Lorelle Holland is a proud Mandandanji woman who grew up on Turrbal Country with her four sisters and parents. Lorelle is a dedicated and passionate Registered Nurse who has worked for over three decades in the health care industry. Her experiences include varied clinical, management, educational, remote area nursing, and research roles. Lorelle has recently transitioned into academia and is presently employed as an Associate Lecturer in Nursing and an Affiliate Associate Lecturer at the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Queensland (UQ).
Lorelle's transition to academia from senior clinical roles was a result of studying a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in the field of Indigenous Health that she completed in mid-2020 at UQ. Her dissertation work and publication gained from this research conducted during her MPH studies inspired her enrolment in PhD studies in the School of Public Health, Medicine Faculty, UQ. Within the scope of Lorelle's PhD studies she seeks to explore the socio-political and racially discriminatory practices that drive the disproportionate incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Additionally, the ultimate aim of the research is to co-design a culturally responsive prevention framework of care that addresses the criminalisation of unmet complex needs inclusive of neurodevelopmental and mental disorders, trauma, substance misuse, and social disadvantage.