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Renee Wilson & Gary Wilson
Presentation Title: The story you don’t hear: the outcome no one expected
Renee Wilson
Chief Executive Officer Families of Veterans Guild, Australian War Widows NSW
Renee is the Chief Executive Officer of the Families of Veterans Guild which is proudly owned and operated by Australian War Widows NSW; an organisation which supports and serves Australian veteran families. Renee is the spouse of an Afghanistan war veteran who was severely wounded during his service on the 12th rotation of the Special Operations Task Group in 2010. Experiencing gaps across the support system, Renee has been passionate advocate for veterans and their families ever since.
Renee holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of International Business from Griffith University. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from ANU and a Graduate Certificate in Business (Public Sector Management) from QUT. Renee has also completed the Strategic Perspectives in Non-for-Profit Management at Harvard Business School in 2023. Selected for this course by the Harvard Club of Australia, Renee was one of two 2023 Ferris Family Fellowship Scholars.
Renee has served on the Boards of the Australian International Military Games (Sydney Invictus Games), the Advisory Council for the National Centre of Veteran’s Health at Concord Hospital and the Veteran Community Business Chamber. Renee also sat on the ACT Government’s Ministerial Advisory Council for Veterans and Families, the Federal Government’s Council for Women and Families United by Defence Service and more recently the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide’s Stakeholder Reference Group.
Renee is currently an ambassador for the Commando Welfare Trust and Fearless PTSD. Having both lived experiences of being the family member of a Soldier who served with 2 Commando during the Afghanistan War and also a lived experience of complex PTSD and its impacts, Renee deeply values the work of both organisations and the broader purposes they both contribute to.
Gary Wilson
Service Ambassador Soldier On & ADF
Signalman Gary Wilson was a Soldier in the Australian Army. He had been a member of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) for 20 years. Commencing his career with 3RAR, the Third Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, he deployed to East Timor in 2000 and 2002. In 2005, Gary transferred to the Royal Australian Corps of Signals to become an Electronic Warfare (EW) Operator. His time in the EW trade saw him provide strategic support to the Australian Government and the ADF before posting into the 2nd Commando Regiment in 2009. In early 2010 Gary deployed to Afghanistan with the Special Operations Task Group.
Just 10 days before the end of his deployment Gary sustained life threatening injuries. At first, Gary wasn’t expected to survive, extensive brain injuries saw him fall into a coma. He has re-learnt everything from walking to talking and most importantly regained his independence.
Gary has since become a Service Ambassador for Soldier On and for the ADF. Gary has represented Australia twice at the United States Marine Corps trials and at the 2016 & 2017 INVICTUS Games, winning a Bronze Medal in seated discus in Toronto. Gary’s journey of recovery is a story of resilience, determination, love, and support. His recovery has been nothing short of remarkable, continually defying the odds stacked against him.
Gary is happily married and a father of two. He is a qualified Personal Trainer and is preparing to return to an analytical role, focusing on collecting information and assessing the backgrounds of personnel requiring access to classified information.
Links
- ‘The Call That Never Came’ Soldier On video production
- ‘Blackhawk Down: Veteran Gary Wilson Inspires Others’ – Canberra Daily
- ‘Helicopter Crash Survivor Saved By Love’ – SLHD Sydney
- Brain Injury Australia Article
