Diana Mueller Board Member Q & A
As you may know, the Board of the Mirboo North & District Community Foundation is made up of nine individuals. We thought it would be interesting to profile one of our Directors each month, last month Paul Pratt, our Chair was first in the hot seat. This month we are profiling Diana Mueller one of our Directors and Chair of the Community Connections Sub-committee.
Diana is with the Department of Education and Training (DET) and has lived and taught in the Mirboo North District for many years, currently living on a farm in Allambee South.
Diana has worked at DET, Regional Office for over 5 years, taught for more than 20 years and has a wide range of experience in the Education sector. Diana is active in a number of community organisations including the Allambee South Community Centre, Mirboo North Football Netball Club and is Chair of the Mirboo North Community Energy Hub.
Her knowledge and practical experience in the Education field is invaluable to the Mirboo North & District Foundation in supporting the Community Foundation’s focus on Youth.
Diana agreed to answer some questions for us:
Where are you from? What brought you to Allambee South?
I am from Newport, Melbourne. I moved to Allambee South after meeting my partner, Clyde Taylor. His family have farmed at Allambee South for over 50 years. I wanted to continue to raise my children in a rural setting.
What’s your favourite thing about the Mirboo North Community Energy Hub?
I have learnt a lot about renewable energy and how to reduce energy usage at home. But I am excited about the possibility of community owned renewable energy and the opportunities that this may bring to our community.
What have you got on your bucket list?
Travel is high on my bucket list – I would like to travel around Australia and travel to Holland and Canada.
How did you first get involved with the Community Foundation?
I learnt about the Mirboo North & District Community Foundation when Jeanette White presented at the Gippsland Community Leadership Program – I was interested in learning more about philanthropy and when the opportunity arose to become a Board Member, I felt it was a good fit. I have always been passionate about supporting the community, particularly young people.
What does philanthropy mean to you?
Philanthropy to me is not only about building a corpus but supporting and empowering people and community groups to build a resilient, healthy and vibrant community. I am involved in a number of community organizations and it never ceases to amaze me how much people support each other.
What motivates you to volunteer in the community?
What motivates me is people helping each other and the difference this can make to individuals, families and communities. A little support can make a difference.
What are you most passionate about? Why?
I am passionate about helping my children, but also providing them with the values to be active members of their community.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I wanted to be involved in AgScience or PE teaching. My pathway started in computer science and then teaching IT and Mathematics. Wanting to assist my children also saw me become a Careers Practitioner in a school. Interestingly enough I hadn’t expected to move to the country and be involved in Dairy and Beef farming.
What makes you laugh?
Jokes, having fun with family and friends.
How does the Community Foundation have an impact in our District?
The support we provide to students through the Educational Support Fund. The community grants which have supported building capacity of community groups, enabling developing the health and wellbeing of the community. The fact that we can broker partnerships that help the community.