‘Purposeful’ and ‘steadfast’. These were the words I shared at last week’s Annual General Meeting to describe the efforts of the ATDC over the past 12 months.
I shared these words with close to 40 of our members, staff and supporters who joined us in the beautiful surroundings of Missiondale at Evandale.
You can read my full statement in our 2018-19 Annual Report, or for those who are a bit more ‘visual’ (like me) you can take a look at the graphic illustration I drew capturing the team’s key achievements.
As you will see from both documents, there is no doubt that we are a small organisation with ambitious goals, and in my annual report message I pay tribute to the passionate and hard-working team at the ATDC.
I also acknowledge the dedication of the ATDC Board who have stood alongside us as we act on issues that are not always straight forward or simple, and we thank them for that support.
My aim as CEO has always been quite simple – to have impact.
With this purposeful focus on being change-makers, it has continued to be exceptionally important to work on issues and projects that deliver impact and at all times remain steadfast to our unwavering commitment to evidence-based policy and practice.
Those following us over the past 12 months might likely point to our work to introduce a trial of pill testing as evidence of this (and we thank the anonymous member of community who nominated us for a Tasmanian Community Achievement Award for this work). Our efforts in this space is just one example of a range of projects we’ve been working on in other areas including policy development, workforce development, training and events and data-sharing.
This work will continue, alongside other projects including our efforts to address stigma and discrimination, naloxone availability and Tasmania’s justice response to problematic drug use.
It’s going to be a busy 12 months!
In closing, I’d like to refer to my final words in the annual report:
I often refer to the ATDC as a ‘boutique peak’. That is, while our sector may be small in numbers, this is one of our key strengths because it means we are uniquely placed to know exactly what we do, and why and to be agile and lead with a shared voice. It’s a very privileged role and one the ATDC does with a great sense of pride and responsibility, and I look forward to continuing our work into the year ahead.
Alison Lai
Chief Executive Officer