Rebecca Zappelli
Rebecca has 10 years of experience working in the health sector in health policy and health promotion roles for government, community and research organizations in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada. Her skills in management, policy development, implementation, health promotion programming, research and community engagement have seen her contribute to a number of successful health programs and policy initiatives in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
Whether it’s been backpacking across Egypt, volunteering in Peru, living in a Ger in Mongolia or travelling in an overland truck across East Africa, Rebecca has cultivated a passion for developing relationships that contribute to community development and global partnership. This passion has led her to work with Bridge for Health’s co-founders and network members to lead the cooperatives global engagement agenda, building its international network towards co-producing socially innovative solutions to complex health issues.
In addition to being a founding member and Bridge for Health’s International Partnerships Lead, Rebecca is the Director of Operations at the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA) at Simon Fraser University. It is in this role that Rebecca is responsible for managing CARMHA’s resources, developing and managing organizational and program budgets, supporting the planning and organization of research projects and the execution of research operations.
Rebecca has also held senior policy roles within the Western Australian (WA) government, including working for the WA Mental Health Commission: a government agency charged with state-wide mental health reform. Whilst at the WA Mental Health Commission, Rebecca was a part of the project team working with State and Federal governments to plan for the delivery of a comprehensive youth early psychosis service across WA. She also project managed a number of youth mental health initiatives and co-developed the ‘WA Mental Health Prevention and Anti-Stigma Framework 2011-13’ to guide the state governments strategic investment in the area.
Rebecca’s expertise in health have seen her present at a number of national and international conferences on health related topics such as; youth engagement, social marketing, collective impact, sexual and mental health and social inclusion.
Rebecca has completed a Masters in Health Management from the University of New South Wales and also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Science (Health Promotion) Deakin University. Rebecca is also a member of a number of professional groups in public health and health promotion.