Hello World,

It is with enthusiasm and delight that I say “hi” for the first time as your new ATDC Chief Executive Officer. I am beyond chuffed and absolutely ready to deliver and advocate strongly on behalf of the members of the ATDC. I am lucky to have inherited a talented team of people (They are – Dan, Greg, Kyle, Ruzina, Ella and Claire – and Shanthini!) and a great board of governance to work alongside of.

To quote a visionary I know who described us and our work – “we are a boutique peak with an ambitious agenda”.

If you are one of the rare individuals who don’t know who I am here is a quick summary. I spent the first 10 years of my life on a dairy farm outside of Wynyard in a place called Oldina. I absolutely love the North West Coast of Tasmania and my parents were famers, with the red dirt and green pasture another character of my childhood. At age 12 I moved to Hobart and attended an all girls school. I then spent some time in a creative role – acting in pantomimes for 10 years, I even made it on ABC TV and performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 1992. In the mid 1990s, I attended the University of Tasmania studying politics and public policy – culminating in my postgraduate thesis on illicit drug policy in Australia between 1980-2000. While finishing my study, I worked in various roles at The Link Youth Health Service, Anglicare and the ATDC in this period.

Then in 2007, I had two children. They are now 15 and 12.

I returned to ATDC in 2015, and most recently you have known me as your Policy Manager, a role I held for 7 years.

If you know me you know I am absolutely dedicated to this field. I believe that alcohol and other drug use is a mainstream issue. I believe it is normal part of the human endeavour, but I also believe there is a disproportionate amount of ATOD  harm in some areas of society and that we can mitigate a great deal of this through evidence based policy, treatment and support. I also believe that Tasmanian public support our work and want change and reform, but that we can’t always assume this. We need to check in and listen.

Lastly I’d like to shout out to our Lived Experience Advocates who work with us, your voice is valued and tremendously important I pledge to do my bit to keep elevating your voice in our sector.

Lastly, if you want to reach me – 0438 347 056  or ceo@atdc.org.au

Let’s talk soon,
Dr Jackie Hallam
Chief Executive Officer