Councillor Jenni Keerie

As a central Queenslander, you could think that settling into this colder region in South Gippsland may have been a challenge. Fortunately, Jenni thrives on a challenge and loves this area she has adopted as her home. In Jenni's words, Queensland has two seasons; hot, wet and humid, or cold, dry and sunny — there isn't the beautiful changing of the seasons that we experience here. She loves everything about this area, and she doesn't mind the cold (she is a tough Queenslander after all).

As the middle child of five, Jenni would describe herself as 'born political' having to peace-keep and negotiate her way between two older and two young siblings. She says she often 'flew under the radar' because of the antics of her sister and brothers, and that was OK by her.

Jenni's professional career was 'interrupted' but included roles in business management, legal practice, administration, trust accounts, business owner, hospitality, advocacy and community services all while raising two children and being the primary carer for her husband who sustained a severe brain injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident.

Jenni's career has always included working with and for people, and she wanted to use the experiences and numerous skills acquired throughout her life working in Korumburra. Managing the Community House in Korumburra has kept her very much involved with community issues.

When asked what inspired her to become a Councillor, she said that it was working for her community. She knew that South Gippsland deserved committed representation and that her skills and experience could be beneficial to develop new plans and frameworks that would set our region up for future growth and development, whilst also preserving the beauty of the environment that is special to us all.

Jenni is passionate about creating and maintaining positive, collaborative relationships to achieve strong outcomes and relishes the opportunity to continue that with the Councillor group.