‘Trailblazer’ Vernon Dann claims win at 2025 WA Mental Health Awards
WA Country Health Service Aboriginal Mental Health Coordinator for the Kimberley region, Vernon Dann, has taken out the Mental Health Employee Excellence category at the 2025 WA Mental Health Awards.
Hosted by the WA Association for Mental Health (WAAMH), the awards celebrate the outstanding contributions of individuals and organisations throughout Western Australia.
A Nyul Nyul man from the Kimberley, Vernon—who joined WA Country Health Service in 2005—was nominated by his colleagues in recognition of his outstanding work over the past 20 years.
As Aboriginal Mental Health Coordinator for the Kimberley Mental Health and Drug Service since 2013, Vernon’s dedication to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal people goes beyond his job description, with WAAMH calling him a “trailblazer in culturally responsive mental health care”.
Having previously worked in frontline clinical settings across WA Country Health Service’s Child Adolescent Mental Health Service and adult mental health teams, he continues to be a strong advocate for the Aboriginal workforce, representing Kimberley Mental Health and Drug Service at interagency forums across local, regional and State levels.
Vernon remains a driving force in embedding inclusive, culturally responsive mental health care in WA, and in embedding Cultural Governance across all health service providers.
His impact spans clinical and cultural innovations—from co-authoring key research projects in the academic space, to forming strategic leadership groups across WA Country Health Service, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, and other WA health service providers.
Vernon was instrumental in collectively developing the first WA Country Health Service Cultural Governance Framework and the first co-designed cultural assessment tools—such as the Cultural Security Framework, the Culturally Validated Eating Disorder Screening Program, and the MR23 Cultural Information Gathering Tool.
The Kimberley Aboriginal Mental Health team has grown to more than 20 staff under his leadership, and he continues to mentor and support Aboriginal staff to pursue career development opportunities and formal qualifications in mental health.