Executive Officer - Julia Hardaker

Julia’s background is as a nurse and educator. In the late eighties she took a shift in career focus to management in the Non-Government, Not for Profit programs sector. Julia spent twenty two years in Armidale NSW, coordinating and facilitating many programs for Non Indigenous and Indigenous women and families. She managed an early intervention, crisis and medium term supported accommodation service which was successfully extended to more remote areas of the New England, engaging and supporting a large number of young Indigenous people and their children. During this time she undertook studies in Aboriginal Community Development and Peace Studies. Julia headed to Kabul, Afghanistan in 2003 to establish a Capacity Building Department for an Afghan NGO, leading a community development program that included mentoring and training community members to ensure programs were sustainable. She provided support to programs in remote Health Clinics and developed multiple training packages from Leadership to Peace Building Programs. Her second role in Kabul was as a Management Advisor to an Afghan Women’s Resource Centre, assisting the organisation to centralize its programs and management in Kabul. Julia moved to Tennant Creek in April 2006. She was the Coordinator of an Indigenous Health Care Program in the Southern Barkly Communities called Grow Well, prior to moving to Darwin to take up the position with AMRRIC.

Program Manager - Jan Allen

Jan Allen is a graduate of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney and Master of Environmental Management, New England University, Armidale NSW. She has spent most of her career in mixed practice on the beautiful North Coast of NSW. A lifetime goal of volunteering with Australian Volunteers International culminated in a placement with the Animal Protection Society (APS) in Samoa from 2004 untills 2006. This position was also supported by IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare). During this exciting period the APS developed village-based visits and the Samoan Government passed its Dog Control Management Plan. Back in Australia, Jan’s interest in the management of dog populations continued working out of Darwin to many remote Indigenous communities around Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. Jan has most recently been working with the ARK Animal Hospital in Darwin who undertake many dog health programs in remote communities. She has now taken on the position of Program Manager with AMRRIC and will be managing our national dog health programs.

Welcome to Dr Sophie Constable- AMRRIC Education Project Officer- staff member no 3!!

She worked as an independent contractor for AVA and RSPCA (NSW) running multi-school pet education programs in towns with high levels of Indigenous students, including Bourke, Brewarina, Engonnia, Grifffith, Walgett, Collarenebri, Coonamble, and Dubbo. Sophie has undertaken Indigenous education program development for RSPCA (QLD), Safe Pets Out There (SPOT) NSW, and the University of Wollongong. More recently Sophie has been involved in designing, implementing and coordinating community education and training programs in rural and remote Indigenous communities around Australia including Tiwi Islands NT, Ti Tree NT, Bidyadanga WA, and Yarrabah Qld. This work has been underpinned by as much community participation as possible in terms of consultation, decision making, design of programs and resources, production of resources, and evaluation. 

Volunteer - Sylvia Mitchell

Sylvia has joined us as a volunteer since her retirement from her Territory Tidy Towns role at Keep Australia Beautiful Council (NT), where she enjoyed and valued her contact with communities from Central Australia through Lajamanu, Nauiyu Nambiyu (Daly River), Wadeye, across the Tiwi’s to Ramingining, Maningrida and East Arnhem land. AMRRIC’s veterinarian Dr Sam Phelan was a well received invited speaker at the 2007 Territory Tidy Towns forum. Sylvia observed the success and relevance of AMRRIC’s programs in remote communities, and for a dog lover, choosing to include this much respected organisation into a very pleasant retired life was an easy decision.