Ms Barbara Wellesley AM served on the Board of the Parent-Infant Research Institute (PIRI) from 2009 to December 2019, including as Chair from 2017 to 2018. In December 2019, she was appointed as a PIRI Ambassador.

Barbara was the co-founder and National Director of Good Beginnings Australia (1997–2007). Her previous roles include Director of Decided Advantage (a social research consultancy), Senior Policy Analyst in the Maternal and Child Health Unit at the NSW Health Department, and Coordinator of the Child and Family Health Nurses Association (NSW) (CAFHNA).

She has also contributed to national policy and advisory work, including membership of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians committee developing policy for children of incarcerated parents, Chair of the beyondblue National Steering Committee for the National Action Plan for Perinatal Depression (2007), and Vice Chair of the National NIFTeY Board.

Barbara has also served as Convenor of the Early Years Chapter of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) and as President of Contact Inc.