Meet Lisa: finding joy, connection and belonging

healthAbility’s social activity groups bring together older people, adults with disability and carers for affordable fun and meaningful activities. Whether it's day trips and outings or social gatherings that keep people feeling connected, you'll find Lisa Renn supporting the team to make these groups happen.

Before taking on the Social Activity Groups Manager role earlier this year, Lisa spent over two decades in dietetics, frequently stepping up as a media spokesperson for Dietitians Australia.

She loved helping people make better choices, but she rarely got to see the payoff. It was rewarding work, but it often meant waiting months, or sometimes never finding out, to see the positive outcomes.

Her move to healthAbility completely flipped that script.

Lisa says. “At healthAbility, I can just sit at my desk and literally hear people laughing and smiling. I’m going, wow, I’m actually making a difference right now.”

She originally came on board back in December 2025 in a project based role to expand the social activity groups program, but she moved into the full manager position just a few months later. Her schedule now? A total whirlwind. On any given day she’s working alongside the social activity groups team to map out group outings, coordinate activities, and making sure the people that need to know about the program can find it. There’s also days dancing to the Nutbush.

A big part of the role, together with the team, is giving people the confidence to show up. That first step is usually the hardest part. Lisa remembers a client who was invited out for a ten-pin bowling day. “He’s like, ‘Oh, I can’t do that, I’ve never done it, I can’t do it.’ But the support worker talked him into giving it a go. He went, and he had an absolute ball.”

For Lisa, that’s the job in a nutshell. It’s about building the right environment so people can completely surprise themselves.

The regulars who show up every week are mostly people who can’t drive or travel on their own and without this program, they’d simply be stuck at home. Beyond having a good time, it also gives people attending a sense of belonging.

“As human beings, we all just want to feel like we’re part of something,” she explains. “It’s honestly like that old show Cheers, where everyone knows your name, and it’s just a place where you belong.”

When she isn’t running the program, you’ll probably find her drinking tea, hanging out with cats or, surprisingly enough, putting on boxing gloves; punching bags for fitness, with a bit of sparring thrown in which is mostly laughing and trying not to get hit in the face.