Shannon Hennessy  - Reshaping the future of support

Finalist, Saab Australia Rising Star Award

‍Meet Shannon Hennessy – founder of VESPIIA, the first national body supporting those who support others and finalist in the Saab Australia Rising Star Award.

After years working across the defence, ex-service, and government sectors, Shannon saw a major gap: there was no system looking after the people behind veteran and emergency services.

So in 2023, she did something about it.  

“Good people are doing essential work—but with very little structural support. I created VESPIIA to give them a professional home, a shared voice, and the tools to keep going,” said Shannon.

VESPIIA is Australia’s first national professional body for the people and organisations behind our service communities.

“What makes VESPIIA different is that we are building infrastructure—not programmes. We don’t deliver direct services to veterans or first responders. Instead, we serve the people behind the services: staff, volunteers, project officers, peer workers, chaplains, and community leaders. It’s a deliberately broad and inclusive model, because effective support depends on the whole ecosystem working well.”

“We also focus on organisations that are often overlooked—smaller, community-based, and volunteer-led groups who are delivering essential services but don’t have access to training, tools, or coordinated support.

VESPIIA now serves as a national platform for training, advocacy, networking, and shared resources across a broad and inclusive membership base—spanning NGOs, peer workers, chaplains, volunteers, researchers, and community leaders.

Shannon also serves as the editor of the Future Frontlines policy papers and is a leading advocate for workforce development, policy reform, and professionalisation in the veterans and first response sector. Her leadership is grounded in strategic thinking, deep sector knowledge, and lived experience—she is married to an active member of the Australian Defence Force.

👏 Learn more about how Shannon and VESPIIA are reshaping the future of support: www.vespiia.org.au

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