After five years at the helm, Heidi Prowse has announced she is leaving Mental Illness Education ACT, handing over the reins to Brad Shrimpton, who has worked for both the University of Melbourne and International Baccalaureate, his expertise in investigating whether programs and systems actually work.
Dr Shrimpton said one of his big goals for the organisation was taking to the rest of Australia, and even the world, MEIACT's techniques of teaching people and students about mental health through the process of volunteers sharing their real-life experiences.
"For me, the sky's the limit," he said.
Ms Prowse, a Canberra dynamo who has won awards including the Telstra ACT Business Woman of the Year during her time with MEIACT, said she would be finishing up in the new year.
"I had a goal when I came into MEIACT to really look at how the organisation could build its community capability but also its operational efficiency. They're the areas I'm strong in and I feel the organisation is in this really great place and it's ready to be handed over to someone like Brad with the professional background that he has to take it to the next level," she said.
"I think it's actually a really beautiful moment in my career to have come into something that had five staff. Now, we've got 15 staff, a bunch of casuals and an incredibly proud volunteer workforce who are just ready to take that next step."
Ms Prowse has had to deal with huge challenges in her personal life, with the passing last October of her husband Andrew Prowse at the age of 34 due to cystic fibrosis. She and Andrew started the fundraising event the Santo Speedo Shuffle for the Cystic Fibrosis ACT and she held the final one in July in his honour.
There is a sense of Ms Prowse looking towards the next chapter in her life.
"I haven't necessarily planned the next thing. The first is a bit of a holiday," she said.
"I really want to expand my knowledge of the community sector. So, I've worked across health and mental health and I want to learn more. Who knows what opportunity will come up? But I'm sure whatever is meant to come to me will."
Dr Shrimpton, whose partner is the artist Belinda Fox, said he felt "incredibly excited" to be taking on the role. He will continue to be based in Melbourne and commute to Canberra for the role.
"I feel really privileged to be embracing the amazing work that Heidi has done and see what I can do as well, how I can contribute to MEIACT," he said,
Dr Shrimpton was an academic for 13 years at the University of Melbourne and eight years as head of research for the International Baccalaureate based in Singapore and the Netherlands, both roles in program evaluation - "basically figuring out if programs are working or not and how can we improve".
"And I feel this is what I feel I can contribute to MEIACT," he said.
"I have a long-term understanding of what makes programs work and so what I'm excited about is, 'How can I build on what's already there?' and 'How can we take the quality level up?'."
Dr Shrimpton comes to the role as MEIACT is looking to expand its mental health programs into ACT primary schools.
Dr Shrimpton said organisations and governments were starting to understand the powerful impact of teaching through the sharing of stories and real-life experience.
The compelling difference in MEIACT's case as that everything it did was guided by the "do no harm" principle.
"It's the wonderful core framework that guides everything that MEIACT does. It's the framework that guides safe story-telling and lived experience," he said.
"The volunteers are trained in this before they go to deliver programs. It's about them focusing on how they communicate with audiences.
"So the volunteers are getting the message across, but in a way that is safe for them, and safe for their audience and they give messages which are hopeful messages."
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