Olivia is an author, researcher, lecturer, mentor, and implementation scientist. 

Recognising a growing need for trauma-informed workplaces over the last decade, Olivia became increasingly frustrated by the lack of evidence-based resources and supports for business leaders. This led to the creation of fast-growing publication The Trauma-informed Leader on Substack, research and development of a new proactive framework for trauma-informed leadership in mainstream organisations, and a book in progress.

As an expert in mental health and implementation science with a health sector career spanning 25 years, Olivia is uniquely placed to help organisations to achieve authentic trauma-informed approaches. Olivia is frequently approached for advice and mentoring by business leaders, academics, and policy makers.

Prior to entering academia, Olivia was a mental health occupational therapist, project manager, and mental health promotion specialist. Since completing a PhD in Public Health in 2019, Olivia established and led major research projects and teams, including groundbreaking mental health and virtual hospital research now published in leading peer-reviewed journals. 

Olivia’s work has attracted substantial media attention such as interviews on commercial and ABC tv and radio and a wide variety of podcasts. A career highlight was getting to meet the legendary Bill Nye the Science Guy and appear on his Science Rules! Podcast. She has written for The Conversation and the Medical Journal of Australia’s MJAInsight+ magazine, and has given invited presentations at conferences, summits and events across Australia and Europe.

In addition to her consultancy work, Olivia lectures about health system reform at Queensland University of Technology, and is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Charles Darwin University and a member of the UnitingCare Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee. 

Olivia’s research is not just theoretical: it translates into real-world impacts and better health outcomes. Health services, police services, corporate organisations and policy makers around the world have adopted Olivia’s research into practice. This is making a real difference to health outcomes and quality of life for leaders, clinicians, and health consumers.

Olivia’s research and project partners have included Queensland Health, Queensland Police Service, Queensland Ambulance Service, Education Queensland, Independent Schools Queensland, Queensland Catholic Education Commission, UnitingCare Queensland, not-for-profit organisations, private research institutes, Primary Health Networks, medical practitioners, and Australian and international universities.