Eliza is responsible for managing Gidget Foundation Australia’s workforce development operations and overseeing all aspects of GFA’s high-quality workforce education and professional development programs. With 25 years of experience working in multi-disciplinary teams, Eliza has served in roles with the Department of Human Services, Commonwealth Rehabilitation Services Australia, Community Health Centres and Hospitals, and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Eliza is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and the Founder and Director of Blackbird Counselling and Blackbird House on the Sunshine Coast. She has completed extensive perinatal training throughout her career and joined Gidget Foundation Australia as one of the first Accredited Mental Health Social Workers in the Start Talking Program in 2018. Eliza is also an Approved Supervisor with substantial experience supervising mental health professionals across multiple sectors.

She has previously held positions with the Australasian Birth Trauma Clinical Advisory Committee and the Sunshine Coast Women’s Mental Health Professionals Network in 2021/22. Currently, Eliza serves as the Chair of Gidget Foundation Australia’s LGBTQIA+ Working Party Group. Before her current role, she managed GFA’s Workforce Development Program, which was nominated as a Finalist in the Australian Allied Health Awards in both 2023 and 2024. Eliza herself is a Finalist for the Social Worker of the Year Award at the Australian Allied Health Awards in 2024.

Eliza is currently pursuing a Master of Health (Perinatal Mental Health) through Federation University.