Our Staff

The MJD Foundation has around 50 staff members, ranging from clinical nurses and allied health professionals to family support workers, Aboriginal community/health workers, managers and administrative support. 45% of our staff are Aboriginal and 15% are Living with a Disability. We also rely on a team of volunteers to support some of our programs.

Executive Management Team

Greg Arnott

Chief Executive Officer

Greg has strong Executive experience and proven expertise in local government, statutory organisations and the not-for-profit sector. He has highly developed and demonstrated skills in Corporate Governance with particular interest in organisation financial sustainability, organisation culture and governance.
One of Greg's strengths is his ability to build strategic alliances by engaging with stakeholders in a formal and informal environment, exceeding expectations and delivering on agreed outcomes. He possess highly developed interpersonal, oral and written communication skills with excellent public speaking, presentation and facilitation skills and outstanding skills in negotiation. In his roles in corporate and community services, Greg has excelled in consultation with diverse groups of stakeholders, negotiation of complex agreements and conflict resolution of protracted disputes.

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Libby Massey OAM

Director, Research and Education

Libby grew up at Angurugu on Groote Eylandt and her family lived there for nearly 40 years.

She has known the Groote MJD families since she was a small child and having had the opportunity to study Occupational Therapy, Public Health and Law, ‘down south’ believes passionately in the need to provide equality in care options in remote communities.

In collaboration with Anglicare NT, Libby project managed the development of the Aged Care Facility at Angurugu and helped establish the programs that operate from it. She saw the MJD Foundation as the logical next step to secure a dignified future for the families with MJD on Groote Eylandt and across the other remote communities where it occurs.

Libby is responsible for the MJDF's Research and Education programs.

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Gayangwa Lalara OAM

Director / Senior Cultural Advisor

Gayangwa is a Warnindilyakwa woman of Groote Eylandt. She is 79 years old, and Machado Joseph Disease has been a part of her life as long as she can remember.

Her father developed the disease when he was an older man, and all 6 of her brothers and sisters were affected by their 40s. She was the primary carer for two of her sisters’ children for over 15 years. Now the third generation of her family is sick - her 21 year old niece passed away in 2014, and she has nieces, nephews and grandchildren with the disease.

Few people have the insight and experiences living with the disease that Gayangwa has, and she brings to her role within the MJD Foundation a fierce determination to improve life for her family. Her journey through ‘shame' and ‘blame' to proud champion is an encouragement to the many people she meets and her quiet dignity and perseverance for them is an inspiration.

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Vanessa Schuurman

HR Manager

Vanessa joined the MJD Foundation in October 2021 as our HR Manager. Vanessa is based in Darwin, from where she supports us on all human resources related matters.

Vanessa grew up living in a few countries on various continents, but lived in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) for most of her life before coming to Australia in 2015. Vanessa is a Work & Organisational Psychologist, who specialised in human resources management. Vanessa has a special interest in organisational culture and looking for more meaningful & innovative approaches to management and performance. She is a strong advocate and believer in empowerment and self-management. When Vanessa isn’t caught up with her busy family with 4 young children, she enjoys camping, nature, music, hanging out with friends and practising the art of storytelling…..and might even enjoy the chance to read a book every now and then!

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Jacquie Hatt

Chief Operations Officer

Jacquie joined the MJD Foundation in November 2022 as the Chief Operating Officer. Jacquie has a long history of working and living in remote communities and in organisations supporting improved health and wellbeing for First Nations people. Jacquie is passionate about improving organisations’ business systems and processes so they can focus on helping those in need. She has extensive experience in people leadership, strategy, performance monitoring, risk and governance, and holds a Graduate Certificate in Applied Business.

In her personal life, Jacquie finds peace in exploring the outdoors, cooking up a storm for family and hanging out with her teenage sons.

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