Natalie Nelmes became the Director of Geraldton Universities Centre in 2015 after serving for five years as the Centre’s Special Projects Manager, working at the coal face of creating this innovative model for supported university education in the region. With an Arts degree and a Masters in Management, plus more than 15 years in the marketing and PR industries, Natalie works with the firm belief that communication and collaboration can open doors to new ways of thinking and finding solutions to community issues. It’s exactly the approach GUC has taken in its grass roots approach in establishing the first not for profit universities centre in Australia, forming partnerships with universities to provide supported distance education and being governed by a regionally based board committed to community outcomes. Having drawn interest from throughout Australia for this model, universities centres are now emerging in other regional communities to meet community need. GUC itself is now approaching sustainability with more than 200 local university students studying across 10 different programs.

http://www.guc.edu.au