Driving Lived Experience Leadership in Mental Health & Suicide Prevention

Founder | Counsellor | Consultant | Lived Experience Advocate

My journey into mental health and leadership is deeply personal, rooted in lived experience, resilience, and an unshakable commitment to reforming broken systems. At just 14, I became a caregiver to my father, a proud Air Force General and war veteran, after a sudden stroke left him blind. Overnight, I stepped into a role far beyond my years, navigating a world that had no roadmap for a child in my position. After his passing, at 16, I became my mother’s primary support as she battled severe mental illness. For over a decade, I fought alongside her, confronting a mental health system that repeatedly failed those most in need. When that system ultimately let her down, I lost her to suicide. These experiences - along with the devastating loss of multiple loved ones to suicide - shaped my life’s mission: to ensure that no one walks alone in their struggles and that services are built with lived experience at their core.

Despite these challenges, I turned to education as a vehicle for meaningful change. My qualifications include: 

• PhD Candidate (Mental Health) – Charles Sturt University, Australia (Research focus: Lived Experience Leadership)
• Master of Social Work (Specialisation: Counselling for Loss & Grief) –  University of New England, Australia 
• Diploma in Psychology (with Merit) -  Austin Peay State University, USA
• Graduate Certificate in Mental Health – Australian Catholic University 
• MicroMasters in Organisational Psychology (High Distinction) – University of Canterbury, New Zealand 
• MicroMasters in Business Leadership (High Distinction) – University of Queensland, Australia  
• MBA (Distinction) – Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK

As an Accredited Social Worker with the Australian Association for Social Workers (AASW), I bring both professional and personal expertise into service design, leadership, and reform. My research and publications focus on integrating lived experience into service delivery, and I regularly present at national and international conferences on mental health, leadership, and suicide prevention.

With over 15 years in mental health, child protection, and trauma sectors, I have led award-winning programs, pioneered peer support initiatives, and driven systemic change. I have held leadership positions on national and state boards and committees, overseen multi-million-dollar service portfolios, and managed teams of 75+ staff. My work spans policy reform, suicide prevention, and trauma-informed care, ensuring that lived experience is not just acknowledged but embedded into the very fabric of our mental health systems.

Through Lived Experience Solutions (LEXs), I bring together my expertise in counselling, coaching, peer supervision, suicide prevention, and consultancy to create impactful, evidence-informed solutions. My goal is to ensure that individuals, professionals, and organisations are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and support they need to foster meaningful change.

Partner with a lived experience advocate delivering trusted services and leading lived experience leadership that drives real change.