Rate My Professor Emily Yorkston

Dr Emily Yorkston is an Industry Associate Professor at the Institute for Social Science Research within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Queensland. She earned a Bachelor of Biomedical Science, a Bachelor of Physiology (Honours), and a Doctor of Philosophy in Epidemiology from the University of Queensland. With extensive experience as an evaluator and policy analyst, she has worked for over 15 years designing, collecting, and interpreting high-quality evidence to enhance outcomes for priority groups. Her career includes leading large, complex projects for Australian, state, and territory governments, focusing on social policy initiatives in areas such as housing, homelessness, criminal justice, domestic and family violence, and interagency partnerships. Yorkston possesses deep strategic knowledge of the Australian public sector, collaborating with government agencies to implement and evaluate programs.

Her research specializations include the interaction between physical space and social outcomes as well as public policy evaluation. She has served as lead investigator for significant projects, including the three-year evaluation of the Southport Specialist Domestic and Family Violence Court Justice Response (2017-21), whose recommendations were accepted by the Queensland Government, resulting in specialist courts in five locations. Other key evaluations encompass the Queensland Housing Strategy’s First Action Plan (2017-2020), COVID-19 responses for homelessness and residential tenancies, and the ongoing Navigator pilot program evaluation (2024-2027) for the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General. Her insights have informed policy adjustments, with the Southport evaluation cited in the Women's Safety and Justice Taskforce Hear Her Voice Report 2. Notable publications include 'Cohort Profile: The Nurses and Midwives e-Cohort study—A novel electronic longitudinal study' (2009, International Journal of Epidemiology), 'The future nursing workforce in Australia: baseline data for a prospective study' (2007, Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing), 'Quantifying the effect of a community-based injury prevention program in Queensland' (2007, Injury Prevention), and 'Special issues in injury prevention research: Developing the science of program implementation' (2010, Injury). Yorkston's expertise spans applied sociology, social program evaluation, social impact assessment, public participation, and urban planning.