Dr Louisa Ellum

In her role as Director of the Centre for Inclusive Employment (CIE), led by the Centre for Social Impact at Swinburne University, Dr Louisa Ellum brings deep expertise in connecting education, skills, disability, and employment systems. She is widely regarded as a systems convenor and relational leader, with a strong track record of building cross-sector collaboration that drives meaningful and sustained impact. Her leadership style is grounded in strategic clarity, integrity, and an ability to bring people and organisations together to think, act, and deliver shared outcomes.

Dr Ellum is an accomplished Australian education and social sector leader, bringing more than 30 years of experience across education, tertiary, not-for-profit, philanthropic, and community systems. She is recognised nationally for her commitment to equity, access, and alternative education pathways, and was awarded the 2026 Australian VET Leadership Excellence Award in recognition of her contribution to strengthening vocational education and training and expanding opportunities for learners across the sector.

Louisa’s career spans senior executive leadership, governance, program design, research, and workforce development roles across Australia. She has held CEO and senior leadership positions within organisations including the International Specialised Skills Institute and Local Learning and Employment Networks and has contributed to national organisations such as Beyond Blue and Teach For Australia. Alongside her professional leadership, she holds extensive academic qualifications in sociology, education, communications, editing and publishing, and has a PhD in Education from the University of Tasmania, further strengthening her practice-based and research-informed approach to inclusive employment and systems change.

Louisa Ellum lellum@swin.edu.au