Bonnie J Scarth National Suicide Prevention Conference 2025

Bonnie J Scarth

Bonnie Scarth has over 20 years experience in community leadership, academic and applied research (with over a dozen publications and conferences delivered), evaluation, health promotion, and NGO services coordination. During this time she has successfully managed diverse teams, multi-site projects, written and implemented short and long-term strategies, and attracted significant funding for organisations and projects. Bonnie has been awarded a number of scholarships, including a Fulbright scholarship based at Cornell University and a Suicide Prevention Australia PhD scholarship for her PhD based at the University of Melbourne, Centre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, School of Population and Global Health. Bonnie is partnering with Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA) for her PhD, which is co-designed with the lived experience community and partially informed by her own lived experience. The working title of her thesis is 'What helps women experiencing perinatal suicidal behaviour: Development of consensus recommendations for a whole-family approach to perinatal suicide prevention.' Bonnie balances her (currently part-time) PhD with her casual role as the State Community Engagement Coordinator for PANDA and is a mum to three children; two in their twenties and one preschooler.