Emeritus Professor Donna Cross OAM
Telethon Kids Institute
Born in Western Australia, Professor Donna Cross OAM has spent most of her 40-year career working within the State. She is recognised as Australia’s leading bullying prevention expert and one of the world’s most respected researchers into bullying and cyber bullying. Donna Cross is currently Emeritus Professor and Senior Honorary Fellow at The University of Western Australia, and Chief Behavioural Advisor to the New South Wales Government.
Professor Cross’s career has been dedicated to conducting rigorous research in real-life settings and translating evidence into policy and practice, to improve the mental health and wellbeing of Western Australian children and their families. Until her retirement from Telethon Kids Institute in 2022, Professor Cross led a multidisciplinary team of 42 staff and students, and was the WA Director of the Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excellence – Children and Families over the Life Course, a seven-year, $32 million project focused on improving life-course outcomes for children and families experiencing deep and persistent disadvantage.
Professor Cross is an expert advisor on children’s social development, bullying and aggression prevention for UNESCO, and for an array of international foundations, grant bodies and review panels.
Well-known internationally for innovative consumer and student-led bullying prevention research, and her ability to translate her research into practice, Professor Cross has actively campaigned for more than 20 years to demonstrate that bullying-related harm is common, severe and long-lasting, and that much can be done to extinguish this behaviour in children.
Every major school bullying prevention and most school wellbeing policies and curricula in Australia were driven, chaired by, or contributed to, by Professor Cross. She was a founding executive member of alliances (including the National Centre Against Bullying and Australian University Anti-bullying Research Alliance) which have driven government submissions leading to positive legislative change.
Professor Cross has been invited onto numerous state and national boards, and maintains substantial outreach engagement through mentorships at Edith Cowan University, Telethon Kids Institute and The University of Western Australia. She has also supervised 44 PhD and Masters students to completion. In 2022, in recognition of her work as an educator, public health researcher, and strong advocate for children’s and adolescents’ mental health and wellbeing, she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia, was inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame, and received the National Leadership in Health Promotion Award.
