Jordan Couturier

Change agent, Concerned citizen, Explorer, Foodie, Public servant, World traveler

What can I say, I’m a super passionate social worker that cares very much about all things young people, youth affairs, and social Justice. My dream would be to make an impact on social policy so we can meaningfully change a persons quality of life for the better. Outside my professional career, I have a love for travel, eating, and absolutely can't go past a good glass of wine. I have two rescue cats, and believe that warm sunny days are just simply the best (snow is pretty amazing too, we don't have much of that in Australia). I walk literally everywhere, my team at work joke that if they're walking with me, they'd better wear their sneakers. Education & Career: I have a Bachelor of Social Science (Youth Work), Master of Justice and Criminology, and Master of Social Work. I wouldn't say I'm addicted to study, but I do believe you can never know it all and I certainly embrace the social work ethics of continual professional development to improve, maintain, and broaden my skill set. I work for a not-for-profit focusing on disadvantaged high-risk children and young people under child protection care, and trauma informed practice is a key part of what I do. I also worked for a number of years in the youth homelessness sector, and with young people on criminal court orders.

- Social Justice and Human Rights - Travel, culture, and adventure - Child and adolescent welfare - Working with adolescents (young people really are the best, no two days are ever the same!)

- Fair does not mean equal - Nobody should ever need to experience homelessness, but it can happen to anyone at anytime so don't take what you have for granted - The feeling of being ‘full’ is a privilege - Our own experiences are what shape our world views and values

adolescent development, child protection, social work, Young People, Youth, Youth homelessness

I don't really have a specific TED story, I just love to learn and be challenged toward new ways of thinking, and feel TED helps me to achieve this. Maybe it's my inner social worker, but I strongly value having a deep understanding of yourself, how your experiences shape your world view, and social constructionism.

I would have to say that I'm an extremely organised and task oriented person. Basically I get stuff done, and one time. I don't think I have a party trick per se, I can definitely facilitate conversation when others have no clue what to say but on the same token, can be shy when others are super confident (weird, go figure). My memory is my superpower. I don't have a photographic memory but I can recall very specific details of things. For example, events I've attended, conversations I've had, and tasks. Lastly, I'm incredibly goal oriented. Once I set my sights on something, I'll work hard to achieve it.