Elizabeth Crowther (Liz)

Liz Crowther has been a passionate campaigner for increased opportunities for people with mental illness and their families for 30 years, including as Chief Executive of the Mental Illness Fellowship of Victoria for the past 15 years.

She has made a sustained contribution to both policy and practice in the field of mental health, and has been a force for change in the transformation of mental health nursing education and practice.

Liz has consistently promoted the participation of people with mental illness in the development and management of services, in self-management of their illness and as full members of the community.

Early in her career, Liz saw the need for mental health care to be informed by individual needs and research. She developed a nursing curriculum and lobbied for and established the Institute for Psychiatric Nursing Research, which later became the Centre for Psychiatric Nursing at the University of Melbourne.

Liz holds lead roles in a range of state, national and international bodies relating to mental health policy. She is a founding member of Community Mental Health Australia (the national peak body), and since 2006 has been the President of VICSERV, the peak body for the Victorian community-managed mental health sector.

In 2011, Liz became Treasurer of Community Mental Health Australia, and since 2009, has been a Member of the Asia-Australia Mental Health Advisory Council.