Meet our team:

Lockie McDonald

LockieMcDonald

Lockie McDonald

The corporate function acts as the “master of ceremonies” for the end-to-end business model. It drives organisational consistency in marketing and communication, and ensures strategic alignment and oversight of the governance, compliance and the monitoring, evaluation and learning about our impact.

Where does your passion for rural, regional and remote Australia come from?

Australia’s regions generate the majority of our wealth. Building the capacity of those who decide to lead social, environmental and economic spheres in the regions will benefit us all. In the post covid world with a population shift to regions, increased change and uncertainty globally this will regional leadership will become more and more important. This was evident to me in the food security crisis we experienced in Western Australia due to fires and the initial stages of the pandemic. Cross-sector collaboration to ensure there was enough nutritious food for everyone required significant regional networked leadership.

What’s your favourite memory or most memorable moment in rural, regional and remote Australia?

As an artistic director of a regional theatre company in Albany, I collaborated with the police. An unlikely partnership between creatives and law enforcement resulted in a lasting infrastructure that increased the social amenity for the Great Southern Region. 

What’s your professional background?

After qualifying as a Registered nurse and a failed attempt at studying economics I found myself training with the Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe, from the Peoples Republic of China, alongside the Flying Fruit Fly Circus in Albury Wodonga. In 2007 I left a full-time career in the arts and ran a consulting business, Fullsky, for the next 14 years. While I was lobbying on behalf of Christmas Island I encountered the ARLF and undertook the Australian Rural Leadership Program. I just can’t get enough of collaborating to empower others in regional Australia and beyond.

Three things you love about working at the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation?

I like being part of the ARLF because of the people, the culture and the intellectual food it provides.

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