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  • Professor Tanya Buchanan

    Professor Tanya Buchanan

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Professor Tanya Buchanan

Master of Business Administration, 1999

Winner of the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award

From an English and Comparative Literature degree to an about-turn into studying Nursing, the CEO of Dementia Australia, our 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award Winner, Professor Tanya Buchanan, paved her own path, confident in backing herself and following where it led.

“I developed a bit of a passion through [my English and Comparative Literature] degree, believe it or not, for health policy. There weren't too many degrees around health policy and health administration [at the time] so that's why I moved across into nursing. I loved nursing. I really enjoyed being a nurse…”

‘Staying curious’ and embracing change are the keys to success for Tanya, whether that’s moving to Tasmania and continuing her MBA studies at Edith Cowan University remotely, guided by shipments from Perth of ‘readers’ and ‘floppy discs’ sent to her new home interstate, or changing careers and moving from a clinical setting and into a public health leadership pathway. Tanya acknowledges that careers are not linear, and so starting out on one path does not mean you can’t pivot and change to another.

. I really enjoyed nursing… When I had an opportunity to take on a management role and combine health and management that was also something that I found really exciting - there was so much to learn.”

When it comes to public health, Tanya really found her stride, combining her clinical knowledge with the leadership skills she learnt during her MBA and her  drive to implement real, positive, and lasting change in people’s lives.

“My move into public health came when we moved to the UK and I got the role as CEO for Action on Smoking and Health in Wales. I brought my clinical skills and knowledge, [together with my] leadership skills, to look at how we could  help people to improve their health at a population level.”

She’s passionate about the impact that she and her teams have made together. Dementia touches 446,500 Australians, and cancer touches the lives of 1 in 2 Australians. The work she and her teams havedone in public health and advocacy will be felt for generations.

“What inspires me is being able to make a positive change for people…and also the clever, committed people I get to work with…who all have a focus on making things better for people.”

Tanya humbly credits her passionate and inspiring team at Dementia Australia, and her previous team at the Cancer Council Australia, where she worked as the CEO , for the incredible strides and impacts these two organisations have made during her tenure on Australians’ lives.

“Nothing great was ever achieved really in [health policy]by individuals, most things have taken great teams… I've been really lucky to be part of good teams, who come together to focus on solving a challenge.”

As a leader Tanya highly values curiosity; she knows just how important it is to ask the right questions and interrogate the answers she receives.

“As a leader, we have a tendency to think, “I have to have to know everything about everything”. Sometimes the most important thing you can do is be vulnerable enough to ask the question and then curious enough to interrogate the answer…It’s important through every step of your career, just to stay curious and stay committed to what your values are and how you can make a difference.”

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