She was a member of the Monash Ancora Imparo Leadership Committee 2008–2013. Patterson was inducted into Monash University Golden Key Society as an honorary member in 2009. She was awarded a Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) Monash University in 2019. Patterson is a member of Girl Guides movement, which she joined when she was 10. She was a member of the Victorian State Council (1974–1991, 1993–1999) and state executive 1974–1995). She was made a Life Member of Girls Guides Victoria in 2002. She became a director and member of the board of Interplast Australia and New Zealand in 2006 (vice president 2009), retiring when her term ended in 2015 and continued until 2018 as a Company Member. She is a director of the Brockhoff Foundation (2008+). She was a Commissioner on the National Mental Health Commission (2014-2016) and a member of the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (2014-2016). She was appointed the national Age Discrimination Commissioner in the Australian Human Rights Commission on 29 July 2016. She was appointed a member of the Australia Post Stakeholder Council (2019+). She has also been involved in Capacity Building Workshops for female candidates for election in Laos (UN Workshop - 2006), Australian National University Centre for Democratic Institutions capacity building programs - Solomon Islands (2008), Canberra (2009), Canberra (2013). She chaired a Ministerial Advisory Committee on Homelessness (Vic) (2012-2014)