Ashleigh Small founded Hello Initiative – a not-for-profit that provides an alternative model of support for young people involved in criminal justice in WA – in the final year of her Master of Social Work. In addition to her role as Hello Initiative's CEO, Ashleigh works at the Innovation Hub at Royal Perth Hospital and credits the values espoused to her through social work and experiences volunteering as a UWA student with heavily influencing her professional choices.
Ashleigh lives by a personal creed of ‘get curious and try something’ and believes that change can start with one determined individual and that we all hold a responsibility to do ‘good things’ wherever we can.
Please tell us a bit about your journey since UWA
I graduated UWA in 2019 just before entering a career in the public health system and just before the pandemic hit – it has been a wild ride since that time! I have also been busy growing my not-for-profit organization, Hello Initiative. We work in youth justice addressing practical challenges for vulnerable communities, such as the growing digital divide. I am passionate about innovating for social impact across diverse community sectors.
Do you have a favourite memory from your time here?
I spent a lot of time at UWA working with Teach Learn Grow, and my time with them on Rural Programs and volunteering on the executive remains my favourite memory of UWA.
What’s your passion and how do you want to make a difference in the world?
What a tough question! I am passionate about many things, including travelling, volunteering, self-care, reading, and eggs benedict… I would say you do not need to have one single passion in your life but you should strive to be curious and receptive to new things that excite you. I would say my greatest passion in this season of my life is social impact innovation.
I would hope to make a difference by inspiring others (especially young women) to think critically and strategically about the challenges they can see in their community and to get out, talk to people, and just try something. There are so many problems out there waiting to be solved.
What is the most interesting aspect of your career? Where could it go from here?
I currently hold two different roles. One is working at the Innovation Hub at Royal Perth Hospital, as part of the East Metropolitan Health Service. The most interesting aspect of my career here is working across extremely diverse projects in the complex health system. No two days ever look the same. My other role is as founder and CEO at Hello Initiative, a start-up not-for-profit that works in the youth justice sector. I founded Hello Initiative in 2019 after my final year placement, and this role is both rewarding and challenging every day. In the future, I hope to enmesh my skills across these two roles and provide innovation consulting to help organizations find and solve wicked problems, with an emphasis on social impact innovation.