Brad is Director of the National Workforce Centre for Child Mental Health. He is responsible for bringing together the partner organisations for this exciting initiative, creating a knowledge bank and national commitment to supporting infant and child mental health. He is leading the establishment of the Centre and directing the development and delivery of the program.

Brad, while Director of Children of Parents with a Mental Illness (COPMI) national initiative, made a significant contribution both nationally and internationally to improving mental health outcomes for infants, children, adolescents and their families. His relationships contributed to the evidence flow between international and Australian research and practice. He brings his background in occupational therapy, rural health, early childhood development and mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention to the fore by leading systems change and workforce development strategies that build the knowledge, skills and capacity across systems and workforces. His contextual awareness and understanding of rural nuances drives his commitment to ensure learning and development is relevant and available to practitioners across Australia, especially in rural and remote Australia.

Jaisen is child and family partner with Emerging Minds. He has worked periodically in the mental health field since 2013 and holds a Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work. He has contributed to projects with organisations such as the Children of Parents with a Mental Illness national initiative (COPMI) and Emerging Minds, and is a trained facilitator and guest speaker, delivering short programs and speaking at mental health expos. He has sat in on interview panels and forums as a consumer representative, utilising his lived experience as both a consumer and carer to provide advice and feedback on issues surrounding the improvement of mental health services.

He currently works in a voluntary capacity for Flourish, Mental Health Action in Our Hands Inc., as both a consumer representative and as Coordinator for the North-West regional Flourish Action Group. He has also just undertaken a role on the board of Flourish. Passionate about the improvement of mental health services for people of all ages, he hopes his engagement with service providers and health services in his role as a consumer will lead to progress in service delivery. He lives in North-West Tasmania with his wife and four children.