James Maskey is a community mental health leader and CEO of the Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia (MIFA), focused on national policy reform built with the people it serves, not delivered to them from a distance. Across senior roles at some of Australia’s leading mental health organisations, he has shaped government relations, advocacy and program delivery that make support accessible, community-led and responsive to need.

His lived experience as a former police officer with PTSD informs how he leads, giving him a grounded understanding of why timely, well-matched support matters. He is also a Doctor of Public Health candidate at La Trobe University, researching why government policy and funding for community psychosocial support fall short of need, and how the sector can change that.