Mood Active’s Mission
To run exercise programs that empower people to better manage their mental health, and to get more General Practitioner’s & Psychologists prescribing exercise as treatment for depression/anxiety.
Our History
In 2012, then psychology researcher Isabelle Granville-Smith and tennis coach Cameron Wilson met at Sydney’s Black Dog Institute. Both had long been advocates for the role exercise plays in boosting mental health, and both were convinced that more could be done to facilitate it for people who were struggling with depression or anxiety. After wading through the published research on exercise and mood disorders, and with input from clinicians at Sydney’s Black Dog Institute, they started a group exercise program intended to:
- address the barriers to exercise for people battling depression/anxiety
- utilise research-proven optimal exercise “dosage.”
- administer an assessment process & track measurable results
- help each participant build exercise into their mental health well-being strategy
In July 2013, Cam ran the program’s very first cardio tennis class at Eastcourts Tennis in Kingsford, and Isabelle its first group fitness circuit in Centennial Park. Mood Active was born.
Committee founders Tania Curley, Andrew Purll and Cameron Wilson, brought experience and skills in coaching psychology, finance and IT, communications, as well as combined decades of lived experience using exercise to boost mental health. In June 2017 Tania Curley was appointed Mood Active’s General Manager.
Our Committee

Cameron Wilson
Cam served as Committee President of Mood Active since 2013 and brings his lived experience to supporting people as they adopt exercise for better mental health.
He has battled bipolar depression since his late teens and relies on exercise to boost his own mood and well-being.
Cam has been our Head Trainer since 2013, is a Tennis Australia certified Cardio Tennis coach as well as an internationally published freelance journalist.
He holds a BA in Communications and is currently completing a Cert IV in Training & Assessment.

Andy Hobbs
Andy is a finance professional who has worked in a variety of roles in the public sector. He currently works for NSW Treasury.

Tania Curley
Tania has been with Mood Active since 2013 working as a volunteer Events and Marketing Manager and then Funding and Sponsorship Manager.
Tania is now the General Manager of Mood Active. Tania holds a Masters in Coaching Psychology, Masters in Strategy HRM, a BA in Tourism Management, and a Cert III in Fitness.
Tania is also a leadership facilitator and coach.

Heather Napier
Heather started her career in fitness at the Sport and Fitness centre, University of Sydney. She has a background in dancing, bush walking and cycling and fitness as always been part of her life.
She studied Psychology and has provided support to chronic pain sufferers, counselling support after major incidents and assisted injured workers return to meaningful work.
She has recently moved into Leadership roles in People and Culture and Health and Safety.

Lana Schwartz
Lana is a registered psychologist with a background in Sport and Performance Psychology. With over 20 years of experience, Lana has worked as a psychologist for elite sporting groups providing facilitation, training and individual support to
organisations including Cricket NSW, Basketball Australia and the Australian Tenpin Bowling team.
She joined Mood Active in December and is involved in strategy setting and providing supervision for our coaches
Our Operational Team
Our Operations team is made up of volunteers with a diverse range of skills.

Tania Curley
Tania has been with Mood Active since 2013 working as a volunteer Events and Marketing Manager and then Funding and Sponsorship Manager.
She holds a Masters in Coaching Psychology, Masters in Strategy HRM, a BA in Tourism Management, and a Cert III in Fitness.
Tania is also a leadership facilitator and coach.

Amanda Truong
Amanda is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has held various accounting and commercial roles across health and wellbeing organisations. After practicing yoga for 10 years and realising the benefits of the physical and mental practice on her wellbeing, she qualified to be a yoga teacher to share the teachings with others. She hopes to be able to combine her passions with her skills to support purpose driven healthcare organisations make a bigger impact on their communities.

Clara Tang
Clara is a self-motivated, pragmatic and detail-driven trilingual HR Business Partner. As a certified Return To Work Coordinator, Clara holds a Cert IV WHS and has experience in facilitating IR/ER issues and interpreting industry awards.
Clara enjoys hiking and yoga, and truly believes exercise can enable people to improve their mental health.

Grant Pillon
Grant joined Mood Active in May of 2018. He has seen first-hand the benefits of exercise for mental health. Grant likes to live by the motto "healthy body = healthy mind". Grant was moved by the vision of Mood Active and so began volunteering in a finance capacity.
Grant also holds a Bachelor of Business and Commerce, Major in Accounting, Western Sydney University and is a Provisional Member of CAANZ (Chartered Accountants New Zealand).

Leah Cohen
Leah is a dynamic individual with well-rounded experience in marketing, management and business development.
She brings with her a cheerful nature, can-do attitude, and an eagerness to develop unique strategies. She has a passion for bringing people together through social engagement and engaging events and believes that staying physically active and socially connected is an integral part of positive mental health and wellbeing.

Lorena Garmendia Flores
Lorena is a multi-skilled Human Resource professional with an extensive background in HR generalist affairs. This includes experience in employee recruitment and retention, post recruitment, induction, on-boarding, offer generation, compensation & benefits, salary negotiation, contracts and HR records management, HR policies development with a wealth of hands-on-experience working with senior stakeholders in diverse industries and corporate cultures.
Lorena is passionate about creating a collaborative environment that promotes engagement through learning, development, and embracing diversity.

Cate Eman
Cate is a passionate social media manager with over 8 years of experience in digital marketing, content and social media strategy. She has worked both here in Australia and overseas for global brands including Royal Caribbean International, Accor Hotels, Best&Less and wagamama just to name a few. As a lover of all things social media – she’s driven by the latest trends to build and execute effective social media strategies. She loves running, HIIT training, netball and snowboarding and is very passionate about raising awareness about the benefits of exercise and fitness to help improve mental health.

Tinashe Washay
Tinashe is a dedicated Medical Representative with a thorough understanding of mental health, especially depression and anxiety. Tinashe holds a Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours Class I) from the University of Sydney where he pursued his educational passions for physiology and pharmacology.
His recent completion of the Master of Management course has equipped him with the tools required to enhance Mood Active’s Marketing segment, ultimately allowing him to reach and improve the lives of many patients that are suffering from mental health issues.

Alannah Green
Alannah is a senior external and internal communications specialist with more than 10 years of experience, having created and delivered compelling communications — and the strategies behind them — for the world’s leading brands.
She holds a Bachelor of Communication from Bond University and currently works in the communications team at Optus.
In her spare time, Alannah enjoys practising yoga and pilates, exploring the outdoors with her rescue dog, immersing herself in the arts and celebrating food from all corners of the world.

Stephanie Lee
Stephanie is a Marketing Communications Specialist with over 10 years of experience working in government, not-for-profit, aged care, healthcare, consumer goods, and employment services. She is also currently a Consumer representative for Western Sydney Local Health District with the aim of transforming healthcare in the region. Stephanie is all about social change and she loves being involved with for-purpose organisations. Exercise is a part of Stephanie’s routine to improve her wellbeing and she has had lived experience in using exercise to enhance her mood.

Rajiv Bangalore
Rajiv has a Master of Computer Applications and comes from an IT background specializing in delivering digital/online initiatives & IT transitions/transformation programs. He brings his experience in Program Management, Governance and views technology as an enabler that supports and contributes to Mood Active’s strategic goals.
Having experienced physical and mental benefits of exercise, Rajiv relates to Mood Active’s vision and wants to spread the message around to guide other people.

Anita Cheah
Anita has a background in engineering and project managem

Stephanie Yu
Stephanie has a Master of Nutrition and Dietetics and also holds a Bachelor of Food, Nutrition and Health. She strongly believes that a healthy lifestyle is essential for everyone and understand its importance to mental health.
At Mood Active she hopes to help people achieve an active lifestyle through initiating changes in daily activities like diet and exercise. During her free time, she enjoys casual hikes/coastal walks as well as being an amateur foodie to hunt for good food spots in Sydney.

Srilaxmi Choudhury
Srilaxmi has more than 4yrs of experience in the IT industry and holds a Master degree in IT.
She is passionate about learning and technology. Srilaxmi believes that working as a team will bring better outcomes than working in an individual capacity.

Srinidhi Srinivasaraghavan
Srinidhi is a Software Developer and has a Master in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California. Experienced in Salesforce, Srinidhi has achieved several superbadges and a certification.
Srinidhi is passionate about Yoga and believes that good mental health is achievable through fitness practices and physical activity.
If you or your business would like to sponsor Mood Active, please get in touch.