Our International Team.
Kirra Pendergast
Founder & Managing Director.
Kirra Pendergast is the Founder of Safe on Social and Ctrl+Shft. She has spent more than three decades inside the systems most people never see, from the early trust architecture of the internet at VeriSign to government identity, access, and counter-terrorism reform. After surviving sustained cyber abuse herself, she turned that experience and deep technical expertise into action, founding Safe on Social and co-founding Ctrl+Shft to build the frameworks schools, governments, and organisations now rely on to confront digital harm, AI risk, and human rights online. Independent of platform funding and trusted across five continents, she is one of the world’s clearest and most credible voices on online safety, platform accountability, and the widening gap between what technology promises and what it does to human lives.
​
She is an in demand keynote speaker at conferences, schools and businesses across the globe. She mentors business and school leadership teams, she is an educator, strategist, governance and policy advisor and now author with her first book being released by Pan Macmillan in September 2026 co-authored with Maggie Dent.
​
Kirra is based in our European Headquarters in Florence Italy, and splits her time between offices in Sydney, London, New York, Washington DC and Dubai.
Dr Pinelopi Troullinou
AI Ethics, Governance & Education Lead.
Europe
Dr Pinelopi Troullinou is an AI ethics and digital society researcher whose work examines the meeting point of technology, power, and everyday life. She helps organisations move beyond polished principles into real practice, bringing a child-centred, rights-based lens to AI governance, digital systems, and responsible design. With a PhD on everyday surveillance and years leading European research across AI, education, misinformation, and security, she is known for cutting through empty compliance language and asking the harder questions that should be at the heart of every system. Who does this serve? Who does it fail? and what would it take to do better?
​
Pinelopi is trainer, speaker and consultant and works across Europe, The United Kingdom and the Middle East. She speaks English, Greek and Italian.
Pinelopi is based in our office in Florence Italy.
Madeleine West
Speaker, Educator & Advisor.
One of Australia’s most courageous voices on child protection. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse who took her abuser to court and saw him convicted, she has turned personal trauma into public action and has never stopped fighting for children.
​
Through her work on Predatory and her advocacy for a public child sex offender register, she has pushed the national conversation towards accountability, prevention and reform. Her work with Safe on Social places her on the frontline of modern child protection, educating schools, parents and communities about the realities of online harm — from social media misuse, group chats and digital footprints to sextortion, deepfakes and the evolving tactics predators use to target young people.
​
She also works across media, education and policy, partnering with law enforcement, educators and policymakers to protect women and children, including in rural and regional communities.
A mother of seven, she brings lived truth, national reach and zero tolerance for systems that protect perpetrators over children.
Anna Hayes
Expert Educator & Facilitator, Research Lead.
Australia & New Zealand
With over a decade of experience across classroom teaching, school leadership and national program design, Anna has seen firsthand how rapidly technology has reshaped childhood, often without the systems, safeguards or shared understanding needed to navigate these spaces safely and effectively.
Anna has worked across a range of educational settings and previously served as Education Director at Code Like a Girl, a leading social enterprise dedicated to advancing gender equity in technology. In this role, she led the development and delivery of education programs across Australia, partnering with schools, community organisations and corporate stakeholders. These experiences have enabled her to build strong, authentic connections with young people and meaningfully engage them in impactful learning experiences.
Anna's key areas of expertise include:
• Online safety and digital risk management
• Social media governance and responsible use
• Digital well-being and behavioural trends
• Emerging technologies and AI awareness
She has delivered professional learning and keynote presentations across both the education and corporate sectors. Through her work with Safe on Social/Ctrl+Shft, Anna has facilitated workshops for parents, educators and thousands of students nationwide. Anna is committed to equipping young people and communities with the knowledge, confidence and practical strategies required to navigate the online world safely, responsibly and with a strong sense of agency.