Lively CEO announcement
We have some big news at Lively: the transition of our beloved Founder and CEO, Anna onto her next venture and passing the CEO baton to our former Helper Coordinator, Robin.
Let's hear some words from the two about this transition.
From Anna:
“After 10 extraordinary, challenging and joyous years, the time has come for me to pass on my role as CEO at Lively, and to continue pursuing our mission through a new and broader venture.
All who know me will be aware that my passion for Lively has always been based
on my deep belief that our society should
better value, engage with and support older community members. In recent years at Lively, I’ve been so incredibly proud to see our model sparking the kinds of meaningful and transformative connections between young and older people that I always hoped Lively would become a vehicle for. I continue to believe that these sorts of connections across the generations have a hugely important role to play in contributing to the cultural change around ageing that I’m so passionate about.
And yet, the job to change our culture and systems is a huge one – and not one that any single organisation can take on alone. I believe that it will need those leading innovative solutions like Lively to come together with other changemakers, the broader community and existing formal systems to start envisaging the future we really want for us all as we age, paving practical paths forward, and rallying engagement and momentum. I feel that the spaces and opportunities for us to do this meaningfully are currently lacking in the ecosystem, and that huge opportunity for change is therefore going unrealised.
And so, with an incredibly passionate and brilliant team of people around me at Lively – all of whom are so committed to carrying our mission forward – I recently reached the difficult decision that I could make my biggest contribution by moving on from Lively and launching a new venture – ‘Good Flock’. Good Flock will connect changemakers, community members and system stakeholders in supportive and trust-based ways to imagine a better future of ageing, and to nurture the changes in individuals, communities and organisations that will be needed to get us there.
As my first step on this new journey, I’m hopping in a caravan with my young family and travelling around Australia, seeking out changemakers in diverse communities and learning about the experiences and challenges of ageing across different corners of the country. Amidst the excitement of this big next step has, of course, been a great deal of sadness and grief as I say farewell to this ‘organisation’ that has been so much more like a home and a family to me for the past 10 years. Bringing the Lively model into the world with all current and past contributors has been one of the most meaningful, fun and fulfilling experiences of my life, and I will forever treasure the relationships and experiences I have had here.
I look forward to watching Lively go from strength to strength, and to continue supporting its progress through the work of the Good Flock network. My deepest thanks go to all who have supported me on this journey, and to the amazing team who will take the work forward. I am particularly grateful to my dear friend and long-time collaborator, Robin, for stepping into the role of interim CEO as the organisation moves into this exciting new chapter." - Anna, Executive Director, Good Flock
From Robin:
"It was with great sadness that recently our team farewelled the incomparable Anna, who has been a beloved colleague, leader and friend through the ups and and downs of starting a new business, as well as a fellow traveller through a number major life events for our team—marriages, a global pandemic, entering our 30s, the arrival of children! But we are so excited to be sending her off into her next great adventure. We know great things are around the corner, and we can't wait to see all that she will achieve with her new venture and network, Good Flock, of which we are proud community members!
At Lively, it's a testament to the strength of the community we have built together that our team has otherwise remained unaltered throughout this time of significant change, never letting go of our shared vision of a community in which older and younger people are connected, are honoured and respected. We want to see Lively through this next phase of its development so that it can continue to thrive for a long time to come.
Having worked at Lively for over five years in the development of our Helper program, I was honoured and excited to step into the CEO role on an interim basis as we chart this next phase of Lively's journey, working closely with long-time Lively colleagues, Paul and Sophia. To me, Lively is a vision of hope and possibility for a more caring and connected community, one that treasures and learns from its elders, and nurtures and supports its young people; I am continually inspired by the incredible ingenuity, creativity and resourcefulness of our helpers and members in their work together.
This year we want to grow our reach at Lively and create more meaningful relationships across the generations by expanding our work with local councils and aged care providers, and offer a position that can provide a strong and stable financial base to our young employees. We're so grateful to the support of Anna and our board as we embark on this next important stage of the journey, and to the new friends we're making as we set sail!" - Robin, interim CEO, Lively
Left: Robin and Anna at the recent ARIIA
(Aged Care Research and Innovation Australia) conference in Adelaide
Meanwhile, the team at Lively HQ are full steam ahead, tweaking and refining tech systems and processes, enabling helpers to step into more responsibility in office operations and the helper team are continuing to wow their members with their enthusiasm to support practical needs and learn from their older friends!
We'll be dropping more blog-style posts here from time to time, so keep your eye out!
In the meantime you might be interested to listen to some of these gorgeous mindful audio stories in the DREAMY series. Written and spoken by several Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, the stories are created to help the listener to slow down and connect to Country. Brought to you by Common Ground.
"The 2 that I listened to were only 13 minutes long, but I felt myself transported far away from my desk and held by Country. A blissful and touching experience." - Sophia, Community Relations Builder, Lively.
تعليقات