Our Journey

The Quality for Outcomes story began in 2017 at Victoria University. Bo had just arrived in Australia from Croatia — an eager but slightly bewildered new PhD student navigating a new country and the academic world. That’s when she met Mel, a highly respected Professor tasked with assessing her PhD progress. Mel had an impressive reputation, and Bo couldn’t help but admire Mel’s expertise and approach. Over time, an exciting opportunity arose for them to collaborate, and Bo was thrilled and grateful to work alongside someone she looked up to so deeply.

As they worked together, Bo and Mel quickly realised that they shared not only a strong work ethic but also deeply aligned values. Both are driven by a commitment to producing and applying the best available evidence to improve community outcomes. Growing up in Croatia, a middle-income country that experienced war in the early 90s (Bo) and Warwick, a working-class country town in Queensland (Mel), shaped their understanding and experience of health inequities. Their upbringing showed them first-hand how local environments and systems shape opportunities to lead healthy lives.

Their shared values turned a professional relationship into something more. Bo and Mel became not just colleagues but friends—and, as they like to joke, "work wives". They support and challenge each other, and their joint efforts are more than the sum of their individual parts. 

They co-founded Quality for Outcomes in late 2024 and are excited to see what this next chapter brings... Watch this space!