Distinguished Professor Sharynne McLeod, one of the world's leading experts in language acquisition, speech pathology and childhood communication, will address our club at the meeting this Thursday, March 27.
Professor McLeod, Ph.D. is the Director of the Children's Voices Centre and a Distinguished Professor at Charles Sturt University specialising in speech and language acquisition. She is a speech-language pathologist and her transformative research foregrounds communication rights and social justice.
She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences of Australia and the Royal Society of New South Wales. She has advocated for communication rights at the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Professor McLeod is regularly named Australia’s Research Field Leader in Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology and “best in the world based on the quality, volume and impact of work” by The Australian Newspaper and has been named as one of Stanford University-Elsevier’s World’s Top 2% Scientists.
Please share our regular meeting link with any trusted friends or guests you wish to invite, or feel free to share this pre-registration link publicly: https://forms.gle/17bjfYySjyWD5RHs9
Bruce Harvey, Honourary Rotarian
The Board has extended an invitation of honourary membership to Bruce Harvey, who retired from our club and Rotary after many years of service at the end of 2024. Welcome back to the fold, Bruce!
Assessing Community Needs and Club Capacity
At our last meeting, members took a deep dive into their experiences and the evolving needs of our communities. In breakout discussions, they highlighted the profound impact of Rotary’s youth programs—transforming lives by building skills, confidence, and engagement. They also reflected on how Rotary plays a vital role in raising awareness of both local and global issues, inspiring meaningful action.
However, challenges are emerging. Traditional fundraising methods are losing ground to crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe, signaling a need for fresh engagement strategies. Members also saw a gap in communicating Rotary’s impact—people need to see where their contributions go. An outdated website was another concern, with calls for a revamp to better showcase the club’s work and attract new members.
During a needs assessment exercise, members identified key community priorities and explored ways the club could make a difference. Moving forward, the Board will analyse the results, focusing on high-impact projects that align with Rotary’s strengths. Partnering with existing organizations is also on the table, reinforcing the club’s commitment to creating lasting change.
Thank you to those who participated in this discussion session so enthusiastically.
Meeting Information
The Rotary eClub of Brindabella meets online via Zoom on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at 8 pm Canberra/Sydney time.
Download a meeting reminder to your calendar by clicking here (note, this will add a weekly meeting to your calendar, but the club will only meet on 2nd & 4th Thursdays).
