An open letter of thanks to Anne Kennedy, CCC Chair 2006-2017

Dear CCC members and friends,

I wanted to let you know that, after 11 years of outstanding leadership, our chairperson, Dr Anne Kennedy, has decided to step down from her role.

Community Child Care Association (CCC) is incredibly grateful to Anne for her ongoing loyalty and dedication – here are some wonderful highlights from her time here:

• The endorsement of our first Reconciliation Action Plan
• The governance of CCC during a difficult period of downsizing and the challenging but exciting period of expansion when we won the Inclusion Support Programme tender with our consortium partners
• Our targeted Board recruitment
• Building stronger relationships between the Board and the CCC team
• Greater financial oversight and accountability through establishing a finance sub-committee
• Joint advocacy on big issues with other peak bodies and organisations – as Anne explains, ‘This is normal practice now, but it was a first when I took on this role, and it is indicative of my approach to build connections, find the common ground and keep the focus on what’s in children’s, families’ and communities’ best interests’
• Our fantastic engagement with stakeholders – Anne says, ‘Mutual respect, ethical relationships and collaborative approaches have been my vision and preferred way of working. We don’t compromise on important matters but we are prepared to negotiate to find shared agreement when we need to’
• Our ever-growing membership base – as Anne points out, ‘Our members matter! They deserve the very best peak body we can provide in supporting their professional learning needs and advocating robustly for their interests. I am grateful as chairperson for their trust in us as without them we are not such a powerful voice.’

We very much appreciate the leadership, support and friendship Anne has provided over the 11 years she has been part of our journey here at CCC. We wish her all the best and thank her for her enormous – and enduring – contribution to our organisation. While it is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Anne in her role as chairperson, we know our work together continues!

Many thanks,

Leanne Giardina

Executive Director, Community Child Care Association 

Leanne Giardina and Anne Kennedy at CCC's AGM October 2017