• Bio

  • 2020 Projects & psychosocial recovery experience:

    • Member of the Emergencies Psychosocial Reference Group for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) – bushfires and COVID-19
    • Member of the Trauma and Recovery Team for the Department of Education in Victoria in response to the 2019/2020 bushfires and COVID-19
    • Consultant to the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) NSW in response to the 2019/2020 bushfires
    • Consultant to the South Western Sydney Primary Health Network (SWSPHN) NSW in response to the 2019/2020 bushfires
    • Consultant to the South Eastern Sydney Primary Health Network (SESPHN) NSW in response to the 2019/2020 bushfires and COVID-19
    • Guest speaker at the Financial and Consumer Rights Council of Victoria (FCRC) annual event
    • Facilitation of training and development to the newly formed Bushfire Recovery Victoria (BRV)
    • Development of written training materials for the Australian Centre of Grief and Bereavement (ACGB)
    • Multiple media interviews with ABC radio in Victoria and NSW

  • 2009-2020 Projects & psychosocial recovery experience:

    • Member of the Emergencies Psychosocial Reference Group (2015-Present) for the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS)
    • Member of the Bourke Street Tragedy Regional Recovery Committee (2017-2018) for the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) 

    • Guest speaker at multiple Victorian Community Recovery Sessions following such events as bushfire, flood, storm, thunderstorm asthma (2015-Present): Camperdown, Gippsland, Ballarat, Bendigo, Wye River, Toorang, Ballan, Morwell, Marysville, Coleraine, Horsham
    • Guest speaker at multiple interstate Community Recovery Sessions following such events as bushfire, flood, storm, cyclone (2013-Present): Tasmania (Dunalley), New South Wales (Tathra, Bega, Tingha, Tabulam, Drake, Casino), QLD (Sarina Range, Mackay, Moranbah, Clarke Creek, Clairview, St Lawrence, Carmilla, Koumala)
    • Guest speaker at Victorian Thunderstorm Asthma community sessions, held throughout the state (2017)
    • Consultant to the Red Cross after natural disaster in Australia, Tropical Cyclone Debbie, NSW Bushfires, Townsville Monsoon (2017-Present) 

    • Delivery of Understanding the Recovery Cycle & Psychological First Aid training to local and state government as well as other emergencies service providers throughout Victoria and Australia
    • Delivery of Strengthening Resilience: Promoting Workforce Adaptability and Self-Care training to local and state government as well as other emergencies service providers in Victoria
    • Delivery of Peer Support training to local and state government as well as other emergencies service providers
    • Development and Delivery of a Strengthening Resilience two-part workshop series for approximately 100 staff of the Health Protection Branch (HPB) (2018-2019)
    • Delivery of tailored training to Department of Agriculture Staff working with drought affected farmers in regions surrounding Maffra, Bendigo, Horsham (2019)
    • Development and delivery of Resilience and Self-Care training in conjunction with Kildonan Uniting Care for staff of the Victorian Ombudsman (2016) 

    • Multiple media interviews prior to and after natural disasters with ABC radio and regional radio in Victoria, NSW, QLD (2015-Present)
    • Media liaison regarding disasters and emergencies on behalf of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) (2017-Present)
    • Creation of independent podcast Recovery Hour - Disasters and Emergencies, available from Spotify, Stitcher and I-tunes (2019)
    • Interviewed for a podcast about bushfire recovery in NSW by About Regional (2019) 

    • Consultant & Project Member (2016-Present) Immersive Bushfire Experience in conjunction with Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) and at-risk Victorian communities
    • Assisted in the development of training and deployment processes for Field Psychologists on behalf of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and the Disaster Recovery Network (DRN) (2018)
    • Assisted in the development of written materials to support the Virtual Reality Bushfire Experience on behalf of the Department of Justice and Regulation (2017)
    • Initiated formation of the Professional Peer Support Network in conjunction with the North East Valley Division of General Practice following the 2009 Victorian Bushfires (2009-2012) 

    • Keynote speaker Department of Justice Independent Prisoner Visitor Scheme Annual Event (2018-2019)
    • Keynote speaker South Australian Local Recovery Coordinators training event (2019)
    • Keynote speaker CFA/SES Community Engagement North East Forum (2019)
    • Keynote speaker Yarra Ranges Council Emergency Management Forum (2019)
    • Speaker/presenter at the Rivers and Ranges Community Leadership Program (2017)
    • Guest panellist for the Rural and Remote Mental Health Forum (Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health, University of Newcastle) (2017) 

    • Publications including ‘Routines are Integral to Stabilising Emergency Event Disruption’, Australian Journal of Emergency Management https://ajem.infoservices.com.au/items/AJEM-32-03-08
    • Writing of various public communications materials and documents for such topics as; bushfire recovery, trauma recovery, emotional preparedness for disasters, 10 Year Victorian Bushfires Anniversary.
    • Writing of various information fact sheets for the Better Health Chanel website 

    • Psychological assessment and treatment of natural disaster and emergency survivors in a private practice setting (2009-Present)