People with Purpose: A bit of gratitude goes a long way

Tell us a little about your career background.

I was born and bred in regional NSW and spent more than 31 years with the NSW Police Force. I finished in 2022 as a deputy commissioner.

During my career I had the privilege of leading local commands, the Homicide Squad, Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics, Central Metropolitan Region and Regional Field Operations as well as the state's recovery efforts following the 2019–20 bushfire disaster.

After leaving policing I spent time in the private sector with global consultanting firm Accenture as managing director of national security and public safety, before becoming the CEO of Fortem Australia in September 2024.

How did you become involved with Fortem Australia and what does the organisation do?

When I left policing in 2022, a friend suggested I contact Fortem Australia as they had a "career management program." So I just emailed Fortem like any other person would and connected with them straight away.

Given my previous policing role, I quickly became a Fortem ambassador before being asked to take on the role of Fortem Australia advisory board chair (assuming the role from a friend of mine, former AFP commissioner and current Red Cross CEO Andrew Colvin).

After leaving Accenture in 2024 I was approached to see whether I would be interesting in applying for the Fortem CEO role. I jumped at the opportunity to lead an organisation with a deep sense of purpose and to give back to those who dedicate their lives to helping others.

Fortem provides independent mental health and wellbeing support to first responders and their families.

We do that through clinical psychological and counselling support, social connection wellbeing events that bring first responders and their families together to connect, move and try something new, and our career management program.

We also publish a range of mental health literacy resources that aim to help first responders and their families increase their knowledge about mental health and wellbeing, identify when they may need support and equip them with the tools to reduce stigma and boost wellbeing.

What are some of the challenges that first responders face?

Being a first responder is incredibly rewarding.

You get to help people day in and day out and have a real impact in their lives, while giving back to the community. It can, however, be dangerous, confronting, and traumatic.

It often involves working long and unpredictable hours and being in a constant state of high alert. That exposure to stress and trauma can build up over time and impact the wellbeing of our first responders.

We know that one in three first responders experiences high psychological distress from trauma experienced on the job.

The first responder community has higher rates of psychological distress, higher rates of diagnosis for mental health conditions, and higher rates of suicidal thinking and planning than the general adult population.

And that impacts the families of first responders, too.

Why does public gratitude for first responders matter?

Despite doing extraordinary things, first responders are ordinary people.

They have families, friends, commitments, and homes to go to at the end of their working day. These are people, however, who dedicate their time to protecting our communities and keeping us safe, often while receiving little thanks for what they do.

We can change that, and our appreciation goes a long way. We know that gratitude not only boosts morale but can help counterbalance the toll of repeated exposure to trauma.

It creates moments of connection, enhances team cohesion, and fosters a sense of community - all of which are critical to long-term wellbeing.

Wednesday, June 11 is Thank a First Responder Day. What do you hope to achieve with the initiative and how can people get involved?

What we want to see is an outpouring of appreciation and gratitude for our first responders, so they know just how much the community values their service.

Fortem will be holding events right around the country to say thank you, and we’ve had schools, libraries, businesses, councils, and MPs also commit to running events and holding activities that are all about giving gratitude.

It’s not too late for the community to get involved – we’re asking people to post videos of support on social media, leave a message of thanks on Fortem’s gratitude wall on our website or just go up to a first responder to say thank you.

We also want to raise awareness of the importance of wellbeing and looking after yourself.

Of course, we also want to let more first responders and their families know that Fortem is here to support them.

Finally, we invite members of the community to support Fortem’s work supporting first responders. We operate as a charity and donations can be made via our website.

Wednesday, June 11 is Thank a First Responder Day.