Emeritus Professor Anne Mitchell AO

A longstanding and vocal champion of health and wellbeing for all Australians, Anne's advocacy has made an enormous difference to the lives of many vulnerable individuals.

In the 1980s, Anne developed HIV prevention, health promotion training and resources in partnership with health professionals, researchers and politicians. She was appointed as an adult educator in the AIDS/Sexually Transmitted Diseases Unit of the Victorian Department of Health in 1988, where she developed evidence-based workshops on AIDS in the workplace.

Anne was a founding member of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University in 1993, which conducts research into sexuality and sexual health to drive positive social change.

In 2003, Anne founded and was appointed the inaugural director of Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria, an agency that aims to enhance and promote the health and wellbeing of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) people by making health services more responsive to their needs.

Anne is committed to advocating for young people, and has developed state and national sex education curricula and resources that were the first in Australia to address sexual and emotional health beyond using a narrow disease-focused approach. She has also made significant contributions through a number of committees, including the Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on GLBTI Health as its inaugural deputy chair, the HIV Taskforce, and the Board of Management of the National Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Health Alliance.

In 2014, Anne was awarded an Order of Australia (AO) for her distinguished service to community health, particularly through sexual health research, policy development and program delivery to marginalised communities.