Wendy Graham

Wendy established herself as a distinguished senior executive following an accomplished career spanning over thirty years in the community and emergency management sectors. As Director Resilience and Recovery with the Office of Emergency Management/Resilience NSW, Wendy was responsible for establishing and leading the coordination of the community recovery strategy for the 2019-20 Black Summer Bushfires across NSW, where she established and directed community recovery teams in 33 local government areas, providing strategic guidance and support to recovery committees and councils across the state.

Wendy has demonstrated exceptional capability in emergency and recovery operations, strategic planning and implementation, and disaster preparedness initiatives. Her strategic focus encompasses community resilience building, disability inclusive emergency management practice, and state-wide disaster recovery program development, whilst incorporating innovative recovery methodologies and stakeholder engagement systems across all aspects of her work. This leadership excellence was exemplified through her successful transformation of NSW's community recovery capabilities and the implementation of nationally recognised emergency management frameworks and resources.

Throughout her executive career, Wendy has worked effectively with all levels of government (Federal, State, and Local) alongside non-government community organisations, volunteer groups, and private sector partners. She has successfully collaborated with senior executives across emergency management agencies, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and various state and commonwealth oversight bodies. Her expertise in managing complex, large-scale disaster recovery operations has been recognised through professional acknowledgements and her appointment to multiple legislative roles and state emergency management committees.

Wendy has performed in various executive roles including NSW Deputy State Emergency Recovery Controller (2017-2020), a legislative role where she led state-wide emergency recovery coordination and operations with responsibility for recovery standards across NSW. As State Welfare Services Functional Area Coordinator (2005-2011), she maintained operational oversight of welfare services during emergency events, including strategic coordination, emergency response planning, and comprehensive community support programs. Her service on the NSW State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) for over 10 years, along with participation in Australia-New Zealand Emergency Management Committee's (ANZEMC) sub committees and working groups, demonstrated her capability to perform at the most senior strategic levels within large-scale emergency management organisations.

As Director Resilience and Recovery, Wendy was responsible for designing and implementing state-wide disaster recovery programs, providing strategic advice to executives on critical emergency management matters, and overseeing the effective delivery of recovery services to inter-governmental stakeholders. Her portfolio included the NSW Community Recovery Officer Program and the NSW Bushfire Recovery Support Services Program, which delivered coordinated recovery support services in 25 locations across NSW, managing complex resource deployment across multiple local government areas.

In her Deputy Recovery Coordinator role for the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions (appointed June 2025), she maintains responsibility for leading recovery operations following devastating flooding, managing stakeholder portfolios, and providing specialist consultancy support to local councils and emergency management committees. She has successfully led recovery operations for numerous major disasters including the Black Summer Bushfires 2019/20, Mid North Coast and Hawkesbury Nepean Valley Flooding 2021, Tathra Bushfire 2018, Sir Ivan Fire 2017, NSW East Coast Low 2016, Lindt Café Siege 2014, Blue Mountains Bushfires 2013, Far and Central West NSW Flooding 2011, and Hunter Central Coast Storms (Pasha Bulka) 2007.

Wendy's operational expertise encompasses emergency management exercising facilitation, recovery coordination, community resilience programming, and disability inclusive emergency management practice. She has designed and developed nationally significant resources including the National Recovery Exercising Toolkit for NEMA (2023), published on the AIDR Knowledge Hub, and the Disability Inclusive Emergency Management Exercise Materials as part of the NSW Premier's Department's Emergency Management Exercise Program. Wendy is an experienced facilitator of emergency management exercises and has facilitated numerous recovery exercises across Australia in partnership with local, state and commonwealth government, the private sector and community organisations.

Wendy's strategic leadership in community preparedness was demonstrated through her establishment of "Get Ready NSW", an all-hazards community preparedness initiative providing accessible communication tools, resources and guidance for councils, businesses, and the community services sector. This initiative continues as a key resource of the Reconstruction Authority to support households, councils and emergency services organisations in preparedness and resilience. Her disability inclusion initiatives have successfully improved emergency management practice through the development of the SEMC Disability Action Plan 2025-2026 and the delivery of the Emergency Management Disability Forum for Homes NSW (2024).

Transitioning her expertise across the emergency management sector, Wendy has maintained strategic focus on community resilience, disaster recovery coordination, and emergency management excellence. Her comprehensive understanding of emergency management frameworks, recovery arrangements, and community services standards positions her as a subject matter expert in disaster resilience, stakeholder coordination, and organisational capacity building. Prior to working in the emergency management sector, she held a range of positions in NSW Department of Community Services and in the non-government out-of-home care sector, working with at-risk children and families.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Wendy holds a Graduate Diploma in Counselling from Charles Sturt University (1992) and a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) from Macquarie University (1988).

AWARDS:

Winston Churchill Fellowship (2011) awarded to study disaster assistance programs and community resilience in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada and New Zealand.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS:

Deputy Recovery Coordinator - Hunter and Mid North Coast Regions (June 2025 – Present) - Led recovery coordination following devastating regional flooding, provided strategic guidance to local councils and recovery committees, coordinated multi-agency recovery operations, managed stakeholder relationships across government and community sectors, implemented recovery support services across affected communities.

Director Resilience and Recovery - Office of Emergency Management/Resilience NSW (2019 – 2020) - Established and led community recovery strategy for Black Summer Bushfires across NSW, directed community recovery teams in 33 local government areas, provided strategic guidance to recovery committees and councils, designed and implemented state-wide disaster recovery programs including NSW Community Recovery Officer Program and NSW Bushfire Recovery Support Services Program, delivered coordinated recovery support services in 25 locations across NSW.

NSW Deputy State Emergency Recovery Controller (2017 – 2020) - Legislative role responsible for state-wide emergency recovery coordination, provided strategic leadership for recovery operations across NSW, maintained operational oversight of recovery arrangements, collaborated with state and commonwealth agencies on recovery policy and implementation, served on NSW State Emergency Management Committee.

State Welfare Services Functional Area Coordinator (2005 – 2011) - Legislative role responsible for coordination of welfare services during emergency events, developed and implemented welfare services policies and procedures, provided strategic advice on welfare coordination matters, maintained liaison with emergency management agencies and community service providers, served on NSW State Emergency Management Committee.

Emergency Management Consultant (2023 – Present) - Contracted by National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to design and develop National Recovery Exercising Toolkit (2023), contracted by Homes NSW to deliver Emergency Management Disability Forum (2024) and develop SEMC Disability Action Plan 2025-2026, designed and developed Disability Inclusive Emergency Management Exercise Materials for NSW Premier's Department (2025), facilitated numerous recovery exercises across Australia in partnership with government, private sector and community organisations.