Statement from the Chair of Mental Health First Aid Australia, Krystian Seibert 

The CEO of Mental Health First Aid Australia®, Shannon Anderson, has informed the Board of her intention to step down from the role.

Since taking on the role in 2019, Shannon has led our organisation through a period of major transformation and growth. Much of this change has taken place in the shadow of COVID-19. During this challenging and uncertain time, Shannon’s qualities as a highly skilled and effective leader really did shine through.

As a charity, we exist to benefit the community, in Australia and beyond. Shannon played a key role developing the Strategic Plan we adopted in 2021, which maps an ambitious course for the evolution of our organisation and how we strive towards our vision of ‘A world where we all have the skills to support people experiencing mental health problems and work to further our purpose to ‘Provide high quality, evidence-based, accessible mental health first aid education to everyone’.

Shannon has been driven by a strong commitment to our vision and purpose and has approached her role with absolute dedication and professionalism. Thank you, Shannon, for your immense contribution.

Shannon is not finishing in her role immediately but will be staying on until the end of April and possibly longer to ensure a smooth transition to her successor as CEO, who will be appointed following an executive search process that will commence shortly.