Nicole Scott is extremely passionate about youth mental health, specifically early education around emotions in schools and how people can be helped who experience anxiety and depression. Nicole also cares deeply about helping the community in suicide prevention. Nicole’s journey has been filled with many challenges. During her teenage and young adult years she experienced bullying, severe anxiety, and depression. During this time, Nicole found it hard to leave the house and felt lost for a while. She started accessing services at age 15 and through this learnt ways to help manage her mental health and express her emotions in a healthy way. In 2018 she joined headspace Geelong’s Youth Future Crew to give back to the community and to support her mental wellbeing. In her position as a headspace Youth National Reference Group member, Nicole wants to inspire and empower others to seek help, see their own power and to know that no matter how you feel it’s valid. Nicole identifies as part of the LGBTIQA+ community and is a strong advocate for self-care. She keeps mentally healthy through yoga, exercise, gaming, spending time in nature and reaching out for extra help when needed. As well as being dedicated to human rights and the environment, Nicole loves to cosplay. She loves being able to bring joy to others and see their faces light up.

Adam Bourne is Associate Professor of Public Health and Deputy Director of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), as well as Senior Visiting Fellow at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney.  At ARCSHS, Adam takes a leading role in the development of research that examines the health and wellbeing of LGBTIQ populations, at both a domestic level and in an international context, especially in the areas of alcohol and other drug use, mental health and family violence. Adam was the lead investigator of Writing Themselves In 4, a national survey of LGBTQA+ young people (aged 14-21) that was able to recruit the largest ever sample of this population in Australia.