Bianca Welsh (she/her) is a proud Korean/Australian, raised in Launceston, Tasmania, and has lived there since she was adopted in the late 80s from South Korea.
She is a co-owner of Stillwater Restaurant and Seven Rooms, one of Tasmania’s most awarded and recognized restaurants, and runs her own mental health business – From Experience, providing education and advice to workplaces on how to be a mentally healthy workplace, including education around trauma-informed practices, neurodiversity, mental illness, attachment theory, and more. She is also an experienced Mental Health First Aid Instructor, having delivered over 30 courses. She was also a co-founder and operator of Black Cow Bistro for 14 years.
Welsh currently sits on the Launceston Chamber of Commerce and is a non-executive director at TasTafe. Welsh previously sat on the Cornerstone Youth Services board for 7 years, chaired Design Tasmania, had a brief stint on the Visit Northern Tasmania board, and recently served 2 years on the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania board. In addition, she chaired a government advisory committee for workforce skills in tourism and hospitality.
Welsh never rests on her laurels and loves learning new things. She was determined to understand her team better and the challenges around mental health and completed a Bachelor of Behavioural Science at UTAS in 2018.
Welsh has been recognized for her work in the industry and community with accolades such as Young Restaurateur of the Year (2015), Young Tasmanian Australian of the Year Finalist (2016), Young Professional of the Year (2017), Tourism Minister’s Young Achiever (2019), and most recently made the 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian Australian List in 2022. She also was a TV host for a local travel show – Left Off the Map and Award-Winning Tasmania.
A devoted mum to three children (a busy 8-year-old boy, a son who died at full term in January 2022, and Rani, who recently turned 1), her lived experience with mental health and illness, baby loss, termination for medical reasons, grief, PTSD and trauma, inter-country adoption, racism, discrimination, leadership, hospitality, skills and training, and more, means she is a diverse person whose most important values are kindness, honesty, and compassion. She is currently upskilling in the trauma and grief area and hopes to turn these learnings into practical solutions for workplaces to consider.
