2024 Winner: Outstanding Alumnus Award (Griffith Health)
Bachelor of Behavioural Science, Class of 1993
Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours), Class of 1994
Master of Clinical Psychology, Class of 1996
Doctor of Philosophy, Class of 2008
Leanne has over 25 years of experience in the health and human services sector. She demonstrates exceptional leadership and commitment to vulnerable populations' mental health, rights, and well-being. Leanne is passionate about giving back to her community and holds voluntary Board roles for YMCA Queensland and Y-Care (South East Qld), and also volunteers for Night Ninjas Inc which supports people experiencing homelessness.
Can you share a valuable lesson you learned from a setback or failure in your career?
Persistence and perseverance are invaluable qualities for achieving great things in our careers. However, stepping back and deciding to stop or finish early or leave a job without achieving your ultimate goal is also okay. I learned that it is sometimes a better path than simply pushing through. I can’t say I am accomplished at this yet, and I still (sometimes) ignore the signs that I need to step back and walk away. Still, through my various career challenges, I have learned that deciding to stop something and accept it hasn’t worked is as important (and sometimes undeniably more beneficial) as persisting.
What role has mentorship played in your professional development?
My mentors have been the main testing points for taking career risks and making decisions about my next steps professionally. Most significant gains in our careers go hand-in-hand with sacrifices of some kind, like a reduction in income so we can return to study or more time invested at work and less time for personal hobbies or interests. The reassurance from mentors helps to make the best possible choices and take those risks with courage. Looking back on my career, I really valued the advice and encouragement from my mentors (many of whom are from Griffith and still have roles there) to help me navigate the options and step out of my comfort zone. Some of the most rewarding experiences have then been when I could return that support and encouragement for those colleagues when they reached out to me.
Can you share a piece of advice you wish you had received earlier in your career?
You don’t need to plan ahead and curate every detail in your career to have a great career – sometimes going where the opportunities present themselves and where your networks take you is just as rewarding.
How do you approach leadership in your work and community involvement?
Being authentic is one of the most important qualities to me as a leader. I think it is critical for psychological safety and is something I look for in my own mentors. With my teams, my goal is to overtly share my values and how I work best and to be vulnerable about my mistakes so that my teams feel safe responding in a similar way to me and each other.
What does a typical day/week at work look like for you?
In my current role, a typical day is all about leading and motivating my clinical and project teams to solve the big problems as we go about our task to design and ‘build’ a brand-new public health service for youth mental health from the ground up in Victoria. This will be the only public service of its kind in Australia, tailored specifically to care for young people aged 12-25 years and their families and supporters, and it will truly integrate primary health services with tertiary mental health services, research and digital mental health platforms.
Importantly, the staff and governance of this service will also be integrated across all these areas, which means the experience of care for the young person will be more seamless than ever before. We will wrap around the young person rather than the onus being on them to move from one service to another for care as their mental health needs change.
We are designing clinical models of care, establishing the health licensing, business and legal requirements for the new service, negotiating the funding partnerships agreements with the Department and other service providers that will support the new service, designing the organisational staff structure and writing policies and procedures.
How do you maintain a work-life balance, especially considering your level of achievement?
My family is the greatest reminder of how work is just work. They are much more attuned to the personal impacts of work stress and demands on me than I am, and they don’t hesitate to remind me if I lose perspective! I also have a professional coach who supports and challenges me, specifically around work-life balance.
How do you spend your downtime?
My latest hobby is clay sculpting, one of the few things that manages to captivate both my mind and my hands and help me explore a creative side that is very new to me. Spending time with my family always brings me the most joy, without a doubt, but I also love orchid gardening and patiently learning how to manage our new (and first) miniature dachshund puppy!
Favourite inspirational quote, and why?
‘It always seems impossible until it's done’ – Nelson Mandela.
I love challenges, solving problems, and achieving the things that seem out of reach. When my belief in the goal and sense of hope waver, I go to this quote and remind myself how, time and again, it proves true. I have this quote taped to my work computer.
Why did you choose Griffith University?
My school guidance counsellor was probably the most significant influencer in my choice of both degree and university initially because I didn’t know where to start – all I knew was that I wanted to stay in Queensland, be near my family at the Sunshine Coast, and be able to leave university with great job opportunities and a lifelong career that would make a difference.
The guidance officer recommended a career focusing on the health sector and a brand-new degree (Behavioural Sciences) that Griffith was offering. I was motivated to be part of something new and excited about being part of the very first cohort to study this degree at Griffith.
I also remember clearly that she described Griffith as having more practical learning opportunities and that they were interested in the students and their individual learning experiences. This appealed to me because I didn’t want to be just another ‘student number’. Moving away from my family at 17 was daunting, which meant an environment that felt safe and personal was important to me when choosing a university. Griffith was perfect in that way.
I valued the personalised support provided by Griffith and the relationships with my Lecturers throughout my undergraduate degree, so Griffith was the only option I considered for my Masters and PhD.
How did your time at Griffith help shape your career?
Griffith helped build my network, which I am still very much connected to and supported by today. And importantly, Griffith offered me hands-on, experiential opportunities that helped me work out through real-life practicums and externships where I really wanted to head in my psychology career. Once that became clearer for me, it was my PhD supervisor, Prof Sharon Dawe, who connected me with my future boss in the public service and opened those doors to a love of working in the public health sector.
But Griffith provided so much more than opportunities for my career. I met my life partner at Griffith, and we have two beautiful children together. Some of my closest friends, who are still part of my life several decades later, were also Griffith students. And then there are the teaching staff and Lecturers, many of whom are still mentors for me to this day.
Why are you proud to be a Griffith alumnus?
Griffith has stayed true to its point of difference, which meant so much to me right from the very beginning—it is about the student and their personalised experience of learning, not about status. But what makes me so grateful about being a graduate of Griffith is being able to reflect on the amazing mentors, supervisors and friendships that Griffith has gifted to me. To Analise, Elizabeth, David, Penny, Ian (and so many others) - thank you from the bottom of my heart!
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