Rural Doctors Foundation

Support rural and remote communities across Australia – donate here to make a difference
×

Fran Avon

Chief Executive Officer | Brisbane

About Fran

Fran is committed to improving health outcomes for those living in rural and remote communities and has spent more than twenty years working in the not-for-profit sector. She joined Rural Doctors Foundation in February 2021 after having spent several years in the Northern Territory – a time that fuelled her desire to help those without access to the services that many of us take for granted.

Fran is an experienced CEO, fundraiser, and marketer. For her, it was an easy decision to join a much needed and respected organisation. She is inspired by the commitment, compassion and resilience of those who live and work in our rural communities. Fran’s vision is to help those living remotely enjoy a a long and healthy life.

Fran's qualifications

Bachelor of Arts Information Science

University of Technology

Graduate Diploma of Management

Australian Institute of Management 

Diploma in Social Media Marketing

Australian Institute of Management 

Director &
Secretary

Sandpiper Australia

Accredited DiSC Facilitator 

Integro

Fran's journey

Lauren Furey took some time out to interview Fran about her journey which led her to her role as CEO for Rural Doctors Foundation.

Rural Doctors Foundation has evolved under the direction of Fran Avon. She took on the role of CEO in February 2021 and immediately began looking to expand the Queensland-based charity to one with a national focus. She was determined to shine a spotlight on the healthcare challenges faced in rural communities all over Australia.

Fran has built a team that share her passion for the cause and set Rural Doctors Foundation on a course that she hopes will see real change for rural Australians.

“My hope for the Foundation is that we have a positive impact on the health of every person living in a rural or remote community. Currently, we’re having impact for a small number of rural and remote communities, and I just want to see that grow, to enable those living in all rural and remote communities across Australia to have the best healthcare they can,” she says.

If you’ve seen her speak at a conference or heard her interviewed on radio, you’d know that this is more than just a job to Fran. It’s a calling. And as it would turn out, it’s something she has been preparing for her whole career.

A rewarding career in the not-for-profit sector

After graduating university and landing her first full time role as a researcher, Fran quickly found her niche in marketing. Working initially in corporate and consultancy roles, she eventually fell into the not-for-profit space and has never looked back. “I realised the not-for-profit sector was for me, I found it very rewarding,” she says, reflecting on the move into more community-minded ventures.

It all started with a job at Wesley Mission. Fran looks back on those twelve years with fondness. She recalls the many lessons she learned in her time there and the chance to grow as she was constantly pushed out of her comfort zone. “I had an amazing manager who gave me so many opportunities,” she says.

Every time they handed her a new portfolio to manage, she saw it as a chance to develop new skills and understanding, even if it was something she had limited experience in. This ability to adapt is a skill Fran has used to the benefit of Rural Doctors Foundation, in a versatile role where she wears many hats and juggles many moving pieces.

By the end of her time at the Wesley Mission, Fran was managing a team of 80 people and  played a pivotal role in an organisation helping to change the lives of Australians in need.

“I decided to try something completely different but the essence of helping those in need was a constant. I went to Darwin to take up the role of CEO of St Vincent de Paul Society  Northern Territory.”

“Having travelled extensively across Australia including living two years in the Northern Territory, I have witnessed the resilience, strength and optimism of people who live in rural and remote communities.”

From sprawling Sydney to the red soil of the Northern Territory

Fran credits the two years spent in the Northern Territory as being an eye-opener to the issues faced by rural communities when it comes to healthcare.

“I think it shaped my understanding of how difficult it is to live so remotely,” she explains. “Although I was in Darwin, it still was a long way from anywhere else. And even though we had all the amenities in Darwin, there was a bit of an expression there – ‘In pain, get on a plane’ – because obviously the quality of the healthcare was not as good as what you’d get in a larger centre.”

In her time as CEO at St Vincent de Paul Society, she recalls experiencing the healthcare challenges firsthand. “I spent a lot of time travelling from Darwin to Katherine to Tennant Creek to Alice Springs, and back up again,” she says, recalling visits to some of the day centres they ran in rural townships. There she witnessed the poor health of  many people in the outback and the need for more support in remote settlements.

After two years, Fran moved back to the east coast, and it took her on a path that would eventually lead her to the Rural Doctors Foundation.

Finding inspiration

When it comes to finding inspiration, Fran doesn’t have to look far. There are two women, she says, who have had a huge impact on who she is and who she wants to be.

“I’ve got two friends in particular that have just not got a break,” she reveals, explaining how they have faced health issues, loss of loved ones, and other personal challenges in their lives. “But both of them are so resilient, so positive, they just keep getting up every day despite some horrible knocks.”

“They are so caring of other people,” she adds. “They are such good friends to me that I feel very inadequate when I think about what I do to help other people. I just think, my gosh these two women are absolutely amazing. I won’t name them because they won’t want to be named. But they’re the sort of people that inspire me – those people that just keep showing up every single day, despite what’s going on in their lives.”

And their journeys reinforced how important access to quality health care is.  Their stories could have ended  differently without the care they were fortunate enough to receive.

 

Fran’s happy place

When she’s not busy working, you’ll most likely find Fran in the pool or down at the ocean. “The water is my happy place, I love the ocean.”

For at least six months of the year, Fran describes how she starts her day with a bike ride and an ocean swim. “It’s just so easy to do that at 6am because the water is so warm, and that’s what I love about living here. I’ve always wanted to live near the water.”

Sometimes she’ll simply walk down and sit by the waterfront with her husband. Ben has been a loving and stable foundation for Fran, and their two grown-up children, Jake and Grace. He embodies the qualities she appreciates most in those close to her: “I like down-to-earth people, I like people that wear their heart on their sleeve, that care and care deeply, they’re the kind of people that I respond to.”

But most importantly, he makes her laugh, with the quirky sense of humour that Fran values above all.

Articles by Fran

One of the things that Fran loves about working at Rural Doctors Foundation is that she gets to wear many hats – and one is as an author writing articles on health issues. She does not profess to be an expert – she draws on her skills as a researcher and communications specialist gained early in her career.

She has the support of wonderful volunteers like Dr Gabrielle du Preez-Wilkinson  who review our medical articles to ensure our advice is accurate and up to date.

Read more articles