WSYD Moving Systems Leadership Program Underway
It’s been a real privilege to launch and now continue the inaugural WSYD Moving Systems Leadership Program.
Our first session was held in February at the Blacktown Exercise, Sport and Technology Hub (BEST), bringing together 22 cross-sector leaders from across government, health, sport, academia and community. This program is a key next step from our co-authored White Paper with the Centre for Western Sydney at Western Sydney University focused on building the capability and capacity of the system to reduce inactivity and inequity through collaborative, cross-sector action.
Over the nine-month journey, participants will engage in five full-day sessions alongside an applied learning project creating real-world impact and ripple effects across Western Sydney.
The first session centred on context, health equity and leading self, grounded in the Inner Development Goals alongside an exploration of the health system and its role in shaping more active, connected communities.
The program continued in March with our second session at Bankstown Sports Club.
It was great to have Richard McInnes Executive General Manager - Sport & Community Capability from the Australian Sports Commission as our guest speaker, bringing valuable insight into the sport system and the Play Well Strategy and importantly, challenging our thinking.
We continued to layer the program, diving deeper into systems thinking, systems leadership and change. The facilitated debates were a real highlight creating strong energy in the room, with healthy challenge, reflection and shared learning across the cohort.
What continues to stand out is the way this group is showing up with openness, curiosity and a genuine commitment to change.
We’re proud to have an incredible group of leaders as part of the inaugural cohort, including:
Carly McPherson — Professional Learning Officer, Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation NSW
Chin Moi Chow — Associate Professor, The University of Sydney
Clara Chu — General Practitioner, Norwest General Practice
Harrison Barrett — Para Planner, Planning Delivery, Bradfield Development Authority
Jessica Allison — Team Leader Sports and Leisure Operations, Camden Council
Kym Rizzo Liu — Project Manager; PDHPE Teacher, Prevention Education and Research Unit & WSLHD
Laura Foley — Research Assistant, School of Population Health, University of New South Wales
Leila Braimah — Community Engagement Manager, BlueFit
Melinda Alushaj — Leisure Wellbeing Engagement Lead NSW/ACT, Uniting
Michael Hanratty — Sport and Community Partnerships Manager, Bankstown Sports Club
Michelle Nolan — Director Health Promotion, South Western Sydney Local Health District
Naskaya Rajah — Inclusion & Community Manager, Tennis NSW
Nicole Rebera — Education and Community Programs Coordinator, Greater Sydney Parklands
Patrick O'Meara — Senior Social and Community Planner, Camden Council
Raj Panchal — Cricket Manager (Western Sydney - Blacktown), Cricket NSW
Rebecca Reynolds — Recreation Development Officer, City of Parramatta
Roger Lay — Project Officer, Multicultural Program, Office of the Chief Executive, Cancer Institute NSW
Saaz Kaur Sahdra — PhD Student and Founder/Chair, University of Sydney and Kaur Sports Inc.
Sneha Subramaniam — Diversity and Inclusion Manager NSW/ACT, AFL
Stephanie Rennie — Senior Project Officer, South Western Sydney Local Health District
Tracy Puckeridge — Chief Executive Officer, Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation NSW
Ursula Gleeson — Executive Officer NSW/ACT & QLD, Parks and Leisure Australia
A huge thank you to Martin Sheppard and Smart Connection Consultancy for backing this work as our inaugural sponsor.
We’re excited to see how this cohort translates learning into action over the coming months, creating ripples across Western Sydney. We’ll keep you updated on their progress, with learnings shared back with the system at this year’s WSYD Moving Symposium.