Drumcondra mother-of-two Lisa Kingman McGlinchey initially thought she was being scammed when she received a call saying she was an Order of Australia Medallist.
“I almost hung up on the girl – I couldn’t believe it!” she said.
“Growing up I used to admire all the people who won medals on Australia Day. To be in that same league is just mind-blowing to me.”
Ms Kingman McGlinchey earned the medal for decades of advising charities and connecting them with businesses.
“All I’ve really done is be the bridge-builder – they’ve done all the hard work,” she said.
Growing up in “a large Catholic family” with five siblings in Dandenong, volunteering “was always part of our upbringing”, Ms Kingman McGlinchey said.
At age 12 she helped her grandfather serve meals at a shelter for homeless men and their confronting circumstances soon showed her how “privileged” she was.
After completing a fine arts degree, she began working for a small education charity.
“But I felt I could make more change in Australia by advising business how they could make a big impact with their dollar and their people.”
She founded a charity consulting group and she and her husband Kent moved to Geelong for a better lifestyle, to be near the water and raise their kids, one of who, Dom McGlinchey, now plays premier cricket for Geelong.
She has since guided the efforts of major companies and charities in supporting causes such as environmental rehabilitation, Indigenous reconciliation and education.
“The charities I’ve worked with, they’re the inspiring leaders,” she said.
“This award is as much about their work as it is about mine.”
