New chief set to bring ideas to Clubhouse
AFTER a year with interim chief executive officer Jo Sheppard, Toowoomba Clubhouse is ready to announce its new CEO.
After a distinguished career in the not-for-profit sector, Deborah Bailey is set to take the reins of the mental health support organisation and steer it through some exciting times.
Mrs Bailey said the roll-out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme made it a complex, but fascinating time to get involved with an organisation like Toowoomba Clubhouse.
She said it was also an unfortunate reality that the mental health industry was a fast-growing one.
Mrs Bailey said she was soon set to finish up in her current role as director of operations for Queensland Museum and was scheduled to start the new position on May 29.
“At the moment I’m based out of Cobb and Co here in Toowoomba, but I was here a bit before that doing not-for-profit work,” she said.
“I’m originally from Mackay but I’ve been here about 13 years and I’m very happily settled.”
She said while her role
with the Queensland Museum was a satisfying one, she found herself on the road more often than she liked, especially while raising three young boys.
So when the position of Clubhouse CEO came up, she leapt at the opportunity.
“It’s a really lovely organisation and Toowoomba based, and I get to work with a great team and help them to deliver some really positive outcomes,” She said.
“I’m pretty passionate about Toowoomba and love the place, so anything I can do to make it better is great.”
Toowoomba Clubhouse management committee president Professor Peter Swannell said the organisation was thrilled to have Mrs Bailey on board.
He said the Clubhouse had about 600 members and the team saw up to 60 people daily.
He said they were fortunate to have such a fantastic interim CEO in Jo Sheppard and looked forward to an exciting future with Mrs Bailey.
The committee believed Mrs Bailey had the perfect skill set to not only continue the work of former CEO Luke Terry, but to drive and grow the organisation to new levels.
“She is a very driven individual and the kind to drive the Clubhouse,” Prof Swannell said.
“It’s at an exciting stage because the NDIS is transitioning to the region and that presents a lot of opportunities and challenges.”