Public Health: Lynette Phuong
Lynette Phuong’s passion for social justice is reflected in her work supporting digital inclusion and her time spent volunteering for the Australian Red Cross.
Lynette currently works with Infoxchange, a not-for-profit social enterprise that delivers technology for social justice. Here, Lynette works in the area of digital inclusion.
“In my role as Digital Literacy Program Lead with Infoxchange, I am responsible for a small team of staff in the wider Digital Inclusion team as well as leading and managing two major digital literacy programs, Go Digi and Digi House.
“Go Digi is a national digital literacy program run in partnership with Australia Post to support more than 300,000 Australians to improve their digital skills. Digi House aims to build the digital skills and confidence of 20,000 people living in public and social housing across Victoria and New South Wales with support from Google.”
In 2015, Lynette was appointed as a Public Health Program Officer with the Mongolian Public Health Professionals’ Association.
“My first international public health appointment with the Mongolian Public Health Professionals’ Association (MPHPA) based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is certainly a career standout for me. As part of this, I also got to see my recommendations for Mongolia’s first-ever nutrition labelling scheme incorporated into a draft Mongolian Government Ministerial Order.
“Other highlights include my time spent volunteering for the last decade with the world’s largest humanitarian network through the Australian Red Cross and being interviewed by Libbi Gorr on ABC Radio Melbourne about my life, success and the importance of being grateful.”
Lynette also has many great memories of her time spent as a student at the University.
“I really enjoyed undertaking the three-week residential course in community based health and development in Jamkhed (India) as part of my masters degree. It helped me to develop a stronger understanding and appreciation of community mobilisation efforts and the intricate Indian culture, while learning quickly the importance of having an open mind. My time at university also enabled me to connect with great mentors and to form lifelong friendships.”