From two to now: Celebrating 15 years

As 360Edge celebrates 15 years of delivering evidence driven solutions in the alcohol and other drug sector, we’re taking a moment to reflect on our formative years and the projects that shaped our journey and built the foundation for the work we continue to champion today.

It all began when two emerging alcohol and other drug researchers — Linda Jenner, a nurse, and Nicole Lee, a psychologist — left their respective roles at Turning Point and formed what was known then as LeeJenn Health Consultants.

It was intended to be a temporary gig, but they shared a belief that with the right support, health services could achieve even more by bridging the gap between research and practice.

"Those early days were fuelled by a mix of curiosity, deep sector knowledge, and a clear sense of purpose — and we’ve kept that energy ever since."

— Professor Nicole Lee

The first projects were shorter pieces of work that required that unique combination of clinical and research skills that 360Edge is now known for:

  • A partnership in 2010 with St John of God Health Care in Western Sydney to do the groundwork for a specialist youth alcohol and other drug consultation-liaison service, including an evaluation framework.
  • The ACT Healthy Young People Feasibility Study with ACT Health in 2011 to map out the current and emerging health needs of young people aged 12–25 across the territory; hundreds of stakeholders were consulted, with young people central to the process.
  • Work with Queensland Health in 2012 to strengthen viral hepatitis care. This wasn’t just a training program — it was a comprehensive exploration of how nurses could be empowered to play a greater role in hepatitis prevention and management, including supplying medications under a Drug Therapy Protocol.

From there, 360Edge went from strength to strength undertaking bigger projects and developing long term relationships with many services and government departments we still work with to this day.

In 2017, Linda retired and left the operations to her trusted partner and LeeJenn had a name change to 360Edge, growing to 10 people over that time.

What’s never changed is our commitment to:

  • Building deep and strong partnerships with the people delivering and receiving care
  • Evidence based design backed by real world experience
  • Supporting vulnerable and underserved communities
  • Widespread system level improvement

Since those early days, we’ve evaluated national policy strategies, designed whole of system responses to support the alcohol and other drug workforce, and worked with hundreds of frontline services to solve complex problems so they can concentrate on providing the best possible services to their service users.

As we mark 15 years of impact, we’re proud of how far we’ve come — and even more excited about where we’re headed. These foundational projects didn’t just shape our approach; they shaped a legacy of meaningful, measurable change.

Stay tuned for more stories from the journey, as we continue to partner with organisations, governments, and communities to push the edge of what’s possible in health and social care.