Heather Holst

Heather is the CEO of HomeGround Services, a housing agency working in inner, northern and southern Melbourne. She has worked in the housing sector since 1989 and before that in the publishing industry. She holds a PhD in History.

Heather joined HomeGround in 2009. Heather’s housing experience spans tenancy advocacy, homelessness policy, program development, research, rural homelessness service coordination in both the non-profit sector and government since 1989.

She has contributed to key Victorian housing and homelessness innovations including the coordination of all services, transitional housing, standards, data, rights-based approaches and sector training.

Prior to working in the housing sector, Heather worked in the publishing industry for Penguin Books as a sales representative and then as reader and copy editor and for the Australian Women’s Book Review as business manager.

Heather has a PhD in History from the University of Melbourne. She has published several scholarly articles and book chapters and has taught history at Australian Catholic University. She is working on a book to come out later this year: Making a Home: A History of Castlemaine.