Ambassadors

Ann has worked in the community sector for over 30 years across many areas. Commencing as a front-line worker, she has now been a service manager for the past 25 years.

Her early front-line roles were in the disability area, working with people with primarily intellectual disabilities to support employment and life skills. She spent 14 years managing a regional family support service, which became a hub for multiple services including counselling, family violence, multicultural services, and financial advice and supports for young parents and children.

Her experience is that a key skill in the community sector is the ability to build and maintain relationships with clients and customers, staff, and other agencies.

Since moving to Canberra in 2009, Ann has managed a service focussed on supports and interventions for people with a chronic and disabling disease and is currently managing a service supporting birth families to achieve restoration and preservation of their children in the child protection system.

I think that the things I enjoy the most about community sector work is that it’s extraordinarily creative and you have the opportunity to work really closely with real people on the ground and feel like you’re making a real difference. No two days are ever the same. And you have the opportunity to be really creative in the way that you go about your work. That’s what I enjoy the most.