Training Support Unit - HETI - Walking together: Culturally responsive support for perinatal wellbeing

Maddison Williams

Aboriginal Educator / Project Officer, Training Support Unit - HETI 

Tracey Thompson

Tracey Thompson was born and raised in Brisbane. She traces her Aboriginal heritage on her father’s side to Kempsey in New South Wales, belonging to the Dunghutti Tribe, while her mother is non-Indigenous and also from Australia. Tracey has worked in the Indigenous health space for 14 years and continues to create meaningful impact through her leadership and community engagement. In her role at PANDA as First Nations Engagement Lead, she is helping to build the organisation’s Reconciliation Action Plan and strengthen relationships with external Indigenous organisations.

Tracey is deeply passionate about reconciliation, believing that when everyone works together, stronger outcomes can be achieved for all communities.

Jenna Swift

Jenna Swift is the Communications Officer at PANDA. In her role, she develops evidenced-based courses for health care providers that are informed by lived experience. With a background in allied health, Jenna spent over a decade working as an Accredited Practicing Dietitian in both clinical and community settings. This experience shaped her deep understanding of the challenges individuals face when navigating heath systems, especially during vulnerable life stages like pregnancy and early parenthood.

Jenna is a mum to three little ones. She is passionate about perinatal mental health and is committed to improving access to clear, compassionate, and practical information for families and the health professionals who support them. 

Bridgit Philip

Bridgit Philip works as a Clinical Midwife Consultant for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health (PIMH) at NBMLHD. She is a nurse and a midwife with over 25 years of experience in clinical care, academics and research. Bridgit has worked in India, Ireland and Australia. Bridgit's professional focus centres on the postnatal period also known as the fourth trimester. She works with vulnerable women and families, from varied cultural backgrounds, through their perinatal journey and is involved in direct care during the pregnancy and postnatal period. Bridgit has authored three articles in international peer-reviewed journals, with a fourth one currently under review. As an immigrant, Bridgit has valuable personal insights into the challenges and benefits of migration, particularly its impact on mental health and well-being.