Andrew Hebbron

When Andrew Hebbron talks about his work in championing diversity and inclusion in the Queensland Ambulance Service, he refers to himself as a “reluctant activist”. But the impact that Griffith MBA graduate has had in creating a welcoming space where people can show up to work “as their whole selves” in QAS is undeniable.

Drew, as he’s known more broadly, is the winner of the 2021 Outstanding Alumnus Award for Griffith Business School and has dedicated his career to healthcare and public policy, first as a paramedic and now as the Chief Superintendent West Moreton district for Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS). His job has seen him working as a first responder helping lead Queensland out of natural disasters, overseeing service delivery models and the welfare of the state’s paramedical force, as well as being a passionate advocate for equal representation in the workforce.

The latter has seen him become the inaugural chair of the Queensland Public Sector LGBTIQ+ steering committee and supporting gender equality initiatives within QAS. As part of the steering committee, Drew strove to establish an ally network within the QAS and put in place guidelines and workplace change across whole-of-government to create an environment in the public sector, particularly in regional areas, where people can “bring their whole selves to work”.

Drew says one of his proudest moments on the job was being asked to participate in the annual Queensland Pride March. “Myself and Dee Taylor-Dutton— she’s one of the Deputy Commissioners, and a really strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace—she messaged me one day and asked if I’d heard about Wear it Purple Day—it’s all about promoting awareness of rainbow youth. She said, “We should totally do this!” So we had some purple QAS uniforms made up, we got a few people together, and we did a social media campaign around that,” Drew said.

“For me it was about making a really big public acknowledgement on the part of QAS that we are an inclusive workforce. After we did that, we received an invite from the Brisbane Pride Festival to participate in the Pride March. That fell to me to arrange and I guess this is where there the reluctant activist in me comes out!” Drew explained. “I’m not normally one to march down streets and protest but it was an issue that was really important to me and I hoped for others as well.

“We had this amazing turnout on the day, this overwhelming response of about 50 QAS staff in uniform, absolutely dominating the parade with a sea of teal paramedics and patient transport officers and support staff. It was a moment that I'll never forget because I remember thinking, 'Wow, people have been crying out for this for such a long time, but they've been crying out with a silent voices, and no one's heard it.’”

At just 11 years old, Drew volunteered with St John Ambulance for the first time and he’s never looked back. From a paramedic in Northern Territory, to incident response, policy and education roles in Far North and South-East Queensland, Drew has enjoyed a long and decorated career in the QAS. A lifelong learner, in the education roles Drew held at QAS, he strove to achieve contemporary and engaging staff training programs.

Ready to pivot into leadership roles and imbue his values of equity and diversity in the organisation, Drew completed the Griffith MBA in 2019. In September of that year, Drew returned to his substantive appointment as Chief Superintendent for the QAS local service area of West Moreton, an area with more than 280 staff and a population of more than a quarter million, spanning Gatton, Ipswich, Springfield and beyond. Drew credits his MBA, along with his Griffith Graduate Certificate in Policy Analysis with giving him the economic and leadership nous required in the role and for the higher level secondments he has had the opportunity to undertake.

“I've been able to bring so much more to the role in terms of strategy, in particular the way that we approach managing our fiscal position, coupled with our policy and legislative environment. It's really given me an extra bunch of arrows in my quiver to be able to draw from when I'm facing challenges in the business and human capital management aspects of operations.

“My Griffith MBA has given me even more ability to think about how we can innovate, look to the private sector for ideas, and how we can capitalize on public private partnerships in the way that we carry out day-to-day business in a way that will benefit our staff and benefit the community as well.”

Andrew says his main advice to students looking to head into leadership positions where they can have impact is to make sure they are authentic with their reasoning. “Being an authentic leader that was something that was reaffirmed the whole way through the MBA program and I've found that I've just become myself more through my leadership journey, and it's become just better every day.

“In terms of anyone wanting to be a leader, one thing I always say to people is make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. If you're doing it because you're wanting to get to the next level, that's all well and good but I think that that won't make you a great leader. If you're doing it because you want to be challenged, you want to do more for the place you're working in—or in the QAS example if you you're doing it, because you want to do more for our people, and you want to be a champion for change and for diversity and inclusion and gender equity and, and for generally doing better for the community—if you can do all that and feel a sense of purpose, then you're absolutely a future leader.”