Allen Stanley
As a proud Kamilaroi man born and raised in St. George, Queensland, Allen’s journey has been shaped by a strong connection to family, culture, and community. Raised by his Mother and Aunties, who passed down invaluable knowledge, values, and stories, he has navigated the challenges of the local education system to his current career path.
Despite a lack of opportunity and resources, Allen was introduced by a local Aboriginal Health Worker to the Certificate IV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care, where he excelled. After completion, Allen secured a position at the Goondir Health Service, where he became the go-to Aboriginal Health Worker for home visits, providing support and education to Seniors and Elders with chronic illnesses. This experience laid the foundation for Allen’s dedication to community health.
After other roles beyond clinical, including that of an Aboriginal Liaison Officer – where he faced the challenges of a program delivery model with ambitious outcomes – Allen returned to Goondir Health Service, where he completed hearing screening training. This initiated an unexpected passion for hearing health. Allen moved to Toowoomba in 2008 and joined Carbal Medical Service as a Child Health Worker, overseeing the Hearing Health portfolio. This involved working with a larger population, managing various child health programs, and collaborating with colleagues on initiatives ranging from healthy eating, physical activity and clinical duties.
After attending a Deadly Ears Workshop (which reconnected Allen with his Hearing Australia teacher), a secondment offer to work for the program in Brisbane presented itself, where Allen continued for six and a half years. During that time, he completed a Graduate Diploma in Indigenous Health Promotion, gaining knowledge and experience with rural and remote communities with ear and hearing health screening, prevention, and the impacts of middle ear disease.
With a call to home too strong to resist, Allen returned to St. George in 2016, and reclaimed his position as the Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer at the St. George Community and Allied Health Service. He continued his education through a Master of Public Health with the Aboriginal Population Health Training Initiative program at Hunter New England Local Health District, Population Health in Newcastle. This three-year placement eventually brought Allen to South West Sydney Local Health District, where he took the role of Aboriginal Senior Health Promotion Officer within the Health Promotion Service.
Other GPRWMF awards received by awardee | Year | |
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Special Project Grant | National Indigenous Coordination of ENT (NICENT) Outreach Project | 2024 |