The chair of NACCHO Justin Mohamed and NACCHO CEO Lisa Briggs today congratulated the Professor Pat Dudgeon who was honoured with the Deadly Award for Health at the 19th Deadlys® in Sydney last night
Professor Pat Dudgeon is from the Bardi people of the Kimberley in Western Australia.
She is the first Aboriginal psychologist to graduate in Australia and is known for her passionate work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and suicide prevention, as well as trauma, loss and grief.
Professor Dudgeon was the Head of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University for 19 years, leading the field in providing culturally appropriate education, and is currently a research fellow at the School of Indigenous Studies at the University of Western Australia.
She is involved in many organisations and initiatives and was the inaugural Chair of the Australian Indigenous Psychologist’s Association, and is a National Mental Health Commissioner.
Her most recent work has been through the National Empowerment Program, a universal strategy to promote social and emotional wellbeing and reduce community distress and suicide in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Professor Dudgeon has never lost sight of the need for mental health initiatives and solutions that are driven from the ground up, and to empower her people to create a better future.
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