A Story of Governance, Grit, and the Future We’re Building

I grew up believing that regional Australia deserved the same opportunities, safety, and leadership as any capital city - if not more. That belief has shaped every step of my career.

Before I founded businesses, chaired boards, or stepped into national leadership roles, I was working in some of the most remote corners of Australia. I was young, determined, and part of rotary and fixed-wing aeromedical retrieval teams - flying into places where a bad decision, a missing procedure, or a broken system could cost a life.

Out there, far from hospitals and resources, I learned the deepest truth I still carry today:

Strong systems save people.
Weak systems cost them.

That experience forged my lifelong commitment to governance, safety, and capability. It is the backbone of every business I run, every board I sit on, and every community I serve.

Building Businesses That Build Regions

Today, I am the Founder and Director of Allied Partnerships Australia - a governance and conformance firm born from the simple idea that regional leaders deserve structures that support growth, not restrict it.

Based in rural New South Wales, I lead a talented team of specialists who work across governance, quality assurance, human resources, risk mitigation, and organisational capability. Together, we help businesses create clarity, protect their people, and scale responsibly.

My work has taken me into boardrooms, workshop floors, farms, mine sites, and community organisations across Australia - always with the same mission:

Elevate capability.
Strengthen systems.
Leave no one behind.

A Foot in Two Worlds: Agriculture & Governance

Alongside my own company, I serve as the Business Development Executive at VANTAGE, where I work on one of the greatest transformations of our time - autonomy and ag-tech integration in Australian farming.

In this role, I partner with one of the most trusted and respected minds in global AgTech, Michael Casey. Together, we work side by side to strategically build, scale, and future-proof both the business and the broader industry. Our work spans:

• Guiding Australian agriculture through technology evolution

• Validating and implementing autonomous solutions on farm

• Ensuring WHS, governance, and compliance remain at the forefront

• Preparing growers, technicians, and service networks for Level 4 autonomy

• Strengthening industry capability through structured systems and readiness models

• Bridging the gap between innovation, regulation, and real-world farming conditions

Our partnership blends Michael’s world-class technical expertise with my governance, risk, and strategy frameworks — creating a unique ecosystem where innovation can thrive safely, sustainably, and inclusively.

I bring governance into a space where innovation moves fast and risk moves faster. My role is to make sure the future of agriculture is safe, inclusive, and farmer-first - that no grower, worker, or regional community is left behind as technology evolves.

It’s governance with boots in the dirt.

Designing Tomorrow: Strategy 2050

One of the most significant chapters in my work has been leading and authoring the Strategy 2050 suite — a forward-looking blueprint for the future of regional Australia.

Strategy 2050 was born from a single, urgent question:

What must we build today so our regions can thrive tomorrow?

Over a year, I worked across industries, councils, community groups, and business networks to create a comprehensive, evidence-based, and deeply human plan for the decades ahead. This strategy now guides regional thinking across food, fibre, water, housing, workforce development, industrial land, economic diversification, and community wellbeing.

My work included:

• Current State Social Analysis

• Economic and workforce modelling

• Risk, opportunity, and scenario planning

• Policy alignment and future-readiness frameworks

• Transition planning for post-mining regional economies

• Youth leadership, succession, and capability pathways

• Industry engagement through governance, foresight, and data-led insight

Strategy 2050 positions regional Australia not as an afterthought, but as a central pillar of national prosperity and resilience — and I remain committed to delivering its vision through every board, initiative, and partnership I lead.

Because our regions don’t just need support; they need a future designed with intention, courage, and long-term stewardship.

Shaping Regional Futures Through Leadership

My passion for regional development runs deeper than my professional work. Its great to have a strategy, but what are we doing about it?
If we build it they will come.

I am the Chair of Strategic Futures Inc., a not-for-profit dedicated to strengthening Australia’s food, fibre, water, housing, and workforce security.
We exist to elevate regional voices into national conversations - long before decisions are made.

In 2024–2025, I also served as President of the Gunnedah Chamber of Commerce, leading a team committed to supporting local businesses and future-proofing our regional economy. During this time, I created one of my proudest initiatives: Next Gen Chamber - a program designed to give young leaders aged 16–35 the pathways I wish I had access to at their age. Gunnedah Chamber of Commerce won both the Regional Chamber of the Year Award and the NSW State Chamber of the Year Award - for this initiative and the Strategy 2050 Project.

That initiative grew into something bigger.
It became Next Gen Australia — a national capability and leadership platform for regional youth. Because leadership doesn’t start in boardrooms - It starts in our own backyard.

The Foundations Behind the Work

My journey has been shaped by both lived experience and a commitment to lifelong learning. My qualifications reflect the breadth of sectors I work across and the depth of expertise required to build safe, future-ready organisations.

A Career Forged in Pressure, Purpose, and People

Before stepping into governance, strategy, and enterprise leadership, I spent my early career in aeromedical retrieval and frontline healthcare, working with organisations such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service and CareFlight.

Operating in extreme and remote environments - often with limited resources and no margin for error - taught me the discipline, clarity, and systems thinking that now underpin all of my governance work. It’s where I learned that leadership is not about control; it’s about responsibility.

These experiences continue to shape how I design policy, build capability, and support businesses across high-risk industries.

Advocacy as a Way of Life

As the partner of a veteran, advocacy isn’t a project for me — it is lived experience, responsibility, and conviction.

I am a passionate advocate for veteran inclusion, economic empowerment, and leadership pathways. I work to position former ADF personnel not just as employees, but as business owners, board members, strategic thinkers, and emerging industry leaders.

Veterans bring discipline, integrity, operational excellence, and an unparalleled commitment to service. Our nation benefits when we elevate their skills, not sideline them.

And advocacy is not just about creating opportunities — it is about protecting their rights.

This includes calling out bad policy, drawing attention to under-the-radar government manoeuvres, and refusing to stay silent when decisions are made that compromise the dignity, recognition, or wellbeing of current and former serving members.

Recent changes — such as the abolition of wellbeing programs like the “Sally Man”, or restrictions affecting the awarding of medals to deserving veterans - send shockwaves through defence families and communities. These decisions risk diminishing recognition for service while enabling government to reallocate defence-earmarked funding away from the very people it was designed to support.

I believe that transparency matters, and so does accountability.

My advocacy centres on ensuring that:

• veterans receive the recognition their service deserves

• policy changes are scrutinised openly, not quietly pushed through

• funding allocated for defence members remains in the hands of defence members

• families impacted by service are heard, respected, and represented

• our regional veteran communities are supported in both transition and leadership

This same ethos underpins everything I do across Vantage NSW, Allied Partnerships Australia, Strategic Futures Inc., and my wider work:

build capability, create opportunity, and strengthen people from the inside out.

It is not just a leadership philosophy — it is the standard I hold myself to, and the future I am committed to shaping.

Recent Awards and Achievements

40 Under 40 - Australian Business Honouree (2023)

Business Elite’s “40 Under 40” is a prestigious award program that identifies outstanding young Executives and Entrepreneurs in the world’s business and creates networking opportunities for the up-and-comers, aspiring young business leaders and industry disruptors with the undoubted attitude, quality, potential, desire, determination, and ambition to shape the world of business over the coming decades.

It is one of the world’s prestigious awards for young business leaders. It is almost certain that our awardees will create remarkable track records of achievement post-award.