A message from the Chair of the WHGNE Board
When I think about regions reIMAGINED, I reflect on the tireless work Women’s Health Goulburn North East has done to create spaces in which we can imagine and strive to create more equitable communities.
Through creating connections and working collaboratively with other Women’s Health services, Women’s Health Goulburn North East has been part of an advocacy campaign, applying a strong business case for increased funding to support gender equality, which was further eroded during COVID-19.
What started off as reimagining our regions, resulted in a funding increase for Women’s Health Services of $19.4 million across twelve women’s health services over two years, a fantastic result of which all involved should be proud.
On behalf of the Board, I want to thank all the staff at Women’s Health Goulburn North East for their ongoing and often thankless work. I have been very moved by the work they have done over the past year and appreciate their attendance at our Board meetings where we have had the opportunity to hear about their work and how they have operationalised the strategic plan.
I have also been very touched and inspired by the team’s work on their organisational values, exploring what they see as valuable behaviours the team should encompass. This reflective exercise was meaningful as it translated into a model of what these values look like in practice and how they support their feminist way of working.
I believe this has forged a synergistic path of how we can work operationally and strategically.
It has been a real privilege to be part of Women’s Health Goulburn North East for the past five years. I have really enjoyed working closely with our CEO Amanda Kelly and am excited to see how she and her team drive the WHGNE strategic plan in the next three years.
I want to thank our Board members leaving this year, Emma Butko, thank you for being such a valuable treasurer and Board member, Tricia Hazeleger, Secretary, thank you for sharing of your wisdom with us, and Sara Noori, Board member, for your compassion and care.
Lastly, thank you to all of our Board members, for their work over the past year. I look forward to observing next chapter of Women’s Health Goulburn North East as the team continues to bring people together to imagine and in turn create gender equality for the benefit of our communities.
– Katherine Robertson
Chair, WHGNE