Darja Kragt

Dr Darja Kragt is a Lecturer in Work Psychology at the School of Psychological Science, University of Western Australia, and holds a secondary appointment in the Office of Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Her research focuses on leadership development, volunteering sustainability, and retirement transitions with a core emphasis on identity dynamics. She completed her PhD at UWA Business School, investigating identity's role in leadership growth, and holds Master's degrees from Maastricht University in International Business and Business Research.

Key expertise includes data-driven program evaluation with industry partners, particularly in emergency services and not-for-profit sectors. Her work contributes to UN SDGs related to sustainable communities (SDG 11) and quality education (SDG 4). Recent collaborations include projects funded by Bushfire Natural Hazards CRC and NSW Rural Fire Service.

Dr Kragt has secured four research grants totaling AUD 2.1M, including evaluations of leadership development programs and volunteer retention strategies. Notable outputs include meta-analyses on volunteer turnover (2024), pandemic impact studies (2021), and mixed-methods research on firefighter retirement transitions (2019). She has published 25 peer-reviewed articles and serves as a consultant to organizations like the Public Sector Commission WA.