Welcoming a fresh perspective on People & Leadership

I am a born and bred Leeton girl, and whilst I don’t come from a farming background, I’ve always understood the affinity people have with the land. I mean, what’s not to love – its people, the realness, the resilience and its no nonsense approach to producing food and fibre for our nation.

I remember being young and thinking I lived on a property that was so far out of town and in the most rural of communities. Every sporting event or weekend activity had to be perfectly planned around mum’s golfing schedule or dad’s harness racing commitments, as the fear of having to walk a whole 5 kilometres home was real. The reality is that my parents live on a small 8-acre hobby farm, that sits just on the outskirts of town, hardly rural or remote in any stretch of the imagination.

My background is in event management and communications and I’ve spent the past 10 years working as an Account Director for a full-service PR agency who’s heart is in the country and its niche is working with organisations based in regional Australia or ones that needed to reach, connect and influence regional and rural Australian audiences. It is here that I was lucky enough to work with some of the largest agribusiness clients in the country.

As cliché as it sounds, I’m extremely passionate about ag and love seeing what young people and especially women in rural communities can achieve when given the opportunity. Insert my new role, Manager, Capacity Building at AgriFutures Australia, and some would call it a match made in heaven.

In my role, I look after all the programs that sit under our People & Leadership portfolio, which includes programs such as the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award, the AgriFutures Horizons Scholarship and the AgriFutures Ignite Network.

My first month in the role has already shown me how programs like these are making a difference and that they are intrinsically linked to the future growth and development of the agricultural sector.

Here at AgriFutures Australia, our vision is to grow the long-term prosperity of Australian rural industries, and I can’t wait to play a part in the initiatives that attract capable people into careers in agriculture, build the capability of future rural leaders, and support change makers and thought leaders. It really is an exciting time to be working in the industry.