Synopsis:For this NAIDOC Grand Round Denise McGuinness will be highlighting the history of the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service as it celebrates its 40th Anniversary later in 2013. She will also be drawing on her experiences of working within the Victorian Aboriginal community and reflecting on the issues that she believes are important to Closing the Gap on Aboriginal Health, while incorporating her unique style of comedy throughout her presentation.

Speaker:Denise McGuinness is a Gunditjmara woman from Victoria proud mother of three and a very proud grandmother of one. Nearing 20 years of service working at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) she is currently the Manager of Community Programs. Under her leadership, she has built up Community Programs Unit and continues to deliver successful programs such as the active Elders group; allied health team. Denise believes in Community Control and the importance of Aboriginal Health Workers. In her personal life, Denise recently won the National Deadly Awards.  In 2010 Denise was a contestant in the Melbourne Comedy Festival’s National Deadly Funny Competition, and was talented enough to win the grand final while competing with other Aboriginal finalists from NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.