Heather is Distinguished Honorary Fellow at the Menzies School of Health Research and has 25 years of experience in health services as a registered nurse and midwife and as a health service manager in both Aboriginal health services and general health services across Western Australia. She has worked extensively in health research: at the Institute for Child Health Research and at Menzies School of Health Research. She has clinical qualifications in general nursing and midwifery and academic qualifications in health economics. Heather’s research interest is in maternal and child health. She is particularly focused on the area of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and other birth defects. Heather has worked with a research team on a number of projects in this area including describing what health professionals and women know and do about alcohol and pregnancy and FASD. She has been involved with developing and evaluating resources for health professionals and developing a model of care for FASD in Western Australia. In 2022, Heather was appointed as a Commissioner to the National Mental Health Commission Advisory Board.