Meet Jo: the new heart of Good Shepherd Retirement Village
At this year’s National Lutheran Retirement Village Alliance (NLRVA) meeting, members had the privilege of meeting Joanne Augstkalns, the newly appointed Manager of Good Shepherd Retirement Village in Victoria, and it didn’t take long to see why the residents in her care are in such good hands.
Jo’s connection to Good Shepherd runs deep. For 28 years, she has been a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, a relationship that has taken her from serving on the welfare committee to chairing it, to now sitting on parish council. She brings the same spirit into every corner of church life, whether she’s giving communion, greeting at the door, ushering, or simply lending a hand wherever it’s needed. ‘I love both these roles within our church,’ she says, ‘and I enjoy all service aspects of church life.’
But behind the warmth is a career built on genuine business grit. For over three decades, Jo ran her own jewellery manufacturing, wholesale, and retail business, learning firsthand what it takes to build something from the ground up and keep it running. From there, she moved into high-level executive and business management roles, spending years as Business Manager and Accounts lead, then Personal and Executive Assistant for a CEO and founder, and later stepping into office management for a corporate research and analytics firm. Along the way, she managed payroll, budgets, BAS and GST reporting, accounts receivable and payable, board reports, staff contracts, and even the consolidation of two organisations into one. She’s coordinated executive calendars and international travel, liaised with journalists and analysts, and kept entire offices running like clockwork. In short, Jo knows how to manage people, budgets, and pressure, and how to make it look effortless.
That same instinct for service, paired with a genuine talent for getting things done, is what led her, almost by accident, into aged care leadership. Late last year, Board Chair Peter Renner approached Jo to ask whether she’d be interested in covering for village manager Sharon Ghalayini, who was taking leave. ‘Jo said “yes”, and when we debriefed at the end of the assignment, I sensed then that Jo enjoyed the people aspects of the role particularly,’ Peter recalls.
When Sharon announced her retirement a few months later, and the role was advertised, the committee received three strong applications. ‘A selection panel interviewed the applicants, with Jo the strong candidate,’ says Peter. ‘She subsequently accepted our offer of employment. Sharon and Jo then had the benefit of an extended handover, which was most beneficial.’ Jo is grateful for the support Sharon gave her during that orientation before handing over the reins. ‘My heart is full of gratitude to Sharon for the knowledge she shared, the time she afforded me, and her generous spirit,’ Jo says. ‘I’m loving every day I’m at work.’
Ask Jo what excites her most about the job, and her answer comes without hesitation: watching residents come to life. ‘What excites me most is seeing the residents come to life as we participate in group activities and one-on-ones,’ she explains. ‘It’s wonderful to hear their stories of life, hear them laugh out loud, and hear what they hold for the future.’ Her goal, simply put, is to help every resident live their best life.
In the two months since Jo became village manager, Peter notes that ‘the committee and residents alike have been delighted with how quickly Jo has assumed the manager mantle’, a testament to the depth of experience she brought with her from day one.
Jo’s priorities for the village are grounded and clear: keeping residents safe, happy, socially connected, and engaged with stimulating experiences, and with decades of operational experience behind her, she’s well equipped to turn those priorities into reality. She also has a bigger vision on the horizon: a bus. As residents age, coordinating carpools for outings has become harder, and finding volunteer drivers isn’t getting any easier. Jo dreams of a village bus that could take residents on bigger day trips, whether that’s somewhere far away or simply down to the local pub. ‘This vision is more of a “the coming years” than months,’ she admits, ‘but a vision nonetheless.’
In the meantime, she’s listening closely to what residents want more of, and a karaoke evening has come up more than once. Music and dance are close to Jo’s heart, and she loves nothing more than seeing residents lead the way on what brings them joy.
Outside of work, Jo stays active through exercise, reading, writing, and gardening. She’s also deeply involved with Rotary and local charity work, helping provide food donations to churches, people experiencing homelessness, and local families doing it tough amid cost-of-living pressures.
It’s this rare blend, a sharp business mind matched with genuine compassion and community spirit, that left such an impression on everyone who met Jo at the Alliance meeting.
We wish Jo all the best in her new role. You are more than welcome to reach out to Jo individually and introduce yourself; her email address is manager.gsrv@gmail.com
