Shruti is a strategic culture, diversity, and inclusion leader with over 20 years’ experience in leading the development and delivery of strategies, complex multi-disciplinary projects, and initiatives across public sector environments. Currently, she is leading Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives within the Mental Health & Wellbeing Division at the Victorian Department of Health, that improve outcomes for multicultural communities through strengthen workforce capability, mental health and wellbeing equity and culturally safe practice. One of her key priority is implementing Victoria’s first Diverse Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework and Blueprint , a recommendations from the Royal Commission into Mental Health report and recommendations 2021.
She is deeply committed to advancing human rights, cultural safety, and equitable access to services, particularly for communities experiencing systemic marginalisation. Her stakeholder engagement skills span both government and community-led organisations, enabling her to build collaborative partnerships that amplify impact and drive equitable outcomes. As a woman of colour migrant from India, and as a carer for a person with lived experience of mental ill-health, she brings both professional expertise and personal insight to her work. These lived experiences inform her insights into strategic workforce development and organisational transformation, grounded in cultural humility, intersectionality, and genuine partnership with communities. Her experience enables her to contribute meaningfully to MCWH’s governance, bringing a strategic lens, a commitment to equity, and a deep understanding of community-led health initiatives. She is passionate about MCWH’s mission through evidence-informed strategies that centre lived experience and promote health equity for all.