When Riley Watson (GradCertSocImp ’25) was awarded a scholarship to study the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact at Flinders University in 2024, it marked an important milestone in a journey shaped by service, resilience and a commitment to creating meaningful change.
“It was more than financial support; it was validation of my work and inspired me to continue striving for sustainable, community-led change,” Riley says.
“The Graduate Certificate in Social Impact provided a practical foundation in systems change, collaboration and impact evaluation, directly aligning with the challenges I was navigating and my ambition to create sustained, system-level impact.”
But Riley’s path to social impact work was far from conventional.
At just 20 years of age, Riley left their hometown in Tasmania to join the Northern Territory Police Force. Stationed in Tennant Creek, a remote community facing significant social and economic disadvantage, Riley worked within an under-resourced police force responding to high levels of crime and trauma.
Motivated by a deep sense of justice, Riley led initiatives addressing alcohol-related violence, domestic and family violence, sexual assault and child abuse. They also developed and led a whole of community coordinated operation centred around the needs of more than 100 at-risk children and families, recognising that lasting change required a broader understanding of the complex social challenges facing the community and a collaborative/holistic response.
The cumulative emotional impact of repeated exposure to trauma and moral dilemmas eventually led to burnout, and Riley was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), moral injury and bipolar disorder.
Reflecting on that period, Riley says the experience fundamentally changed their understanding of wellbeing and social impact.
“It was no longer enough to know that the work mattered; I needed to understand how impact could be strengthened, measured and sustained at a system level.”
Determined to rebuild and create positive change from their lived experience, Riley relocated to Canberra in 2020 to study Public Policy, specialising in Indigenous Policy at the Australian National University. Around the same time, a chance encounter with Mental Illness Education ACT (MIEACT) became a turning point.
Today, as Director of Lived Experience and Innovation at MIEACT in Canberra, Riley educates communities about mental health, works to reduce stigma and psychosocial risk in schools and workplaces, and encourages people to seek support earlier.
Riley says their studies at Flinders helped transform the way they approach innovation and impact.
“It wasn’t just about learning theory; it was about understanding how to design for impact in complex human systems.”
Since completing the course, Riley has shifted from focusing on individual initiatives to understanding the broader systems that influence long-term change.
Through education, advocacy and community engagement, Riley is helping build a society where mental health is understood, stigma is reduced and lived experience is recognised as a valuable source of insight and leadership.
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