25 Essential Leaders in Albury-Wodonga, Australia (2026)

Last updated: June 2026

Albury-Wodonga is one of the most productive leadership communities in regional Australia, and most people outside the Murray River region have no idea. This directory brings together 25 of the leaders genuinely shaping the Border in 2026, selected on the basis of documented contribution to their field, active engagement with ideas and community, and a confirmed current role in the region. As of June 2026, these are the voices from Albury-Wodonga that deserve to be on every leadership radar in the country.

Albury-Wodonga sits on the border of New South Wales and Victoria, straddling the Murray River that has defined the region for generations. With a combined population of around 100,000 people across both cities, it is the largest inland city on the Murray, operating as a genuine cross-border community. The region carries the unique tension and creative energy that comes from governing across two state systems, two health jurisdictions, and two sets of local government, while maintaining a shared civic identity captured in the phrase Two Cities One Community.

As of June 2026, the Albury Wodonga Business Awards attracted 159 entries across 15 categories, a record number reflecting the strength and confidence of the region's business community. TEDxAlbury held its inaugural event in October 2025 at the Albury Entertainment Centre, drawing eight speakers and a cross-border audience hungry for ideas. Business Women Albury Wodonga celebrated its 15th year of supporting women in enterprise along the Border. These are not the signs of a region waiting to be discovered. They are the signs of a region already building.

The leaders on this list span civic life, business, health, education, creative practice, technology, agriculture, and cultural leadership. Some are running organisations that employ hundreds of people. Some are building new models of care or enterprise from scratch. Some are changing the national conversation from a platform that happens to be based on the Border. Together, they give a picture of what genuine regional leadership looks like when it is rooted in place and driven by purpose.

Book Jonno White for your next leadership event, executive offsite, or Working Genius workshop in regional Australia. Whether your organisation is in Albury-Wodonga or anywhere across the country, reach out at jonno@consultclarity.org. International travel is often far more affordable than expected, and Jonno regularly delivers in person in regional communities across Australia.

Why Leadership in Albury-Wodonga Matters

Regional leadership is some of the most demanding leadership in the country. The leaders running organisations in Albury-Wodonga do not have access to the deep talent pools, specialised infrastructure, or institutional support that their counterparts in Sydney and Melbourne take for granted. They build with what they have. They govern across state lines. They serve communities that rely on a smaller number of organisations to carry a greater share of civic and economic life.

The cross-border structure of Albury-Wodonga adds a dimension that most regional cities do not face. Decisions about health, transport, education, and economic development require constant negotiation between New South Wales and Victorian systems that were designed independently. The leaders who thrive here develop a particular skill set: the ability to work across boundaries, to build coalitions where institutional frameworks create barriers, and to hold a shared vision for a region that two state governments sometimes treat as an afterthought.

The approximately 7,000 businesses across the region fuel an economy grounded in manufacturing, health care, public administration, retail, and agriculture. The organisations leading those sectors, and the individuals leading those organisations, carry the weight of a regional economy that supports a population spread across two states. According to the 2025 Albury Wodonga Business Awards, which attracted entries across 15 categories from 159 businesses, the breadth and confidence of the local business community continues to grow year on year.

The leaders who shape Albury-Wodonga are not household names in the national conversation. That is exactly why this directory exists.

How This List Was Compiled

Each person on this list was selected for a documented, fact-checked contribution to their field in the Albury-Wodonga region, confirmed current as of June 2026. Selection criteria included active public engagement with ideas, verifiable contribution to business, civic, cultural, or community life in the region, and a confirmed current role. The list spans both Albury and Wodonga, reflects gender diversity, and covers a range of sectors from business and health to education, creative practice, and Indigenous cultural leadership.

The Leaders

1. Glen Robinson

Albury Business Connect

Glen Robinson serves as General Manager of Albury Business Connect, the Albury area chamber of commerce representing more than 400 businesses from sole traders through to large organisations across the Albury local government area. In that role he is the most consistent public voice on the health and direction of the local business community, regularly commenting on economic conditions, business confidence, and the significance of the annual Albury Wodonga Business Awards.

Under his leadership, the Albury Wodonga Business Awards has grown into a record-breaking programme. The 2025 edition attracted 159 entries across 15 categories, its highest number to date, with Robinson describing the result as a reflection of just how strong and adaptable the business community is on the Border. He also leads the Albury Business Connect events calendar, including Business Before Hours, Business After Hours, and the Business Women Albury Wodonga programme, ensuring the chamber serves the full range of businesses in the region.

2. Sonya McIntyre-Reid

Linchpin Digital

Sonya McIntyre-Reid is the founder and director of Linchpin Digital, a digital marketing agency based in Albury, and the host of the Boom Your Biz Podcast. Since establishing Linchpin in its current form in 2015, she has built a practice spanning digital marketing strategy, online brand development, and business advisory services for clients across the region and beyond. Her background spans higher education, real estate coaching, not-for-profit, and facility management, giving her an unusually broad lens on the challenges small and medium businesses face.

Her work as a podcast host extends her reach well beyond the Border, contributing to the broader conversation about how regional business owners can grow their presence and their confidence in the digital space. The Boom Your Biz Podcast covers marketing, business mindset, and practical strategy for business owners at all stages. Sonya was recognised as a finalist for Outstanding Business Leader Under 35 at the Albury Wodonga Business Awards.

3. Kara Chanter

Dying to Help

Kara Chanter is the founder of Dying to Help, a Wodonga-based practice supporting individuals and families through non-medical end-of-life needs, grief support, and pet loss. She brings more than a decade of experience in palliative care nursing to a distinctive model of care that treats dying, death, and grief as deeply human experiences rather than purely clinical ones. She also operates D2H Supports, her NDIS arm, offering personalised, participant-led care as an independent support worker.

In October 2025 she spoke at the inaugural TEDxAlbury event, sharing her mission to make conversations about death, dying, and grief more accessible and honest. The talk drew significant response from the Border community. Kara was also named Albury City's Creative Citizen of the Year in 2025, recognised as a Business Women Albury Wodonga committee member, and named a finalist for Outstanding Young Business Person at the 2025 Albury Wodonga Business Awards. She is a 2025 alumna of the Albury-Wodonga Connections Leadership Programme.

4. Julia Brown

Upstream Communication

Julia Brown is the founder and director of Upstream Communication, a strategic engagement and communications consultancy based in Albury on Wiradjuri Country. Her work helps organisations build trust, navigate change, and connect with the people they serve through strategic engagement, marketing, and communications solutions grounded in deep listening and practical momentum. She also created Space Inside Yourself, a self-guided journal supporting people through change.

At the inaugural TEDxAlbury event in October 2025, Julia spoke on meaningful communication and community connection, drawing on her work across the public and not-for-profit sectors. Her background combines journalism, community engagement, and years of working with organisations to translate complexity into clarity. She brings particular expertise to organisations navigating institutional change, stakeholder relationships, and community trust.

5. Helen Haines

Australian Federal Parliament

Dr Helen Haines is the Independent Member for Indi, re-elected to the Australian Federal Parliament for a third term in July 2025. Wodonga sits within the Division of Indi, making Helen Haines the direct federal voice for the Victorian side of the cross-border community. A former nurse, midwife, health researcher, and holder of a PhD in Medical Science, she brings unusual depth to her advocacy on regional health infrastructure, rural workforce development, and integrity in public life.

Her third-term priorities include health system reform, housing, energy, and childcare, and she has been a consistent advocate for Commonwealth investment in regional hospitals. Her advocacy has produced tangible results: the 2025-2026 federal budget included commitments to train 200 rural GPs per year by 2028, reflecting priorities she had formally submitted to key ministers. Her independence from the major party structures has allowed her to hold successive governments to account on regional issues that often fall through the political gaps between NSW and Victoria.

6. Jenn Donovan

Social Media and Marketing

Jenn Donovan is a marketing strategist, author, and podcast host based in the Albury-Wodonga region. She is the founder of Social Media and Marketing, a business advisory practice, and the host of the Small Business Made Simple Podcast, ranked in the top 1.5 percent globally. Her book Small Town Big Impact: 107 Simple Marketing Strategies for Regional Business Success is a direct resource for business owners navigating the particular marketing challenges of regional communities.

She is a regular face in the Albury Business Connect community and a facilitator of business retreats for women in enterprise, including workshops specifically focused on LinkedIn and digital strategy for regional business owners. Her practical, no-nonsense approach to marketing has built a following well beyond the Border, while her work remains rooted in the genuine challenges of building a business from a regional base.

7. Ann-Maree Imrie

TEDxAlbury

Ann-Maree Imrie is the co-founder and organiser of TEDxAlbury, which she brought to the Border community after relocating to Albury-Wodonga 18 months prior. The inaugural TEDxAlbury event ran on 25 October 2025 at the Albury Entertainment Centre, drawing eight local speakers on the theme of Awaken, Adapt, Evolve. Sixty-six applications were received from across Australia, and the judging panel prioritised local voices to ensure the event genuinely reflected the cross-border community.

Building a licensed TEDx event in a regional city is a significant undertaking: securing the licence from the TED organisation in Canada alone took four weeks of detailed application work. The achievement of running a first event to this standard, drawing serious attendance and national media coverage, reflects Imrie's conviction that the ideas worth spreading do not only originate in capital cities. TEDxAlbury is returning in 2026.

8. Graeme Simpfendorfer

Peregrine Consultancy

Graeme Simpfendorfer is the Director of Peregrine Consultancy, a Wodonga-based investigations and consulting practice specialising in fire investigation. He is also the Lead Investigator on Hunted Australia, Channel 10's Logie-nominated reality series in which he leads an expert team tracking civilian fugitives across the country. His 27-year career as a Victoria Police detective, including roles in homicide, armed robbery, and sex crimes investigations, gives him a perspective on human behaviour, evidence, and community safety that is rare in any leadership community.

Beyond his screen profile, Graeme has served as a board member of the Centre Against Violence in Wodonga and as a former Deputy Mayor of the City of Wodonga. He spoke at the inaugural TEDxAlbury in 2025 on redefining what it means to be a man in today's world, challenging men in the Border community to lead with courage, vulnerability, and integrity. He is a graduate of Charles Sturt University's fire investigations programme.

9. Chi Chi Wang

C.C.Within

Chi Chi Wang is the founder of C.C.Within and a self-image facilitator and author who works with individuals breaking free from body shame and rebuilding lasting self-worth. Based in Albury-Wodonga, her practice addresses the intersection of body image, identity, and confidence, offering workshops, coaching, and written resources that support people in rethinking how they see themselves.

Chi Chi spoke at the inaugural TEDxAlbury event in October 2025, bringing her message to the Border's public stage and extending her reach through the event's recording and distribution. Her work is grounded in her personal journey and sits at the intersection of mental health, wellbeing, and community empowerment. Her approach to self-image facilitation operates as a genuine community resource, particularly for women and young people in the region.

10. Heather Paterson

Border Urgent Care Centre

Dr Heather Paterson is the founder and director of Border Urgent Care Centre in Albury-Wodonga, a practice established after more than two decades in general practice to meet the region's need for accessible, high-quality urgent care. Based in the Greater Albury-Wodonga area and a Charles Sturt University alumna, Dr Paterson maintains an active LinkedIn presence, contributing to national conversations about regional healthcare access, general practice reform, and the GP workforce crisis.

These posts address issues including the challenges facing private practice and the structural pressures on regional medical services. Border Urgent Care Centre operates as a genuine community resource in a region where the pressures on primary and urgent care have been acute during the turbulent period of transition at Albury Wodonga Health. Dr Paterson's practitioner perspective contributes to policy discussions that too often take a capital-city lens.

11. Kylie King

AlburyCity

Cr Kylie King is a councillor on AlburyCity, having served two terms as Mayor from 2022 to 2024, during which she was the first woman in the role in more than a decade and also served as Chair of Regional Capitals Australia, the alliance of regional city mayors that advocates to federal government on economic and social issues. In 2024 she was also elected Deputy Chair of the Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation, representing 11 regional councils collectively to the NSW state government.

Beyond her civic role, Kylie is a long-serving motorsports broadcaster for Network Ten and Supercars Media, a local radio breakfast co-host, and the operator of her own communications business. She is a founding member of Business Women Albury Wodonga and has spent more than a decade actively working to increase the visibility of women in leadership, business, sport, and media in the Border community.

12. Kellie Davies

TEDxAlbury

Kellie Davies is the co-founder and co-organiser of TEDxAlbury, working alongside Ann-Maree Imrie to bring the inaugural event to the Border in October 2025. A long-time local of Albury-Wodonga, she brings more than three decades of experience in communications, marketing, community engagement, and creative strategy across the public and not-for-profit sectors. Her background in journalism informs her approach to building an event platform designed to amplify diverse voices and connect local stories to the global TEDx community.

Her commitment to the region shapes the event's character: TEDxAlbury is explicitly both an Albury and a Wodonga project, built with the cross-border community in mind. Kellie's experience in complex stakeholder communications and her deep local networks have been central to establishing an event that positioned the Border as a genuine contributor to the national ideas landscape.

13. Melinda Harmer

Generations Personal and Professional Advice

Melinda Harmer is a financial planner at Generations Personal and Professional Advice, a Wodonga-based practice serving clients across the Albury-Wodonga region, Yarrawonga, and North East Victoria. She was recognised as Highly Commended in the Outstanding Business Leader (Over 35) category at the 2025 Optus Albury Wodonga Business Awards, and has been a regular contributor to Business Women Albury Wodonga events as a financial planning voice in workshops focused on women's wealth and financial education.

Her work at Generations spans financial planning for individuals and families at different life stages, with particular focus on advice that is practical, accessible, and tailored to the financial realities of regional clients. The firm covers investment, superannuation, aged care advice, and personal financial planning, and her role reflects a practice built around the long-term financial wellbeing of cross-border community members.

14. Matthew Anderson

Albury-Wodonga Toastmasters

Matthew Anderson is the Vice-President of Education at Albury-Wodonga Toastmasters and a horror fiction writer and public speaking educator who moved to Albury-Wodonga during the COVID-19 pandemic. He spoke at the inaugural TEDxAlbury event in October 2025, contributing a perspective on storytelling, horror as a literary form, and the breadth of human experience. He is also a podcaster, discussing children's literature, writing, and the craft of horror fiction.

His work at Toastmasters reflects a genuine commitment to developing public speaking and leadership capabilities in the local community. As VP Education he designs the club's educational programme and supports members in building confidence, clarity, and communication skills. His broader creative practice, which spans horror fiction, podcasting, and community event involvement, makes him one of the more distinctive voices contributing to the Border's cultural and intellectual life.

15. Brendon Hyndman

Charles Sturt University

Associate Professor Brendon Hyndman is an educator, researcher, and systems thinker at Charles Sturt University's Albury-Wodonga campus, where he has spent two decades researching how everyday school environments shape children's health, behaviour, and futures. His research on school play, physical activity, and learning has been featured internationally and has influenced teachers, school leaders, and policymakers across the world.

He is a driving voice in the Global Recess Alliance, has co-authored multiple books on school play and wellbeing, and has developed tools and guidelines used by schools globally to better understand children's play and activity. He spoke at TEDxAlbury 2025, bringing the reach of his international research to a local stage and connecting his academic work to the practical realities of Border schools. His presence at Charles Sturt's Albury-Wodonga campus embeds world-class research on child development directly in the regional education community.

16. Di Glover

YES Unlimited

Di Glover is the Chief Executive of YES Unlimited, the Albury-based community organisation that has been delivering services and supports to young people, people experiencing homelessness, and women and children escaping domestic and family violence for more than 40 years. Her background spans counselling, youth programme development, and care management, and she has been a prominent leader for women and families in the sphere of social justice in the Border region.

YES Unlimited leads The Albury Project, an early intervention partnership operating across three Albury secondary schools to identify and support young people at risk of early school leaving, mental ill-health, and homelessness. The organisation also leads Betty's Place Women's Refuge and a Core and Cluster women's refuge redevelopment bid supported by Housing Plus. These established programmes reflect the breadth and depth of YES Unlimited's contribution to the region's most vulnerable residents.

17. Darren Wighton

Local Land Services

Darren Wighton is a Wiradjuri man from Condobolin in Central NSW who has called Albury home for more than 25 years. He is a skilled artist, cultural performer, and community leader who has worked across education, community organisations, and pastoral care, and currently works for Local Land Services, a NSW government agency supporting sustainable land management across regional NSW.

Darren has a deep passion for Wiradjuri language and culture and designs cultural programmes for schools, community groups, and individuals, drawing on knowledge and learnings passed down through Elders, stories, and connection to Country. He performed at TEDxAlbury 2025, bringing Wiradjuri cultural perspective to the inaugural event and representing a leadership voice that is foundational to any honest account of the Albury-Wodonga region. His presence in community programmes ensures that cultural knowledge is shared beyond ceremony and into everyday life in the region.

18. Ged Bourke

La Trobe University

Ged Bourke commenced as Head of Campus at La Trobe University's Albury-Wodonga campus in April 2026, bringing more than two decades of regional education leadership experience from his previous role as TAFE Services Manager for the Border Cluster at TAFE NSW, where he led operations across five campuses including Albury, Thurgoona, Corowa, Finley, and Deniliquin, with more than 200 staff and 2,000 students under his leadership.

His previous roles at Charles Sturt University included Manager of Innovation Hubs, leading university-wide innovation programmes across seven campuses and working closely with industry partners, researchers, and Indigenous communities. He was also a founding member of an Australian technology start-up used by hundreds of businesses across every Australian state. His appointment to La Trobe's Albury-Wodonga campus signals the university's ambitions to deepen its engagement with the regional community through education, research, and industry partnership.

19. Kevin Mack

AlburyCity

Kevin Mack is the Mayor of Albury, returned to the role in October 2024 after previously serving seven terms as Mayor before stepping down in 2021. A former Victoria Police officer of 41 years, with a focus on helping families and young people, he brings deep roots in the Border community and a record of civic leadership built across three decades of engagement with Albury's governance and development. During his absence from council he held contract engagement roles with the National Emergency Management Agency, NSW SES, and the Murray Darling Basin Authority.

He was central in developing the Two Cities One Community partnership between AlburyCity and Wodonga Council, a joint initiative that treats the cross-border region as a single community for planning, investment, and advocacy purposes. His return as Mayor brings continuity and experience to a council navigating a period of significant transition, including the search for a permanent CEO following leadership changes in early 2026.

20. David Kapay

Miss Amelie

David Kapay is the owner and head chef of Miss Amelie, the Wodonga restaurant he established in 2016 after a career that took him from Albury-Wodonga to London, where he cooked under celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, before leading several high-profile restaurants in Melbourne. He returned to the Border to build something of his own, and Miss Amelie has since become a key anchor in the region's dining culture.

His philosophy is direct: work harder than everyone else, deliver consistent excellence, and never settle for being average. He describes confidence as contagious, and his mentoring of the next generation of Border chefs reflects a commitment to building culinary capability in the region rather than drawing it away to capital cities. David was featured in Border Mail's December 2024 profile of inspiring men shaping the Albury-Wodonga community.

21. Narayan Khanal

Albury Base Hospital

Narayan Khanal is a junior doctor based in Albury with a passion for youth empowerment, health equity, and building leadership opportunity in regional communities. He spoke at the inaugural TEDxAlbury 2025, contributing a perspective on youth voice and health as a social determinant. His commitment to community extends beyond his clinical role, and his visibility at events like TEDxAlbury signals an emerging leader who is actively choosing to build in the Border region rather than pursue opportunities solely in major metropolitan centres.

His presence in the Albury-Wodonga community represents the next generation of regional health professionals who are choosing regional practice, not as a default but as a deliberate contribution. The regional medical workforce is a consistent challenge for communities like Albury-Wodonga, and leaders like Narayan who are vocally committed to place-based health practice help build the pipeline that the region's health system needs.

22. Steve Bowen

Bowens Entertainment

Steve Bowen is the owner and operator of Bowens Entertainment, a professional MC and DJ business based in Albury. He has served the Border community across a career that spans entertainment, civic leadership, and community service: as a professional MC and DJ, as Deputy Mayor of Albury Council from 2022 to 2024, as President of the Glenellen Rural Fire Brigade, and as co-founder of the Jigsaw Programme, which supports and mentors local youth.

The range of his contribution reflects a community leader who shows up in multiple capacities, not because it advances a single agenda but because the community asks for it and he answers. His MC work takes him across hundreds of events annually, giving him unusual visibility across both sides of the Border. His civic work, from rural fire service to youth mentoring to elected local government leadership, reflects an investment in the region that goes well beyond professional obligation.

23. Jess Vlaskic

Business Women Albury Wodonga

Jess Vlaskic is the Chair of Business Women Albury Wodonga, the organisation that has supported women in enterprise along the Border for 15 years. In her role she oversees the annual grant programme, which distributes cash grants to women-led businesses seeking to establish, grow, or develop their local operations. In 2025 the programme attracted strong finalist applications from across industries including healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, and allied health services.

Her leadership of Business Women Albury Wodonga comes at a significant moment for the organisation, which marked its 15th anniversary in 2024 with a gala event reflecting the breadth of its membership and the range of programmes it delivers for women across the full spectrum of business experience, from early-stage entrepreneurs to established leaders. Her commitment to creating visibility for women in Border business echoes the founding vision of the organisation and carries it forward.

24. Daniel Searle

Independent

Daniel Searle is a disability and mental health advocate based in the Albury-Wodonga region who spoke at the inaugural TEDxAlbury event in October 2025. Daniel's advocacy addresses the lived experience of disability and mental health, contributing a community voice that is frequently missing from formal leadership spaces. Participation in TEDxAlbury placed this perspective in front of a cross-border audience and connected the advocacy to the broader ideas conversation happening in the region.

This contribution to the Albury-Wodonga community represents a form of leadership that operates through visibility and voice rather than institutional authority. Community advocacy of this kind, sustained and public and rooted in personal experience, shapes how organisations and policymakers understand the needs of people living with disability and mental health conditions in regional communities where specialist support is often harder to access than in major cities.

25. Shelley Burr

Independent

Shelley Burr is a crime fiction author based in regional Australia near the Border whose debut novel WAKE won the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award in 2019, the Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Novel, and the Australian Book Industry Awards Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year. Her Lane Holland series, which now includes three novels with Vanish as the most recent, has established her as one of Australia's most recognised emerging crime writers.

Writing from a regional base and winning national and international awards for debut fiction is rare. Her work demonstrates that world-class creative practice is not the exclusive property of major city literary scenes. Her success is a reference point for the region's creative community, and her continued presence in regional Australia after establishing a national profile contributes to the cultural richness of the broader Border area.

Notable Voices We Almost Included

The leadership community in Albury-Wodonga extends well beyond 25 people. Leanne Bailey, the founder and director of Murray River Animal Hospital in West Wodonga, Australia's only Stress-Free Accredited veterinary clinic in the region and the winner of the Outstanding Business Leader (Over 35) category at the 2025 Albury Wodonga Business Awards, was a serious contender. Gary West, inducted into the Albury Wodonga Business Hall of Fame in 2025 after four decades of contribution to the region through accounting, investment, and community service, represents exactly the kind of sustained civic and professional commitment that regional communities depend on. Melinda Harmer and the full committee of Business Women Albury Wodonga also deserve acknowledgement for the consistency of their contribution to the Border's leadership ecosystem.

Several voices are frequently named alongside the people on this list and deserve to be sought out: Joel Chambers of Chambers Agriculture and Viticulture, Justin Clancy as the NSW Member for Albury, and the broader network of leaders active in Wodonga's business community through Business Wodonga.

Common Mistakes in Regional Leadership

Regional leaders in communities like Albury-Wodonga face a set of recurring challenges that their metropolitan counterparts rarely encounter in the same form. Understanding these mistakes is useful whether you are a leader navigating them yourself or an organisation trying to support the leadership capacity of a regional team.

The first mistake is treating the capital city as the reference point for what good leadership looks like. Regional leaders sometimes spend significant energy measuring themselves against metropolitan norms, metropolitan organisations, and metropolitan career trajectories. The result is an inability to see the genuine strengths of regional leadership: the proximity to the community being served, the accountability that comes from operating in a place where everyone knows everyone, and the resourcefulness that develops when institutional support is thin and the leader has to build it.

The second mistake is undervaluing cross-border relationships. In Albury-Wodonga specifically, the greatest leadership opportunities often exist in the gaps between state systems. The leaders who thrive are almost always the ones who have built working relationships across the Murray, who understand both state systems well enough to navigate them together, and who have committed to the Two Cities One Community framing rather than defaulting to one side of the river or the other.

The third mistake is failing to build succession. Regional leadership communities are small enough that the departure of a single key person can leave a significant gap. Leaders who build strong second tiers, who invest in developing others, and who create organisations that are genuinely less dependent on themselves make an outsized contribution to the long-term health of the community.

The fourth mistake is confusing visibility with influence. Some of the most influential leaders in Albury-Wodonga operate with very little public profile, while some of the most visible operate with less actual leverage than their prominence suggests. The leaders on this list were selected on documented contribution, not on name recognition or media presence.

Organisations looking to build leadership capability in regional Australia, or to bring their own leadership teams to a stronger place, can engage Jonno White for executive offsites, Working Genius facilitation, and team development programmes designed for regional contexts. Reach out at jonno@consultclarity.org.

Implementation Guide: How to Engage With Regional Leadership Communities

If you are an organisation looking to engage with the leadership community in Albury-Wodonga, or a leader looking to build your own profile and contribution in the region, the following steps reflect how genuine engagement actually works in regional communities.

Start with the chamber. Albury Business Connect and Business Wodonga are the two chambers serving the cross-border community, and they are genuine hubs of connection. Membership opens doors to Business Before Hours, Business After Hours, the Business Women Albury Wodonga programme, and the Albury Wodonga Business Awards, all of which are legitimate forums for building relationships rather than just exchanging business cards. The chamber model works differently in regional communities than in major cities: the networks are smaller, the relationships are deeper, and showing up consistently matters more than any single event.

Build across the border, not just on one side. The Albury-Wodonga leadership community is genuinely cross-border. Leaders who engage only with Albury or only with Wodonga miss half the picture. The Two Cities One Community initiative, the joint business awards, and the cross-border health service all reflect a region that functions better when it operates together. External organisations coming into the region should engage both councils, both chambers, and both sides of the river.

Invest in the events that are building the next generation. TEDxAlbury, the Business Women Albury Wodonga grant programme, and the Albury Wodonga Business Awards are the platforms where emerging leaders are gaining visibility and building confidence. Sponsoring these events, speaking at them, or attending them as genuine participants rather than as spectators is one of the most effective ways to integrate into the leadership community.

Take regional leadership development seriously. The leaders in communities like Albury-Wodonga often have less access to high-quality leadership development, executive team facilitation, and coaching than their metropolitan counterparts. Organisations that invest in these for their regional teams signal that they take regional leadership seriously. The return on investment is typically higher than in major cities because the depth of need is greater and the community impact of stronger leadership is more directly visible.

Jonno White delivers executive team offsites, Working Genius facilitation, and keynote presentations for organisations in regional Australia. His book Step Up or Step Out, which has sold over 10,000 copies, addresses the leadership challenges of difficult conversations and performance management that are particularly acute in small, closely connected communities. To discuss bringing Jonno to the Albury-Wodonga region or anywhere in Australia, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the most influential leaders in Albury-Wodonga in 2026?

The most influential leaders in Albury-Wodonga in 2026 include Glen Robinson, who leads the region's primary chamber of commerce, Dr Helen Haines, the independent federal MP who has served Indi for a third consecutive term, Kara Chanter, whose Dying to Help practice has reframed how the region thinks about end-of-life care, and Sonya McIntyre-Reid, whose Linchpin Digital has built a national platform from an Albury base. The full directory of 25 leaders above gives a comprehensive picture of the people genuinely shaping the Border in 2026.

What makes Albury-Wodonga an unusual leadership environment?

Albury-Wodonga is the only major regional city in Australia that operates as a genuine cross-border community straddling two state jurisdictions, with a cross-border public health service that is one of only two such services in the world. Leaders here must navigate two state systems, two councils, and two sets of policy frameworks while maintaining a shared civic identity. That structural complexity develops a particular kind of leadership that is skilled in coalition-building, boundary-spanning, and operating with fewer institutional resources than equivalent roles in major cities.

What are the main leadership and business networks in Albury-Wodonga?

The primary networks are Albury Business Connect, which serves the Albury LGA and runs the Albury Wodonga Business Awards, and Business Wodonga, which serves the Wodonga community and co-produces the Business on the Border podcast. Business Women Albury Wodonga is the cross-border network specifically for women in enterprise, celebrating its 15th year in 2024. TEDxAlbury, launched in 2025, is an emerging platform for ideas and community leadership. These four networks together cover the bulk of the region's organised professional and civic leadership community.

How can I connect with leaders in the Albury-Wodonga region?

The most direct routes are through Albury Business Connect, Business Wodonga, and Business Women Albury Wodonga, all of which run regular events open to members and visitors. Following the leaders on this list on LinkedIn is a practical starting point. The Albury Wodonga Business Awards gala in August is the single largest annual gathering of business leaders across the region. TEDxAlbury returns in 2026, providing another high-quality forum for ideas and connection.

Final Thoughts

The leaders in this directory are doing consequential work in a regional community that is easy to overlook if you are not paying attention. They are running chambers of commerce and community agencies, building veterinary clinics and digital marketing practices, facilitating end-of-life care and cultural programming, teaching at universities and in Toastmasters clubs, and governing councils and federal electorates that span two Australian states.

The story of Albury-Wodonga is not a story of a region waiting for its moment. It is a story of a region that has been quietly building leaders, institutions, and community capacity for decades, and that is now producing the kind of civic and creative energy that deserves a national audience.

If you are connected to this community, I hope this directory gives you a useful reference for the people shaping it. If you are outside the region, I hope it makes you look at Albury-Wodonga differently.

To explore how leadership development, team facilitation, or a keynote from Jonno White can serve your organisation in regional Australia, email jonno@consultclarity.org. International and interstate travel for speaking and facilitation is often far more affordable than organisations expect. Many clients find that flying Jonno in costs significantly less than engaging local providers at comparable quality.

About the Author

Jonno White is a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, author of Step Up or Step Out, and leadership consultant who has worked with schools, corporates, and nonprofits around the world. His book Step Up or Step Out has sold over 10,000 copies globally, and his podcast The Leadership Conversations has featured 240+ episodes reaching listeners in 150+ countries. Jonno founded The 7 Questions Movement with 6,000+ participating leaders and achieved a 93.75% satisfaction rating for his Working Genius masterclass at the ASBA 2025 National Conference. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Jonno works globally and regularly travels for speaking and facilitation engagements. Organisations consistently find that international travel is far more affordable than expected. To book Jonno for your next keynote, workshop, or facilitation session, email jonno@consultclarity.org.

Sources

Data and claims in this post draw on the following sources: Albury Wodonga Business Awards (awbusinessawards.com.au), Wodonga Council, TEDxAlbury (tedxalbury.com.au), Business Women Albury Wodonga (businesswomenaw.com.au), The Border Mail (bordermail.com.au), Canberra Writers Festival (canberrawritersfestival.com.au), AlburyCity (alburycity.nsw.gov.au), YES Unlimited (yesunlimited.com.au), Mirage News (miragenews.com).

Next Read

The leaders shaping regional Australian cities are doing some of the most grounded and consequential work in the country. For a similar directory covering the leaders shaping another major regional city, see the 25 Influential Leaders in Geelong, Australia directory, which profiles the people building Geelong's next chapter across civic, health, business, and creative life.