Champions
The Life in Mind Champions provide leadership across settings, sectors and communities about safe and effective communication and collaboration. They also promote collaboration to build on mutual efforts, avoid unnecessary duplication of work, research and resources, and provide direct input and support to operationalise The Charter.
Lucinda Brogden
Co-Chair & Commissioner
National Mental Health Commission
Lucy has a strong commitment to helping others and building stronger communities. She takes an evidence-based approach to problem solving and social investment.
Chez Curnow
Mental Health & AOD Manager
Suicide Prevention & Low Intensity Strategies
Chez is a passionate advocate for equity in access and encouraging help-seeking behaviours in regional and rural communities.
Maria Cassaniti
Centre Manager
NSW Transcultural Mental Health Centre
Maria’s key area of interest is in the development of mental health services that promote access and equity of service provision and that respond to the needs of culturally diverse populations.
Bronwen Edwards
CEO
Roses in the Ocean
Bronwen is the Founder and CEO of Roses in the Ocean, a leading lived experience organisation in the suicide prevention sector. She is a key advocate for the inclusion of lived experience in all aspects of suicide prevention.
Mark Leopold
Head of Growth and Innovation
Transitioning Well
With leadership experience across a broad range of companies, including leadership roles at Beyond Blue and SuperFriend, Mark understands that effective, visible action on mental health and wellbeing improves organisational performance. He is a collaborative, positive leader focused on stakeholder engagement and business development. He is a passionate advocate for better mental health.
Mark has been fortunate to work on workplace mental health initiatives with major commercial organisations and government agencies across Australia. He actively advocates for better mental health and wellbeing and has presented at over 100 events including numerous keynote addresses at national conferences. Mark openly shares his experience and the sometimes messy intersections of work and life, helps others to achieve their best possible mental health.
Dr Zac Seidler
Director of Mental Health Training
Movember
Dr. Zac Seidler is a Clinical Psychologist, the Director of Mental Health Training at Movember and a Senior Research Fellow with Orygen at The University of Melbourne. Zac has devoted several years to the goal of reducing the staggering male suicide rate, treating and researching men’s mental health with over 50 peer-reviewed articles published.
Clare Kinsella
Director, Communications and Media Relations
Suicide Prevention Australia
A passionate and experienced mental health and wellbeing advocate, Clare leads the communication strategy at the national peak body, Suicide Prevention Australia. Her experience spans across public health campaigns, advocacy and stakeholder engagement. The use of safe language, stigma reduction and advocating for responsible media reporting around suicide and mental ill health is an important part of her work.
Nikki Hogan
Director, External Relations
Mental Health Australia
Nikki is a skilled communications and fundraising professional with diverse experience across public administration, the tertiary sector and not for profits. At Mental Health Australia, she manages all aspects of communications, marketing, and stakeholder relations as well as oversight of the Embrace Multicultural Mental Health Project and the national World Mental Health Day awareness campaign. A natural collaborator, Nikki’s interests lie in how we speak about mental health, the importance of elevating vulnerable voices and the confluence of politics, government, and community to achieve change.
Christopher Rainbow
Project Manager Suicide Prevention
Beyond Blue
Christopher has spent over a decade working in the mental health sector in both Australia and New Zealand. At Beyond Blue, he manages the ongoing improvement and evaluation of digital, self-guided suicide prevention interventions; including psychological distress screening for website visitors and the Beyond Now suicide safety planning app.
Professor Nicholas Procter
Chair Mental Health Nursing
University of South Australia
Professor Procter is Chair: Mental Health Nursing and leader of UniSA’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Research Group. He is a former member of the writing team for Australia’s National Suicide Prevention Strategy (LiFE Framework) and the Steering Committee for the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s Own Motion Investigation into Suicide and Self-Harm across the Australian Immigration Detention Network. In addition to many other activities Professor Procter is an advisor to Australia’s National Suicide Prevention Taskforce and Australia's National Representative to the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) to 2023.
Samuel Hockey
Youth and lived experience researcher
University of Sydney Brain and Mind Centre
Samuel endeavours to always amplify the voice of real people's experiences in mental health to change healthcare systematically. He is invested in the change occurring respectfully and with the knowledge of who the change serves in front of mind.
Rebecca Wood
Marketing Manager
R U OK?
Rebecca Wood is the Marketing Manager at R U OK? and is passionate about creating integrated campaigns to educate, empower and inspire meaningful conversations, particularly to targeted and vulnerable population groups. She has over 20 years’ experience across corporate, tertiary and not-for profit sectors and is a casual lecturer in Marketing at Western Sydney University and Macquarie University.
David Burroughs
Chief Mental Health Officer
Westpac
David has worked as a psychologist across community, military and workplace mental health for around 20 years. His speciality has been operating at the nexus of clinical and organisational psychology to help design, implement and evaluate strategies to support positive workplace mental health and proactively manage mental ill-health. Dave is also actively involved in the small business and men’s mental health domain and has a passion for the practical application of psychological research.
Fiona Cornforth
CEO
Healing Foundation
Fiona Cornforth is a Wuthathi descendant of the far northeast cape of Queensland with family roots also in the Torres Strait Islands. She has an extensive background working as part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' community, business and government initiatives for better outcomes and impact. On a foundation of senior and leadership roles in the community, and all tiers of government, she has used management degrees and tertiary teaching accreditation to raise awareness around the impacts of intergenerational trauma and the power and strengths of First Nations peoples' cultures for healing. Fiona has gained experience and perspectives in education, leadership and business development globally and shares a message of celebration and gratitude for the greatness of ancestors, elders, and the ontology and authority that holds her and her family.