Our people
Mary Freer
Founder and CEO
There’s something about Mary
Pronouns: She/They
Mary has contributed to Australia’s healthcare system reform in a variety of executive and leadership roles over the last 25 years. She has worked closely with health improvement leaders in many countries across the world to bring about global improvements to our health and social care systems.
Mary has held positions with national government and NFP health care and social welfare services, including women’s and community health services, healthdirect Australia, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in South Australia, Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation and Health Workforce Australia.
In 2016 Mary was awarded a Westpac Bicentennial Foundation Social Change Fellowship. This enabled Mary to travel throughout Europe and the US meeting with leaders who are committed to creating a more compassionate healthcare system. From this Compassion Revolution was born.
Mary has been the Executive Producer of five international Compassion Revolution Conferences and has built deep connections with compassion practitioners all over the world.
In 2021 Mary published her book Compassion Revolution: *Start Now; *Use What You Have *Keep Going.
Mary was awarded a Rockefeller Foundation—Bellagio Centre Residency in February 2025 to support her to design a global toolkit for self-compassion.
We urgently need to build a world where we are supported and encouraged to notice the distress in ourselves and others and act to alleviate that distress with the support from those around us.
Great affiliates
Over and over again, these people have our back.
We are informed and supported by them and so very grateful for them.
Shannon Weber
Shannon is a facilitator and coach who thrives holding space for leaders, organisations and communities in transition. Shannon is devoted to our connections with each other and what it takes for us to show-up in the big and small ways that create meaning amidst change. She authored Show Up Hard: A Road Map for Helpers in Crisis for those of us with wild, open hearts at the brink of burnout.
You may have participated in the Cloakroom at the 2023 Conference—Shannon was with us at the heart of this meaningful creative ritual and she also presented the outstanding session, Boundary Work, with Cessalee Stovall. Even though San Fransisco is her home, she checks in with the Revolution often, and we take-in her amazing gifts for sensitive, broad creative consideration, playful and deeply touching interventions.
Rachel Callander
Rachel Callander is a TEDx presenter, speaker, trainer, award winning artist and the author of the Outstanding Book of the Year Award 2015 IPPY New York, Super Power Baby Project. She is a highly sought-after speaker as she powerfully teaches how the first words used at diagnosis critically shape how patients and carers perceive their future—words can allow people to be at their best and find meaning even in pain; or they can create anger, mistrust, frustration, and can break down the crucial relationship between those with a diagnosis and health professionals. She is a consummate communicator and her EQ is demonstrative of how we can remember how to be with each other.
Jordan Graetz
Jordan is always always responsive to our technical requests. A swift builder of web pages that matches our own pace, sensitive to design with spot-on emulation of our user interfaces (rare in site build realms!!) and the bringer of great digital solutions and support. And a delightful human.
We consider Jordan a part of our inner sanctum.
Care Revolutionaries
In 2023 we met with The Care Lab and The Patient Revolution for the first time, which brought about a global alliance of care activists who are determined for a new system of care. Watch our first confab here.
Lekshmy Parameswaran
Lekshmy is co-founder and design strategist of The Care Lab, based in Barcelona. The Care Lab in an international network of designers-turned-activists working together to transform the world of care. The network recognises that design plays a vital role in reimagining care, with their collective understanding of empathy skills, optimistic mindset and solution-oriented approaches. In 2023 we met with The Care Lab and The Patient Revolution for the first time, which brought about a global alliance of care activists who are determined for a new system of care. Watch our first confab here.
Victor Montori, MD
Victor is co-founder of The Patient Revolution, a global movement for careful and kind care, and a turning away from industrialised healthcare models seeing that healthcare as we know it is cruel to professional healthcare workers and patients. The Patient Revolution’s imperative is transforming healthcare from an industrial activity into a deeply human one. Read Dr Montori’s book, ‘Why we Revolt’
The support of our Westpac Ambassadors
Kate Semrau and Maria Djakovic
Mary, being a Westpac Foundation Social Change Fellow, is supported by the Westpac Community Ambassador program. This has enabled us to be connected with Westpac employees who offer us access to Westpac’s programs and resources.
We acknowledge and thank Kate and Maria for having taken the opportunity to be with Compassion Revolution, giving us their time, their connections and their experience.
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