News
Issue No. 13 - October/November 2003
Great Expectations
Under the rejuvenating leadership of new Chief Executive, Judy Potter, a reinvigorated SA Great organisation is tuning up to “let the people know” about South Australian strengths.
Originally from Perth, Judy has lived and worked in South Australia for more than 30 years. Her training is in economics and social work and her background is in the arts and community sector; Judy has directed Carclew and SA Youth Arts organisations among other credentials. Some might think this ‘soft’, but in fact Judy has a great deal of experience at marshalling support and coordinating action.
For example, in 2000 she set up the Windmill youth theatre company from scratch. Windmill now boasts Mitsubishi and Harris Scarfe as major sponsors thanks to the networking culture Judy imparted from day one.
“The reality is, nothing [in the arts and youth support sectors] operates unless there are strong corporate partnerships. You need to have a good understanding of the corporate sector," Judy says.
SA Great, as a membership organisation, represents a challenging resource pool. Judy understands the need to learn what her very diverse membership wants. “A lot of members are media, so it is important to have good communication skills, to be available and to be seen around—to be seen as a person who is willing to talk about ideas and issues," she says.
The first 12 months of her tenure is the time for implementing change, she says, noting that her ‘settling in’ period is also when people are most likely to speak their minds openly.
“When I was applying for this job I sought feedback and found that there are very mixed feelings about where SA Great is sitting, which is more or less what I expected," she says. “I sensed the need for reinvigoration and repositioning. I left a job I had held for 13 years voluntarily, because I wanted a new challenge and the SA Great challenge excited me.”
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