Maria Yap built on her clinical mental health professional experience with a background as a Senior Medical Officer in Psychiatry across Victorian public health services to a career in health program management and development. Prior to commencing in the Senior Lead role, Maria held the role of Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Manager for Eastern Melbourne PHN. In this capacity, she was involved in the strategic commissioning of mental health and AOD services, including the development and implementation of the mental health stepped care model. Other previous work experience included fostering inter-sectoral and interagency collaboration as Inner East Partners in Recovery Manager, active member of Eastern Mental Health Service Coordination Alliance, and coordinator for professional local community networks.
As an RACGP accredited Education Activity Representative, she has facilitated the delivery of mental health and AOD education and professional development activities for General Practice. She is also very passionate about quality improvement and made significant contributions to both PHN Quality Committee and its MH/AOD Quality and Risk Committees. Maria also holds a Master of Health Administration and a Master of Business Administration.