13th June 2022 – Ngala warmly congratulates our Ngala Ambassador, Professor Donna Cross who has received an Order of Australia as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022 , for her service to youth mental health and wellbeing. Ngala is very honoured to have Professor Cross as one of our Ambassadors and applaud her accomplishments as a child health advocate and recognise her extensive research on the importance of children’s mental health.
Professor Cross is renowned for her research, passion, and commitment in the field of early Childhood Development and Learning Collaboration and counted her research into social and development in children amongst her top achievements.
At Ngala, we know how important it is to provide the appropriate supports towards the mental health and well-being of children and youth, as it is through early intervention with these supports that the benefit will be seen through their lives and in the later years. With Professor Cross’s advocacy and leading the way in this research and outcomes, the benefit will always be for the children, youth, parents and carers of the community we support in WA.
As interviewed by The West Australian about her OAM, Professor Cross said that the pandemic had caused immense emotional distress in young people and there was an urgent need to build children’s resilience, sense of belonging and emotional regulation to help them reconnect.
You can read Professor Cross’s interview about her Order of Australia and her research in youth mental health and wellbeing with The West Australian here .