and drivers of female violence, which to date has been under-researched and often poorly understood.

DOI 10.1002/ajs4.70016
Co-authors Louise Rak, Tamara Blakemore
2025 Rak L, Randall E, Katrak-Harris M, Blakemore T, 'Who I Am, and Why That Matters', Youth, 5, 83-83 [C1]
DOI 10.3390/youth5030083
Co-authors Tamara Blakemore, Louise Rak
2023 Rawsthorne M, Howard A, Joseph P, Simpson D, Katrak Harris M, 'Understanding community-led disaster preparedness', Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 10.47389/38, 49-54 (2023)
DOI 10.47389/38.2.49
Show 1 more journal article
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Grants and Funding

Summary

Number of grants 2
Total funding $2,253,953

Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.


20241 grants / $2,244,862

Supporting Adolescent Boys Trial: Newcastle - Name.Narrate.Navigate (NNN).360$2,244,862

Funding body: Department of Social Services

Funding body Department of Social Services
Project Team Prof Tamara Blakemore, Ms Louise Rak, Dr Shaun Mc Carthy, Dr Chris Krogh, Mr Daniel Ebbin, Assoc Prof Sally Hunt, Dr Jean Carruthers, Dr Meaghan Katrak Harris
Scheme Families and Communities Supporting Adolescent Boys Trial
Role Investigator
Funding Start 2024
Funding Finish 2026
GNo G2400975
Type Of Funding C2100 - Aust Commonwealth – Own Purpose
Category 2100
UON Y

20141 grants / $9,091

Evaluation of Financial Sustainability Project: Hunter Early Childhood Intervention Services$9,091

Funding body: Department of Family and Community Services

Funding body Department of Family and Community Services
Project Team Doctor Amanda Howard, Prof Tamara Blakemore, Dr Meaghan Katrak Harris, Mrs Miriam Bevis
Scheme NSW Organisation Transition Fund
Role Investigator
Funding Start 2014
Funding Finish 2014
GNo G1401007
Type Of Funding Other Public Sector - State
Category 2OPS
UON Y
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Dr Meaghan Katrak Harris

Position

Senior Lecturer
School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci
College of Human and Social Futures

Focus area

Social Work

Contact Details

Email meaghan.katrakharris@newcastle.edu.au
Phone 49215765
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