Melissa Mendoza brings a unique blend of corporate, consulting, and lived experience leadership to her role as Lived Experience Sector Partnerships Officer at the Victorian Collaborative Centre for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
With over a decade of experience across strategic consulting, corporate governance, and social-impact innovation, Melissa has led major transformation and regulatory projects in the corporate sector building deep expertise in project management, stakeholder engagement, and governance.
Drawing on her lived experience of perinatal mental health challenges, Melissa transitioned her career to the mental health sector, contributing through advisory roles with Alfred Health, advocacy work with PANDA, and peer-support program facilitation through her social enterprise, The Shift Holistic Wellbeing.
Melissa holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Graduate Certificate in Mental Health. She brings a holistic perspective that integrates evidence, lived experience, and systems thinking to drive enduring change.
At the Collaborative Centre, Melissa plays a key role in strengthening partnerships across the sector to build a sustainable Lived and Living Experience workforce, ensuring that consumer voices remain central to reform. Guided by values of collaboration, equity, and hope, she is deeply committed to advancing a mental health system that is compassionate, connected, and culturally responsive.
Welcome to Melissa!