Lesley Woolf

Nurse, health administrator and co-founder, Run With Dad

2023 NT Senior Australian of the Year Nominee

Lesley Woolf is a nurse, midwife and administrator who has spent the past three decades working to improve the health of Indigenous peoples in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Advancing and transitioning health services to Aboriginal Community Control Organisations has been a major achievement over the years.

Lesley is consistently focused on upskilling, building capacity and ensuring communities receive equitable healthcare. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she led a campaign to protect Indigenous peoples. 65 per cent of the eligible population was vaccinated in four days.

In 2014, Lesley co-founded Run With Dad, a community event to lift awareness of prostate cancer – the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men – and raise money for the prevention of the disease.

Lesley’s contributions have helped progress health practices across the Northern Territory. She’s currently Manager of Health and Community Services at the Malabam Health Board in Maningrida.