Our team
Gina Chinnery
Director of Employment and Education Partnerships
Gina has worked in the field of youth mental health and across the employment services and career development sector for more than 20 years. She has been a key contributor to the development and evaluation of innovative vocational interventions for young people including Individual Placement and Support (IPS), youth vocational peer work, and the online career support platform, YOTES.
Gina is certified in the IPS model, completing IPS leadership training with the IPS Employment Centre in New Hampshire, USA in 2015. She has managed several youth IPS programs in primary care and specialised mental health settings, including a Jobs Victoria IPS program enhanced by vocational peer work. Gina has extensive experience conducting IPS fidelity reviews and delivering IPS training and regularly contributes to vocational research projects and conferences, both in Australia and internationally.
In 2018, Gina was awarded an International Specialised Skills Fellowship to investigate vocational peer work and online career interventions in Canada and the USA and in 2015, was awarded the Career Development Association of Australia Career Practitioner of the Year and Long-Term Unemployment Conference, Employment Officer of the Year.
James Whiting
Employment and Education Projects Innovation Lead
James plays an active role in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of innovative work, study and career-related projects to support young people experiencing mental ill-health. James focuses on ensuring new projects are informed by the latest theory, practice and policy relating to the career development and education fields. With more than eight years’ experience across employment services, mental health and career development, and qualifications in psychology and social policy, James has a particular interest in ensuring groups that are marginalised in the labour market experience a fair and equitable career trajectory.
Kirra Greaves
YOTES Project Coordinator and Career Practitioner
Kirra is a Career Practitioner and Project Coordinator for the Youth Online Training and Employment System (YOTES) in schools project. Working with staff at a participant school, Kirra ensures that the YOTES platform supports students to explore career pathways and make decisions about their future. Kirra has eight years’ experience working in flexible and inclusive education settings, both as a teacher and pathways coordinator.
Vince Rio
Employment and Education National Training Manager
Vince has over 30 years’ experience working in vocational education and training (VET) and manages the learning development and design teams that develop the training materials for Orygen’s learning management system (LMS). Vince is responsible for the high-quality development and implementation of the IPS micro-credentials designed to provide education and training for the IPS Vocational Specialists.
Tania Sacco
Digital Career Team Leader
Tania supervises a team of online career consultants delivering digital career support to young people with mental ill health through Orygen’s Moderated Online Social Therapy platform. Tania has over 20 years’ experience working across education and training in secondary schools, international language centres, registered training organisations and university settings and holds qualifications in education, training, management and career development. Tania is passionate about developing youth training and employment support programs underpinned by career development that provide tools and build self-efficacy for young people to achieve their employment and career goals.
Joshua Braybrook
IPS Administration and Fidelity Support Officer
Joshua provides administrative and fidelity review support for Orygen’s Youth IPS Centre of Excellence team. Josh has completed internationally recognised training for IPS practitioners and fidelity reviewers and has supported IPS fidelity reviews in various primary care and tertiary youth mental health service settings across Australia.