Geelong’s leading multicultural organisation, Cultura, is having a change of the guards with CEO, Joy Leggo OAM, retiring this month and a new interim CEO stepping up to lead the organisation into the future.
The appointment of Cultura’s new interim Chief Executive Officer, Ms Rebecca Smith, will lead Cultura into the next phase of growth and impact in mid 2025.
According to the Chair of Cultura Board, Director Gillian Costa, Rebecca will be a great asset to the organisation as she brings to Cultura a wealth of experience in health and aged care leadership and is no stranger to multicultural services.
“Rebecca has previously been appointed as the Deputy CEO and also the founding General Manager, Community Aged and Disability of Cultura, and has extensive experience in leading service delivery across both community and residential aged care, health and disability, and also significant experience in leading quality and safety frameworks, including regulatory compliance, across multiprogram organisations,” Ms Costa said.
“We are thrilled to have Rebecca onboard in this crucial leadership role as she comes with a specific skillset, strong passion and deep understanding of care governance which aligns well with Cultura’s purpose, values and vision,” Ms Costa said.
“Having Rebecca already know our history and having her already play such a key role in creating some of the foundational pieces of work that underpin the merged organisation over the years, combined with her knowledge and exceptional leadership skills, means our organisation is in very capable hands.”
“Multicultural care is a complex space, and we need someone who is abreast of all the sector reforms taking place whilst continuing to provide the best care and services in line with regulatory compliance across the multiple sectors from settlement, aged care, youth, community services and community engagement,” said Ms Costa.
According to Ms Costa, Rebecca has a number of qualifications, including Masters in Health Management, Graduate Diploma of Human Resource Development, and Bachelor Social Science (Human Services). She also maintains her nursing registration.
Ms Costa acknowledged that this appointment comes with mixed emotions: “whilst we are thrilled to have Rebecca onboard, we are also bidding farewell to our esteemed friend and colleague, Joy Leggo, who has been instrumental in shaping the new entity of Cultura, leading the complex merger of Diversitat and MACS in 2021.”
“For over 30 years, Joy has championed the expansion of care and support services to the diverse, multicultural sector in Geelong. Joy has been a driving force behind supporting an inclusive, engaged and harmonious multicultural Victoria.”
“It’s not every day you meet someone as extraordinary as Joy. She truly is a force to be reckoned with, and we will miss her creativity, loyalty, passion and bravery as a leader,” Ms Costa said.
“The Cultura Board is thrilled with the new appointment and is looking forward to watching Rebecca apply her leadership experience to strengthen and expand her contribution to multicultural communities in new and diverse ways.”
