KRISTEN DOUGLAS

Kristen Douglas has a Bachelor & Master of Education and over 27 years’ experience in the education, health, mental health, suicide, not for profit, and government sectors. Kristen has significantly contributed to the synergy between education and mental health in Australia. From guiding government policy to leading transformational change and national reform. Kristen has led many national and state initiatives in the critical areas of whole school approach, youth mental health, principal leader mental health and wellbeing, and leading teams through complex environments like COVID. Kristen has authored several national resources and frameworks and specialises in the impact of suicide, complex events, trauma, and natural disasters on schools and communities and how they respond and recover. Kristen continues to lead a large multi-disciplinary national team of mental health and education professionals to support primary and secondary schools across Australia from promotion, prevention, early intervention, intervention, to postvention. She is a highly respected and sought presenter nationally and internationally on the topics of educational leadership, health and wellbeing, suicide, mental health, critical incident response and recovery, and other related topics.

School leaders as ecosystem engineers - leaning in with intention and attention

Kristen will explore the contemporary approaches to workforce wellbeing and considerations for future leaders focusing on:
• How to socially, emotionally, and relationally lead staff
• Building trust and connection
• Feeding your culture with intention
• Careful conversation not corrosive conversations, and
• Getting back to deep listening.
“Are you a thermostat or a thermometer? One changes the temperature but the other merely measures it”. (Planetshakers 2021)