This year we proudly reflect on the journey of Meridian – an organisation built on the strengths of lived experience, connection, and community leadership. From our beginnings in response to the HIV epidemic, we have continuously evolved to meet the changing needs of our communities. Today, as a peer-led community-controlled organisation, we remain committed to providing vital health and social support services to LGBTIQA+ people. Our mission is to celebrate diversity, strengthen community connections, and empower individuals to live their fullest lives.
We witnessed the departure of our esteemed CEO, Philippa Moss, after more than a decade of dedicated service to Meridian. We would like to extend our deepest and most sincere gratitude to Philippa for her unwavering dedication and commitment. Under her leadership, Meridian has not
only grown and expanded but has also become a thriving organisation. Her vision and tenacity laid a robust foundation for our future endeavours.
Her leadership advanced research into the value of peer-led services for meeting the health needs of LGBTIQA+ people and strengthened Meridian’s programs, focusing on HIV elimination, sexual health, and inclusive services for gender and sexuality support.
As we bid farewell to Philippa, we step into a new chapter, navigating the ACT Government’s changing funding landscape. While these shifts bring challenges, Meridian remains ready to adapt, just as it always has. Thank you, Philippa – you will be deeply missed.
It is with great pleasure that we introduce our new CEO, Joshua Anlezark. A previous board member of Meridian and former deputy CEO, Joshua has been acting as interim CEO since July 2024. Joshua joins us from Hepatitis Australia, where he was general manager. Prior to that, he was
executive director of Hepatitis ACT.
Joshua brings a wealth of strategic leadership, governance, and management expertise to the role. He has strong technical knowledge of HIV, sexual health, and LGBTIQA+ health, and a deep understanding of Meridian and the communities we serve. Joshua has extensive experience in
the design, delivery, and management of health and human services. He brings a strong focus on partnership and collaboration and has extensive networks across the ACT community sector and nationally.
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This year saw Meridian successfully implement the delivery of a Primary Health (GP/Nurse) service in our wellbeing space. We continued our important work in the support of people living with HIV, people with disability, and aged services. We successfully progressed our journey with the National
Disability Insurance Scheme, delivering support coordination to the LGBTIQA+ communities we champion. These are only a few of our many achievements this year.
A heartfelt thank you goes to our extraordinary staff and volunteers. Their passion, commitment, and dedication drive everything we do, helping us to continue our work toward ending HIV and reducing health inequities faced by LGBTIQA+ people and sex workers.
We also acknowledge our incredible board members, whose leadership and governance ensure that Meridian stays focused on its mission to promote health and wellbeing in our community. To our members, the heart of Meridian, we extend our deepest gratitude. Your insights, engagement,
and direction inspire and energise our work every day.