Staff

Julia Hardaker - Executive Officer 

Julia’s background is in health and community development. She has worked primarily in management in the Non-Government, Not for Profit programs sector in NSW, the NT and in Afghanistan. She has studied Aboriginal Community Development and Peace Studies. In Afghanistan she provided support to programs in remote Health Clinics and developed multiple training packages from Leadership to Peace Building Programs. Her second role in Kabul was as a Management Advisor to an Afghan Women’s Resource Centre, assisting the organisation to centralize its programs and management in Kabul. Julia was the Coordinator of an Indigenous Health Care Program in the Southern Barkly Communities in the NT prior to moving to Darwin to take up the position with AMRRIC.

Jan Allen - Program Manager

Jan has been AMRRIC’s Program Manager since September 2008. Her passion for the bigger picture of dog management has progressed from many years vetting in small animal practices in Tasmania and New South Wales and developed in Samoa. As an AVI volunteer working with the Animal Protection Society Samoa , she gained experience in community development, media, capacity building, liaising with governments and local communities and community and school education. AMRRIC’s Dog People Conference, 2006, was an inspiring introduction to work in Indigenous communities at home in Australia. So Jan left the beautiful north coast of NSW again and returned to the tropics – this time to Darwin - where she worked at the ARK Animal Hospital gaining experience in the Indigenous communities of Australia’s Top End and central desert areas. Jan’s position as AMRRIC’s Program Manager continues to generate an ever-changing variety of challenges.

Dr Sophie Constable - Education Officer 

Sophie has been the AMRRIC Education Officer since 2010.  She has academic qualifications as a Veterinarian, in Indigenous Education, and in Public Health. She has worked in the field in pet education programs in urban, rural and remote Indigenous communities.She also worked for AVA and RSPCA (NSW) running school pet education programs in towns such as Bourke, Brewarina, Engonnia, Grifffith, Walgett, Collarenebri, and Dubbo. More recently Sophie has been involved in designing, implementing and coordinating community education and training programs in rural and remote Indigenous communities around Australia including Tiwi Islands NT, Ti Tree NT, Bidyadanga WA, and Yarrabah Qld as part of her PhD through the University of Sydney.

Eileen Fletcher - Admin Officer

Eileen was born in the UK, raised in Australia and moved back to the UK. She worked with horses, trained as a farm secretary, became interested in animal welfare, adopted the dog from hell, was failed by traditional training methods, set out to learn more, and found out about the science of operant and classical conditioning and positive reinforcement. She started fostering and training, went to all the workshops, decided to move back to Australia with her husband then did a Cert IV in Companion Animal Training through the Delta Society. She worked as a Local Laws Officer for Townsville City Council, worked at James Cook University concurrently in the accounts dept and also teaching veterinary students about practical dog handling and training while running her own business - Calmer Canines. Eileen fostered dogs for Greyhound Adoption Program and the RSPCA QLD. Her husband (in the ADF) was posted to Darwin and the Eileen found her dream job at AMRRIC. ‘How lucky am,' she said, ‘ I am thrilled to be working with a group of passionate people who share the same values and ideals about companion animals that I do’. 

John Skuja - Project Manager

John grew up outside of Sydney and completed High School at Hurlstone Agricultural High School. He went on to complete a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at Sydney. He found Suburban Veterinary practice interesting but not entirely satisfying and was attracted to the intensity and consequence of veterinary emergency work. He also became involved with veterinary based community development programs overseas through Vets Beyond Borders and was a board member for some time. His employment with AMRRIC is the fulfilment of a long held dream to be living in the remote North of the country and working with Indigenous communities.