My journey

Karen Collier
Founder/Director

As a multidisciplinary communications specialist, Karen has over 15 years experience working across the not for profit, government and private sectors, primarily in the areas of consumer health promotion and mass marketing, multicultural health promotion and refugee mental health.

From 2003-2008 she worked with one of BRW’s Fast 100 Company and award-winning integrated health marketing communications agencies in the area of consumer health promotion, whilst immersing in the study of classical Buddhist Psychology and mind science in the Tibetan (Mahayana) tradition during visits to northern India since 2003 inspired by the Dalai Lama’s Mind and Life Dialogues between Tibetan Buddhists and Western Scientists.

In 2004 she was invited to a joint internship with Tibet Information Office, Australia (Tibetan Government in-Exile) and the Charitable Foundation (founders of the Global Peace Index), later serving in a voluntary capacity as a personal aide, assisting the then Dalai Lama’s Representative for Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Oceania on a voluntary basis from 2004-2010, and again from 2010-2014 respectively.

At an international level, Karen was professionally involved with the official Australia wide visits of the Dalai Lama between 2008-2013, and collaborated on local and international projects in the areas of cultural promotion, capacity building and community development in conjunction with the Tibetan Community in Australia and its key stakeholders.

In 2012, Karen completed a Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Sydney and served on the governing council of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies within the Faculty of Social & Political Sciences up until 2018. During this time she initiated and supported special projects pertaining to human rights, peace building and social justice affiliated with the Centre’s flagship research program areas.

Karen has published various articles in print and online in The Journal for Business, Peace & Sustainable Development (BPSD), The Globalist (Global21 Network of International Affairs Magazines), Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA), Refugee Transitions and consulted and collaborated on communications strategies and global campaigns with various international human rights and advocacy organisations, most recently, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT).

Karen is currently working in the trauma field as head of Communications at the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), whilst furthering postgraduate studies at the Australian College of Applied Psychology. Her research interests focus on the areas of traumatic stress, moral injury and advancing trauma literacy in the global media.