ReGen Strategic
Throughout her professional journey, Amy Blom’s tenacious nature has taken her far in the realms of politics and journalism.
Growing up in Bull Creek, Amy found herself excelling in the subject of English. And every few months, she would find herself attending a writer’s course for kids at Fremantle Prison.
At the early age of 12, her sharp written skills landed her the win in a school competition, resulting in her work being published in The West Australian.
Since this time, Amy has honed her skills further and now brings her fun, hard-working approach to ReGen Strategic as associate director, strategic communication.
Amy’s first job saw her sweeping the floor of a hair salon on weekends. She then took on the retail world where she spent six years working to earn some money during her high school and university studies.
Amy jokes that her time in retail taught her how to deal with boredom and to manage people in difficult situations.
“I learnt to be patient with people and realise that everyone is coming at situations from different angles that you don’t always know,” she reflects.
“For example, that nasty woman who came through the checkout and was being really mean to you, you don’t know what kind of day she’s had. You have to learn to treat people with a bit of grace.”
Having grown up in a large family with big personalities, Amy believed she was well-equipped to handle the demands of being a lawyer. And, after watching countless episodes of Boston Legal, she chose to undertake a double degree in journalism and law at Murdoch University.
“We were all very loud, big personalities, yelling-match type people,” Amy describes her family.
“We’d be having a lovely dinner, not realising we’re yelling at each other, but it’s only because we’re talking about something really controversial, and the loudest person was the one who got heard.
“It was all good natured, but for me I thought it would lend itself to law. As it turns out, I found law didn’t enable me to create the kind of change I wanted to see.”
Having come to this realisation, Amy switched out of law and took on philosophy while maintaining her journalism studies.
Amy’s first position in the journalism field sprouted out of a university assignment where she was tasked with producing a story each afternoon.
“I remember there was one particular story I was working on that involved chasing a source who just wasn’t getting back to me, but I kept working on it and got him – and the story – in the end, which impressed my lecturer,” she says.
“My lecturer happened to be the former editor of The Sunday Times and he hooked me up with an internship at there, which is where I learned to write features under Billy Rule and Anthony De Ceglie.”
Under her internship, Amy took on countless opportunities and built a portfolio, which landed her a job at The Examiner Newspapers in Perth’s south-eastern suburbs.
Amy spent three and a half years at The Examiner, where she continued to hone her skills.
“It was the kind of job that’s great to have when you’re just starting out because you get to try your hand at everything, but there is an expectation that you won’t stay long because you learn what you need to and then move on to bigger things,” she says.
“The only reason I stayed so long is because I really loved the people I worked with, but I knew that I would eventually want to do more.”
As her time at The Examiner began to approach an end, Amy wrote a series of articles highlighting financial mismanagement within local government, leading to several resignations. Little did she know, this would lead to her next career move.
Her tough but fair reporting led to her being put forward for her first position in politics as WA Senator Linda Reynolds’ media advisor.
While Amy describes political work as quite demanding at times, she said it was often exciting.
“Canberra has a buzz about it that’s really fun,” she describes.
“I was there when the Senate passed the Marriage Equality Act. Our office was directly above the Senate and it’s usually dead quiet.
“On this particular day, out of nowhere we heard this rumble underneath our feet and it was the Senators who had just passed the vote and they were yelling and cheering with happiness.
“Although the Senate is not known for being the most exciting out of the two houses of Parliament, it was amazing to be there for something like that.”
During her time as a media advisor to Senator Reynolds, Amy describes one of the standout moments of her career thus far.
“While working in the Senate, I helped call attention to what's called orphanage tourism,” she explains.
“That is when people from wealthy nations like Australia visit less developed nations and take tours of orphanages, where they are encouraged to donate money or volunteer their time.
“The problem is that most of these so-called ‘orphans’ actually still have parents, or at least some living relatives. And even when they don’t or when it’s not appropriate for them to return to their families, an institution like an orphanage is not the right setting for them to grow up in, which is why we don’t operate orphanages in Australia anymore, and it’s certainly not right for tourists to be visiting them.
“Australia was the first country in the world to recognise this practice as a form of modern slavery.”
After a short stint as a resources reporter, Amy moved into state politics, where she assisted the then-Member for Darling Range Alyssa Hayden with a range of shadow portfolios.
Having spent more than half her career in politics, Amy began to question her future in it after being asked whether she planned to run for Parliament one day. She knew that wasn’t part of her plans and that it was time to move on.
“I thought about why I became a political staffer, and it was really about the experience,” she says.
“I’d worked Federal, I’d worked State, I’d worked opposition, I’d worked Government, so I kind of got the experience.
“I’d done everything I could possibly do, and I didn’t want to be a chief of staff, I didn’t want to be a Member of Parliament, so it was time to do what I came to do which was something bigger.”
Looking for new and more diverse experiences, Amy came to CGM Communications (now ReGen) as she believed the business aligned with her values and would offer her the opportunity to continue to grow within the same organisation.
During her time with the business, Amy has served in multiple roles, having recently secured a promotion to the position of associate director.
“It was a bit of a learning curve for me to come into a team of communications professionals because when I worked in politics, I was very much a one-woman show when it came to anything related to media or communications,” she says.
“Working within a team of talented individuals has been a fantastic experience because I’ve been able to learn from them and it’s always good to have someone to bounce ideas off.”
Throughout her multiple roles at ReGen, Amy has grown both professionally and personally. She now has a son, who she says has influenced the way she approaches her work.
“I’m forced to draw more of a distinction between work and home, and really make the effort to switch off when I’m with my family,” she says.
“It’s also made me more efficient because I still want to achieve all the things I used to, but I know that I need to leave work on time and that when I get home, I need to be present, which means I have to make the most of the hours I have available.”
In her spare time, you can often find Amy trialling a range of radical new recipes. She also enjoys making Simpsons memes for her friends and colleagues.
Looking towards the future, Amy aspires to continue improving on herself.
“I always think if you don’t look back at who you were five years ago and cringe a little bit, that doesn’t mean you were perfect back then, it means you haven’t had any growth in the last five years,” she declares.
PHOTO CREDIT: George Foulkes-Taylor