Commission submissions

Jo quoted in the Royal Commission report

I have a list as long as my arm of blog posts I have been meaning to write of late, not least a reflection or two on the recent Royal Commission Report into the Victorian Mental Health System. Unfortunately, they are all on the backburner a bit as I focus on client work. In the … Read more

Making inclusive choices

Four disabled people of color gather around a table during a meeting. A Black woman sitting on a couch gestures and speaks while the three others (a South Asian person sitting in a wheelchair, a Black non-binary person sitting in a chair, and a Black non-binary person standing with a clipboard and cane) face her and listen.

Last week, I was privileged to be invited to participate in a webinar organised by ARTD to discuss inclusive choices in evaluation, particularly in the context of Covid-19. By far the highlight for me was learning from the others on the panel – Julie Duong (Empowering Solutions), Therese Kennedy (Information Access Group) and Simon Green … Read more

Featured in Royal Commission report

Catching up on a bit of news from when my website was under redevelopment! Last year, I wrote a submission to the Royal Commission into Victoria’s mental health system. I was honoured when the Commission contacted me to feature my story in the interim report. You can read the full report here with my cameo … Read more

Managing anxiety on your own

I’ve been lucky throughout my career to work with managers who have been focused on my professional development. But whenever we sat down for a semi-regular performance chat, one question would always stump me – “What are you doing well?” I could point to hundreds of flaws, but ask me to say a nice thing … Read more

Rethinking ambition

One of the surprisingly common reactions to my recent announcement that I have started my own business is the question of what my goals are. How soon before I employ someone else? Where is my office going to be? How big do I anticipate growing? It seems I’m not alone in answering these questions. In … Read more

Unapologetically feminist

This weekend was the Wheeler Centre’s first Broadside, an “unapologetically feminist” festival of ideas. Of course that’s my jam, so I bought a ticket as soon as it was released. And oh my god, I was blown away by the weekend. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a public event that has so genuinely … Read more

Abandoning my alterego

Clark Kent takes off his glasses and suddenly he’s Superman. Jo Farmer leaves work and suddenly she’s a person experiencing mental illness. The facade is superficial but somehow works. For a long time, this was me. A mental health consumer who happened to also work in health policy. I kept the two sides – the … Read more