New staff – Ageing Project

Preetha Jayaram joined the HFA team in February 2019 to start work on HFA’s new Ageing project.

HFA has received funding from the Australian Government Department of Health to investigate the needs of the bleeding disorders community around ageing and try out some solutions relating to education and peer support. Preetha is leading the project and will be in contact with community members, HTCs and other stakeholders to consult about the issues.

With her diverse set of skills and background, Preetha is looking forward to taking on the Ageing project with HFA. 

She began her career as a social scientist and anthropologist conducting research into castes, tribes and rural development in Kerala State in India. ‘After migrating to Australia in early 1990s, I continued my research career working with Melbourne’s local government community services departments on ageing projects,’ said Preetha. ‘This involved visiting and talking with many older people in the community – in one project we interviewed around 500 older residents!’ Preetha then moved on to curatorial work and digitising the indigenous collection at Museum Victoria. She also had the opportunity to undertake research and community consultations for the Stolen Generations organisation in Melbourne.

More recently, Preetha has followed her interest in education and has gained qualifications and expertise in education program design and content development for the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. She currently also works part-time as the Training and Compliance Manager for a vocational education provider in Melbourne.  

‘I love interacting with people and listening to their stories. I have a strong belief in using personal stories to understand and empower the community.’

Preetha enjoys music, art and meditation and values its therapeutic effects. 

Preetha works on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and can be contacted at HFA office:
E: pjayaram@haemophilia.org.au
T: 03 9885 7800