DIRECTOR

Graduated from Charleville Hospital as an RN in 1979. She married and lived on a remote sheep station in the Wyandra area of SWQ (MMM7), until she & her husband relocated to Morven (MMM7) in 2001. A published storyteller, Annabelle has written several books (Penguin Australia), four of them about health professionals who live/work in rural/remote Australia. In 2018, Annabelle was appointed to the board of the Australian College of Rural & Remote Medicine (ACRRM) as their first Community Director and, before her retirement, assisted ACRRM in establishing its Community Reference Group. She is committed to ensuring ‘community’ is involved in the decisions that impact them.

DIRECTOR

Lives on Wyndham Station on the Anabranch River in far SW NSW, between Broken Hill and Wentworth (MMM6). He and his wife Kelly are regenerative farming advocates who graze sheep and cattle, who are building a goat enterprise to add to their diversity. Gus is passionate about their community and the environment and firmly believes that equitable access to appropriate primary health care is integral to the sustainability of both. He says, ‘We need more people living in remote Australia to care for our wonderful and unique landscape.’

DIRECTOR

Chair of the Community Health Infrastructure and Resilience Fund (CHIRF), which formed in 2016, to find doctors for the ailing private clinic at Mallacoota (MMM6) in far NE Victoria. An ANU graduate, he is a former Senior Commonwealth Public Servant who advised Ministers across a broad range of industries, regulating, and representing Australia in various international forums. Robin and his wife recently moved from Mallacoota to Brisbane but maintain a close relationship with the community through CHIRF and their friends.

DIRECTOR

Rashida is from the Top End of the NT, a proud Ngarinman/ Mudbra woman who has lived regional and remote all her life. She has multiple qualifications in Agriculture, Livestock Nutrition and Behavior, Rangeland Management, Psychology, Trauma Informed Practice and Business. She lives on a family property in the Eva Valley region (MMM6) where they raise Brahman cattle, swamp buffalo, Boer goats, and stockhorses.

An alumni of the 2024 Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award, a member of Australian Women in Agriculture, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance and the National Rural Women’s Coalition.

DIRECTOR

Meagan has worked in a broad range of rural hospital and tertiary settings as both a registered nurse and non-executive director and has previously, held the role of Clinical Safety and Quality Manager for the RFDS, SE Section based at Broken Hill. She is passionate about the equitable access to appropriate health care for all Australians with particular interest in remote and rural communities.

Meagan and her husband Rory -with their young son - run a property on the Beardy River outside Emmaville, in the New England Region & maintain their connection to ‘remote’ through Rory’s multigenerational family who live at White Cliffs and across far west NSW.

DIRECTOR

Michael grew up in rural South-East Queensland and started his professional life as a Property Valuer before transitioning his skills into Advisory, Project Management and Asset Management, including a stint as a Property Advisor with Queensland Health.

 Michael has extensive experience working with local government and provides strategic and advisory skillsets that can be leveraged to pursue the aims of RAM. He is supportive of growing remote communities. He says, “We need the infrastructure and services to provide equitable health care in regional and remote Australia to enable the growth of these areas and to ensure prosperity in regions away from the coast.”

SECRETARY

Natalie Hardgrave joins the Remote Australians Matter (RAM) board as Secretary, bringing with her over 25 years of expertise in human resources and leadership, shaped by a life lived across a diverse range of locations in rural/remote Queensland and NSW where she witnessed the significant lack of healthcare access.

Driven by a deep understanding of the unique healthcare challenges in rural and remote areas, Natalie is excited to contribute to RAM’s mission of improving access to quality healthcare across remote Australia. She looks forward to leveraging her experience, connections and passion in her role as Secretary to support the board and the organization’s impactful initiatives.