What is your role and what does your work focus on?
At present, I’m the Acting Operations Manager for Rural and Remote Health in the Northern Territory. We operate the Northern Territory Medical Program (NTMP), the Commonwealth Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program in the NT, Rural Health post graduate programs, Remote Primary Healthcare Manuals project, along with a few short courses and related projects all aimed at improving health outcomes in rural and remote communities. My role encompasses overseeing the staff, business matters, contracts and agreements, and other resources that support the various components that encompass our work in the NT. I am fortunate to work out of a beautiful campus that is home to three sacred sites. Being in a community with strong links to our cultural past and the opportunity to work alongside First Nations friends, neighbours, and colleagues makes it extremely easy for us to locate the North Star that guides our efforts in Central Australia.
Where did you work before joining Flinders Uni?
Prior to joining Flinders, I was Head of School for the School of Trades at Charles Darwin University. We had a staff of 63 lecturers supported by 30 support staff that delivered over 800,000 hours of Trades education across the NT. It was a rewarding start to a career in tertiary education as we got to witness the growth and development of a lot of young Territorians embarking on their early careers.
What journey brought you to this point in your career?
I’m currently on career number four. A journey the encompassed 23 years in the US Intelligence community and culminated in a posting in Central Australia – serving eight years alongside Australian Defence Forces during this time. We moved back to the US in 2008 where I began career number two parlaying a recently acquired MBA into a role in Banking Operations in my home state of Montana. A few questionable decisions followed leading to career number three. In 2012 I was elected to the legislature in Montana and served for five years in financial leadership roles. That gig concluded as Minority Chair of House Appropriations, sort of a shadow Finance Minister in Australian parlance. In 2017 my wife and I moved back to Australia where career number four in education leadership began. So not a very direct path to where we are now. But grateful to have had so many opportunities to make meaningful contributions in a variety of fields.
What is something you love most about your work?
The people I work with. This includes colleagues in the NT, rural SA, and at Bedford Park. I’ve been involved in a number of side projects that has allowed me to work closely with our Flinders team across the footprint. This has produced more than my fair share of opportunities to build valued relationships with some pretty stellar, I’ll even go as far as saying inspirational, humans since joining Flinders.
If you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?
I’m happy with where my life has brought me to this point, so would struggle to change anything that led me here. But I might tell him to be bolder. Dream big, live meaningfully, and don’t worry if you don’t have it all figured out…you can build the plane while you’re flying it!
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Wouldn’t mind being able to slow down or stop time. I find it too easy to focus on what I don’t complete. If I could slow down time, I could get more things ticked off the list…or would I just add more things to the list…