18 Mar 2024
Congratulations to TLSC Tumbi Umbi Campus Alumni Maddison O'Gradey who has been awarded the Diana Award for her work in the mental health space.
Maddison is a mental health lived experience advocate committed to reducing the stigma around mental illness.
A Master of Clinical Psychology/PhD candidate, Maddison conducted research into improving the assessment of mental health in young people, particularly with young people in Indigenous communities.
After one of her teachers shared her own journey with anxiety, Maddison realised the power of storytelling through lived experience. She was inspired to become a mental health advocate, making change in policy and the media.
She is the co-founder of the Orygen Global Youth Mental Health Advocacy Fellowship, an online education and mentoring programme for youth advocates across the world.
Her commitment to mental health and Indigenous education has resulted in social change with a global reach. Maddison has run mental health workshops for over 5000 young people, as well as spoken across Australia, at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, The Global Youth Advancement Summit, and the ASEAN Young Leaders Forum.
For her work in mental health, Maddison was the first person from Oceania to win Dalai Lama Peace Fellowship and was named in the top 100 most influential women in Australia.