Hi I'm Ella,
I've been your representative for Brunswick West ward on Merri-bek Council since 2024.
I first moved to Merri-bek in 2017 after living all around Melbourne and instantly fell in love with our diverse and welcoming community. So of course, Merri-bek is where my fiancée Sarah and I have put down roots with our fur family of mischievous cats and a cantankerous senior rabbit.
Before being elected, I worked as a psychologist and family therapist, working mostly supporting young people and families. Through the work, I saw firsthand how wellbeing is shaped much less by our individual choices than we think, and far more by the systems around us, like whether you have secure housing, a safe and welcoming neighborhood, access to green space, reliable public and active transport, and a community where you feel connected and you belong.
This has fundamentally shaped how I approach my work on council. I’m focused on changing the systems that shape people’s lives, not just responding to their consequences.
Here’s some of what that’s looked like in practice:
- Fighting for more truly affordable housing, through pushing for increased social housing in new developments, exploring building social housing on council owned land, and advocating to the state and federal governments to properly invest in public housing.
- Pushing to create more free, safe, and accessible spaces (third spaces) for young people so that they can hang out and have fun, connect with each other, and access support when they need it.
- Improving our streets by improving active transport (cycling and walking) and traffic safety infrastructure and planting lots more trees and understory plants to cool down our streets and support local biodiversity.
On council, I hold the portfolios for Early Years and Young People, and Human Rights and Multiculturalism. I’m also the chair of the Health, Wellbeing, and Social Inclusion Advisory Committee, and a member of the LGBTIQA+ reference group.
As your Greens councillor, I always strive to work collaboratively, transparently, and with integrity.
I want residents to feel that council is accessible, accountable, and on their side, and I’m always keen to hear from people about what’s happening in their neighbourhood and how we can build a more connected, sustainable Merri-bek together.
If you’d like to keep up to date with what I’m up to, you can follow me on Instagram.
