Category: Staff Spotlight

Hi everyone, I’m Helen Langtry 👋

I’m the Office Manager for Barnardos Southern NSW Children’s Family Centre covering Queanbeyan and Cooma Office as well as the Canberra Children’s Centre in ACT. I’ve been with Barnardos for six years, providing administrative and program support to our offices.

The most rewarding part of my role is seeing children and families overcome challenges and thrive, thanks to the incredible work of our team. Knowing that I’ve contributed, even in a small way makes it even more fulfilling.

Before moving into the community sector, I spent most of my career in the corporate world, specifically in container shipping. I worked for the largest shipping company in the world, based in Cape Town, South Africa. My last role was as a Customer Service Analyst, where I focused on providing insights to improve the customer experience.

I never had a clear idea of what I wanted to be growing up, but I somehow found my way into shipping and thoroughly enjoyed my time in the industry. Now, working in the community sector, I’ve found a career I truly love. It’s quite the opposite of shipping, yet in many ways, the business fundamentals are surprisingly similar.

While there have been many proud achievements (mostly admin and program related and not the most exciting!), the most enjoyable moments have been organising or supporting events for our families and children—like NAIDOC celebrations, Family Fun Days, the Queanbeyan Learning Centre Holiday Program and Christmas parties. The joy on the children’s faces during these events truly makes it all worthwhile.

Looking ahead, I’d love to contribute to initiatives that expand our reach, secure more resources and enhance staff well-being. Ultimately, my goal is to help the organisation grow and sustain its impact in the community.

I’m incredibly proud of our team and the amazing work they do to support our community. Their dedication, compassion and commitment to making a difference in the lives of children and families is truly inspiring. It’s a privilege to work alongside such a passionate group of people who create positive change every day.

Hi, I’m Sue and I started at Barnardos in 1996 as a casual admin support. I was made permanent part time in Shellharbour arcade working alongside Kerry Moore, Jan Williams, Maria Corsiglia, Sarah Beale, Patricia Sirons, Margaret Wikie. We then moved to the South Coast Children’s Centre where I have been in my current role, Manager Program Support since 2014.

The most rewarding thing about working at Barnardos is that I love supporting everyone: clients, carers, children and our staff. I see all of it, the good and the bad. But I also see when our families turn the corner, the changes, the good outcomes. It’s just the best to see the incredible outcomes that we achieved and how hard the staff work alongside families. I love seeing the changes in children as they grow and heal. As an admin worker, I get to see it all. It is all about smiling, saying “Hello, how can I help?” to everyone!

Here in the South Coast Children’s Family Centre, we are one big community, a second family, my second family. Before coming to Barnardos, I worked in aged care as a nurse’s aide on the Central Coast and then I was busy being a mum, bringing up two boys. As a child who was born in England, I always wanted to travel around the world. I went to the 2006 World Cup in Germany with three other families and that was a great experience. I always wanted to have children and a family, and I did that. I didn’t expect the rollercoaster which was when my first son was born premature at 26 weeks in 1983. Fortunately, today he is a healthy strong man, but at the time that was very challenging.

In the whole 29 years with Barnardos, I have seen different systems come and the change is good. Barnardos has always been open to change and able to adapt to be at the top and I love how innovative the organisation is. During my time with Barnardos I have made significant lifetime friendships, people come and go but some of the amazing women I have met will remain in my life forever. The support, the encouragement, the opportunity to grow are what keep me here, they are the reasons why I have been with Barnardos for 29 years.