As the Business and Administrative Officer for the Centre for Emotional Health, Barb works with some inspiring people on a daily basis. We thought it was time to get to know her!

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Work stuff

I’ve been at Macquarie for…
4.5 years (wow, that went fast!).

In a nutshell, my job is to…
Provide business development support to the Centre for Emotional Health (CEH) to ensure ongoing sustainability and opportunities for growth.

The question I hear most often in my work is…
There is no one typical question. One of the things I love most about my role is that every day is different and the activities I do are so diverse.

The top three things on my to-do list today are…

• finalise the promotional material for the 2018 CEH workshop series
• summarise a research paper so I can complete the CEH newsletter
• follow-up with the graphic designer working on the Cool Kids Anxiety program materials to see how the characters for the workbook are developing.

If I could do any other job at Macquarie (with instant qualifications/knowledge) it would be…
A role that includes written communication as a key requirement. Maybe something with the social media/communications team. I’m most happy when I’m writing.

A Macquarie staff member that impressed me last week…
I work with so many brilliant people so this is a tough question, but Jennie Hudson is a constant source of inspiration for me. Jennie was invited to Canberra for a mental health research roundtable to speak with Minister for Health, Greg Hunt. She talked about research priorities and contributed ideas for a strategic plan for investment in mental health and suicide prevention.

 I get my campus coffee fix from …
Piccolo Me. They have been a huge supporter of the Centre for Emotional Health over the years – particularly with their annual Coffee for a Cause day. And their Barista Amy makes a great latte and flat white!

Personal life

My ethnic heritage is…
Indian (mum) and Italian (dad). Growing up in the 70s and early 80s experiencing overt racism, I rejected my ethnic heritage and tried to be as ‘Australian’ as I could. As a teenager, I learned to appreciate diversity. Although times haven’t changed as much as I’d like, I’m so pleased I get to work in an organisation that values diversity.

If we went to happy hour, my order would be…
Usually a white wine, but I recently enjoyed a superb Margarita so that could be an option.

 If I could have dinner with anyone (living or dead) it would be…
My best friend. I haven’t seen her for 3 months…life gets too busy sometimes.

The last great book I read was…
I recently discovered the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child and read the book ‘Make Me’. It’s an easy read with an interesting plot and twist. When I discovered the twist, it rocked me for a few days – it was quite disturbing (well, at least for me). I’m looking forward to reading Night School next.

The last great movie I saw was…
Jumanji. I saw it with my kids and we all had a great laugh.