Meet our Cairns Senior Manager (Suicide Prevention), Gill Townsend
We are very happy to welcome Gill Townsend to the team as Senior Manager in our Cairns office!
With a background in social work, community development, community education and human services, Gill is very passionate about social justice and deeply invested in work that has an impact.
Read more about Gill in our Q&A below!
Briefly describe your professional journey so far
I have a passion for social justice. My professional journey has included the great privilege to work alongside many humans in distress.
Honestly, I believe that social work is both a political activity and creative art.
I originally trained as a Residential Social Worker in the UK and was part of the early deinstitutionalization movements working with people with disabilities. My journey since then has included work in women's refuges, as a disability advocate and handling complaints at both the Human Rights and Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commissions. Over the past 15 years, my focus has been in the mental health arena, specifically in designing and delivering person-led service responses.
What are you passionate about?
Creating better opportunities for us as a society to live, work and play better together, and remove the barriers of discrimination.
Why did you join the Beacon Strategies team or what led you to join the Beacon team?
I love the fact that Beacon exists to both delight clients and create a more impactful social purpose sector.
What technical skills do you bring to Beacon?
My greatest technical skill, if you call it that, is in communication and engagement. I can usually be found facilitating workshops, chairing meetings or in deep conversations.
Most recently I have completed training as a Certified Personal Medicine Coach, an approach that offers new ways of working and is part of Dr Patricia Deegan's worldwide conspiracy of hope.
What do you hope to achieve in your first year with Beacon?
My focus at Beacon is on Suicide Prevention, my aim in the first year is to work with communities to gain a better understanding of suicide and the conditions and situations that surround suicide and to play a part with others across the world in creating societies where suicide is no longer part of our collective experience.
What do you like to get up to in your spare time?
In my spare time, I am a volunteer Board member (Chair) of JUTE Theatre Company. Theatre offers us a place to make sense of our world and is a totally collaborative art form. I also love to read and go to the beach with my dog.
