Gill Townsend - Manager (Suicide Prevention)
About
Gill Townsend is a highly respected leader with over 40 years’ experience in social services management, community development, and mental health reform. Her career spans frontline service delivery, strategic leadership, and systemic change initiatives. Gill brings deep expertise in person-led design, stakeholder engagement, and suicide prevention, particularly across Far North Queensland, where she has lived and worked since 1988. As Senior Manager - Suicide Prevention at Beacon Strategies and Chair of JUTE Theatre, Gill works at the intersection of lived experience, cultural knowledge, and human-centred systems change.
Capabilities
Gill’s work is grounded in strong values and deep community connection. Her capabilities include strategic facilitation, collaborative program design, and leading region-wide mental health and suicide prevention initiatives.
She has extensive experience in co-design, with a particular focus on person-led recovery, peer workforce development, and embedding lived experience into systems transformation. Gill is skilled in governance, having held numerous board and leadership roles, including President of Queensland Alliance for Mental Health and Deputy Chair of the Queensland Domestic Violence Council.
Gill excels in creating safe, inclusive spaces for engagement—whether designing policy, managing complex partnerships, or hosting collaborative processes. She brings a thoughtful, relational lens to her work, shaped by decades of practice across sectors including disability advocacy, domestic violence, psychosocial support, and human rights. She also has significant experience delivering community-based services, facilitating peer-led recovery coaching teams, and supporting the development of new, context-responsive programs in remote and regional settings.
Approach to work
Gill’s approach to work is grounded in care, clarity, and collaboration. She believes change happens when we are prepared to listen deeply, to be uncomfortable and are bold enough to take action. Her practice is informed by lived experience and human-centred design. She brings a strengths-based mindset to all relationships. As both a leader and a team member, Gill listens deeply, works relationally, and makes complexity feel manageable—holding both vision and practical strategy in the same space.
Achievements at Beacon Strategies
Co-led the Cairns and Hinterland Suicide Prevention Community Action Plan (Northern Queensland PHN)
Co-led the Torres and Cape Suicide Prevention Community Action Plan (Northern Queensland PHN)
Supported the development of communications, engagement, and governance frameworks grounded in cultural and community context
Led multiple stakeholder engagement processes centring lived experience, peer work, and co-design
Contributed to regional narrative and knowledge development around suicide prevention and life promotion
Participated in cross-agency collaboration to align service responses across FNQ
Professional experience
Chair, JUTE Theatre Company
Project Manager, Mind-Life Human-Centred Design Project – Bridges Health & Community Services / NDIS
Service Manager Neami National - residential and community services
Team Leader, Mental Health Resource Service – Centacare FNQ
President, Queensland Alliance for Mental Health
Deputy Chair, Queensland Domestic Violence Council
Chair, National Review of Complaint Handling – Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Disability Advocate, Rights in Action
Coordinator, Ruth's Women’s Shelter
Senior Conciliator,ASU Human Rights Commission / Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commission
Residential Social Worker, London
Academic qualifications
Qualification in Social Work – Southwark College, Central School of Education and Training in Social Work
Certified Personal Medicine Coach
Intentional Peer Support (Trained)
Conflict Resolution Training
Human-Centred Design (Short Course)
Professional Associations
ASU (Australian Services Union)
Career highlights
Led and delivered region-wide suicide prevention action plans across Northern Queensland
Managed human-centred design project for psychosocial disability supports (Mind-Life Project)
Designed and implemented recovery coaching and peer support program at Centacare FNQ
Chaired national review into complaint handling at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Advocated for systemic improvements in disability rights and domestic violence response
Held governance and leadership positions in both peak bodies and government advisory groups
Personal interests
Gill is passionate about the arts, especially theatre, storytelling, and music. She finds joy in family time, community life, and the creative energy of Far North Queensland. She enjoys live performance, time in nature, and being part of projects that foster connection, fairness, and creativity.
