Donna has worked in the mental health sector for over twelve years and has been the Lived Experience Workforce Development Manager at Peach Tree since 2020.  Since arriving in Australia, Donna changed careers from Marketing to working in peer run organisation so that she could achieve a work life balance.   A love affair with peer work began, working as a peer worker, handling trainings, events, and funded projects to support peer work, and then moving into leadership roles.  Donna worked on many projects to upskill and elevate the lived experience (peer) workforce in Australia. Including hosting Brook Red’s Dialogue Conferences and managing and delivering training for New Zealand based ‘Peer Zone’ program in Australia.  

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At Peach Tree, Donna has developed a customised perinatal mental health peer worker training, building core competencies and skillset for perinatal mental health peer workers.  In her managerial role, Donna has influenced and contributed to organisational policy, procedure and frameworks tailored specifically to support the lived experience workforce.  Donna appreciates how much Lived Experience practice cultivates, inspires, and models healing, and is grateful every day to be working in a role that aligns with her passion and purpose.

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