Leadership
Leading through complexity with clarity, courage and care.
Gabrielle's leadership experience spans public health, nonprofit organizations, women's services, education, community programs and social-impact initiatives in the United States and Australia.
Changemaker
Courage that becomes action.
From defending abortion access and championing LGBTQIA+ equality to advancing national sexuality-education standards, expanding interdisciplinary service programs, creating a world-first postgraduate degree and securing statewide domestic-violence funding, Gabrielle has built a career around stepping toward difficult problems.
She combines evidence, persistence and deeply human insight to create change in policy, programs and people.
Experience
How Gabrielle leads
Executive and organizational leadership
Strategic leadership across organizational growth, people and culture, governance, operations, sustainability and stakeholder relationships.
Women's health and gendered-violence prevention
Leadership and advocacy focused on women's health, safety, reproductive justice and more responsive systems of support.
Strategy and organizational development
Helping organizations clarify priorities, strengthen systems and align everyday work with purpose and impact.
Fundraising and partnerships
Developing relationships with government, philanthropic, corporate and community partners to support sustainable social impact.
Governance and board engagement
Supporting clear reporting, responsible governance, risk management and constructive relationships between boards and executive teams.
People-centered leadership
Creating environments where people can think clearly, communicate honestly, navigate complexity and contribute meaningfully.
Consulting
Workplace consulting: employer wellbeing and culture
Gabrielle works with employers, leadership teams and boards to build healthier workplace cultures around communication, consent, boundaries, psychological safety and relationships. Through Bloom Boom Consulting she designs and delivers practical, research-informed programs that help organizations address sensitive subject matter, strengthen team behavior and support employee wellbeing without sensationalism.
Social impact · Media
Dr Sophie Scamps interviews Dr Gabrielle Morrissey on gendered violence
An April 2024 conversation about gendered violence, recorded while Gabrielle was CEO of Women and Children First.
Recognition
Recognized by parliament
Federal and state parliamentarians have publicly acknowledged Dr Gabrielle Morrissey's leadership, advocacy and impact on women's services and gendered violence prevention.
“I want to pay tribute to the incredible local leaders in Warringah who are working on the front line of this issue... Dr Morrisey from Women & Children First... absolute powerhouses. We need to do more and move faster and with more urgency with what works on this issue.”
“Today I congratulate Dr Gabrielle Morrissey, Michelle Povah and the entire team at Women and Children First. It is an amazing women's refuge on the northern beaches that services all of Sydney. I commend the team for their powerful advocacy ahead of this week's announcement that the Staying Home Leaving Violence program will be rolled out across the State.”
“It was a privilege to gain an insight into the remarkable work Gabrielle's organisation is doing in the domestic violence support space and the difference they make in lives each and every day.”
Academic work
Teaching the science of sexuality, health and human connection.
Gabrielle's academic work brings research, professional practice and accessible communication together. She has taught and contributed to university education in the United States and Australia.
University teaching
Teaching in human sexuality, sexual health, relationships, women's health and professional practice.
Curriculum and unit development
Designing individual units and broader course sequences that translate sexology and sexual-health evidence into rigorous, engaging learning.
Student supervision
Supporting postgraduate learning, research development and professional growth.
Professional and community education
Adapting academic knowledge for clinicians, educators, organizations and community audiences.
Program development
Designing education and prevention initiatives for university, community, clinical, nonprofit and workplace settings.
Evaluation
Developing practical approaches to outcome measurement, learning review and program reporting.
Universities where Gabrielle has taught or contributed
University of California, Santa Barbara
Teaching assistant
Human sexuality — undergraduate teaching support
Santa Barbara, California, USA
University of Pennsylvania
Teaching assistant
Human sexuality and education — graduate study and teaching support
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Curtin University
PhD graduate, then coordinator of the sexology program
Sexology, sexual health, human sexuality; developed a forensic sexology program
Perth, Western Australia
Bond University
Assistant Professor
Human sexuality, health and communication
Gold Coast, Queensland
University of Queensland
Lecturer
Sexuality, relationships and health
Brisbane, Queensland
Baylor College of Medicine
Faculty / teaching appointment
Clinical sexual health education for medical trainees
Houston, Texas, USA
University of Texas at Houston
Adjunct Associate Professor
Human sexuality and public health
Houston, Texas, USA
Boston University
Lecturer
Human sexuality and sexual health education
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Advisory and leadership enquiries
For board briefings, organizational strategy, advisory work or social-impact partnerships, send an enquiry.