Celebrating women CEOs in the charity sector

Kate O’Hara, Judith Barker and Ashlee Harrison all have one thing in common – they each head up an iconic not-for-profit organisation in Western Australia, making a real impact to the people in WA.

Business News' Hearts and Minds asked the three CEOs of Foodbank WA, the Royal Flying Doctor Service Western Operations and zero2hero on International Women’s Day about their journey to the CEO seat and what it means to be an effective leader today.

How did you get into the CEO seat of your organisation?

Ashlee Harrison was 21 when she founded zero2hero, with a mission to prevent suicide after experiencing it firsthand in her family. “I have a slightly different journey to becoming a CEO than most,” Ms Harrison said.

“I founded the charity while I was starting my commerce degree at Curtin University, with the hope that no one else would have to feel the pain and suffering my family endured in the lead-up and after the loss of my stepfather to suicide.”

More than a decade later, the organisation has grown to 22 staff and last year alone impacted more than 30,000 young people in WA. “The organisation has grown and matured alongside me and my leadership ability,” she said.

Kate O’Hara, CEO of Foodbank WA, spent 20 years with Hawaiian property group before taking on her first CEO role. “I hadn’t had a CEO role before but had worked within the C-Suite for over a decade. Hawaiian first supported Foodbank during my time there and this connection gave me reason to consider the role when the recruiter reached out. The opportunity was one I couldn’t resist,” she said.

Judith Barker joined the Royal Flying Doctor Service Western Operations as CEO in October 2022, taking over from Rebecca Tomkinson. Ms Barker began her career in health and emergency services as a paramedic with St John WA, a role she didn’t anticipate leaving.

“I thought that I would stay a paramedic for my entire working life because it is an amazing job. As time went on, I wanted to find ways to improve things for both patients and staff, so I took up all the opportunities, courses and different roles that I could,” she said.

“I moved to SA Ambulance Service and started my journey again with the same approach, saying yes to anything that came my way. It was an amazing experience and time and provided me with opportunities such as managing the Triple Zero (000) call centre, disaster management, acting up as chief operating officer for an extended period, before being appointed CEO at St John Northern Territory. I was the first female to become CEO of an ambulance service in Australia.”

Taking on the RFDS WA role, Ms Barker returned to her home state of WA. “After almost five years there (in NT), the opportunity to lead RFDS WA came up, and I couldn’t say no to returning to my home state and leading an organisation that is so loved and respected in this state. Most of my family live in rural and remote WA, so it’s very meaningful.”

How would you encourage others, of all genders and backgrounds, to achieve leadership positions?

“I encourage everyone to say yes to every opportunity that comes their way,” Ms Barker said. “Try something different and stretch yourself, act up in a role for experience, take on a new project. Always be preparing for your next role, even if you don’t know what it is. Take up education and training opportunities, expand your horizons through Board and volunteering opportunities.

"Saying yes and stretching yourself will not only expand your skills and experience; it will also increase your networks and expose you to further opportunities.”

Being passionate about people and culture is a must for any leader, Ms O’Hara explained. “To be an effective leader, you need to motivate your team to deliver on the strategy. Your investment in people and the parameters you set for them will determine your success. This means you have to be naturally interested in people and what makes them tick.”

“I believe that leadership is achieved through a combination of having a strong, clear vision, value alignment and a lot of hard work,” Ms Harrison said.

What does good leadership mean to you, now and in the future?

“I believe the greatest attributes a leader can have today and into the future are authenticity, humility and passion. Leadership is more than influencing others, it’s inspiring others to be the best version of themselves,” Ms Harrison said.

“My approach to leadership is about providing a clear vision that I am visibly passionate about. How I operate and interact sets the tone for the rest of the organisation,” Ms O’Hara said.

Ensuring there are opportunities for each person to have success in their roles and creating a supportive environment is important for the leaders of tomorrow, Ms O'Hara said.

“The future looks very much to be one where good leaders will become those that couple work flexibility with high accountability. Leaders will need to provide their teams a working environment that supports other aspects of their teams’ lives yet ensure that the outcomes needed for delivery of their organisational goals are accountable and achieved,” Ms O’Hara said.

Ms Barker said good leadership includes the “textbook” answers of setting the direction, the vision and the mission, and being clear on the measures and the pathway. She added, “More than anything good leadership is about our teams, our people and, most importantly, being clear on the values and behaviours that we will all abide by.

“Good culture and good leadership start at the top, but it cannot be achieved by one person alone. We must all agree on the culture we want and then as leaders, no matter our position, must create a safe workplace for a positive culture,” Ms Barker said.

“Being a good leader is about creating a better place and a better environment for future leaders. I would love to see a future of leadership where diversity is no longer a focus, because we have created an environment where it is firmly embedded.”

What is the most challenging part of your job?

“People are the greatest asset of any business or organisation but managing and supporting a team is also the greatest challenge for businesses today. Whether it’s supporting and motivating your team, meeting the needs of your customers or achieving your vision for those you exist to serve, people and their needs and emotions is the greatest variable I deal with on a day-to-day basis,” Ms Harrison said.

For Ms Barker, managing expectations and priorities – her own, her teams’ and the communities they serve – is the biggest challenge. “There is so much that RFDS WA can do, we have so much capability and there is so much inequity in health care across rural and remote areas, but there is only so much capacity within the organisation,” she said.

For the Foodbank WA CEO, it’s convincing stakeholders. “Not being seen by those that have the opportunity to change it,” she said. “There are too many people under high levels of food insecurity in a country that shouldn’t have any food stress. But not every stakeholder sees this and those that have the ability to change this situation do not take the significant steps to introduce this change,” she explained.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

“Working with the amazing people at RFDS WA, seeing their drive and their passion. When I am having a tough day or a tired moment there is nothing like wandering into our operations centre and talking to our team managing the coordination of our planes and patients and just feeling part of what we do for our community every day,” Ms Barker said.

“I also love talking to people in the regional towns I visit or at the events I go to and hearing their stories about how RFDS has helped them or a family member and being reminded that while we have so much more to do, the organisation does make a huge, positive impact.”

For Ms Harrison, it’s making a difference to the lives of young people. “I can hand on heart say that because of our programs, because of our work in the past 10 years, hundreds of thousands of young people are now better supported to support themselves,” Ms Harrison said.

“It’s the little things,” Ms O’Hara said. “The gratitude of a card holder with a full trolley of food. The satisfaction of a program participant, enjoying the food they have just made. The reaction of a colleague after connecting with a stakeholder.”

About the organisations

The RFDS in WA employees around 400 doctors, flight nurses, pilots, logistics coordinators, engineers and support teams who are located at five bases across the state. The service has 22 aircraft and transfers more than 10 thousand patients per year, an average of 28 per day. The organisation was founded by Reverend John Flynn in 1928. Read about why pilots are choosing to work with the Royal Flying Doctor Service over commercial airlines.

Foodbank WA has been operating in WA for 30 years, with a mission to fill empty plates and fight for change. With more than 388,000 households facing food insecurity in WA, the not-for-profit feeds hundreds of thousands of people in need across the state every year. In 2023, Foodbank WA provided 9.2 million meals across the state, the equivalent of 5.1 million tonnes. Read more about Foodbank’s 30-year history.

zero2hero has empowered more than 220,000 young people in WA through its mental health and suicide prevention education and programs. Today, zero2hero employs 22 people, and last year alone impacted more than 30,000 young people in WA. Read more about zero2hero’s 10-year history of saving young lives.