Megan Gilmour, CEO & Cofounder of MissingSchool, was featured in an article from Her Canberra. To view the original article click here.
Admit it, we’ve all been there – stalking social media and LinkedIn profiles, trying desperately to figure out how the hell someone got their dream job.
It seems impossible and yet there they are, living out your career fantasy (minus the itchy business suit). It might seem hard to believe, but once upon a time, they were also fantasising about their future career, and with some hard work, they made it.
Welcome to How I Got Here, HerCanberra’s series that reveals everything you want to know about the secrets of career success.
When her son survived a traumatic illness, Megan Gilmour vowed to support the 1.2 million Australian children at risk of missing school due to chronic medical and mental conditions. In 2024, she drove a campaign to sustain school connections for children’s wellbeing, reaching 14.1 million Australians. And in 2025, she was named ACT Australian of the Year. We sat down with her to find out how she got here.
Existential crisis time: Who are you and what do you do?
I’m a social innovator and education trailblazer, with roots in international aid, government, and entrepreneurship. My company, The Art of Agency, kicked off my journey into entrepreneurship. I’ve since co-founded MissingSchool and Robots4Good, using tech to connect kids with chronic conditions to their classrooms. Right now, I work at the intersections of health, education, and care; places that are crying out for innovation.
Let’s go back to when you were a kid—have you always dreamed of working in this industry?
Growing up in Sydney’s western suburbs, I saw inequality up close. I wanted to be a psychologist or lawyer, anything in the service of fairness. Though I didn’t dream of where I’d be today, I was always tuned into the human condition. Looking back, I can trace it to a deep, early awareness that some people never get the same shot. We can change that.
What set a fire in your belly to get here, and how did you do it?
In 2010, my young son became critically ill. Alongside some brutal treatments, his education stopped, just when he needed hope most. We lived in a hospital for much of two years, disempowered by our circumstances and witnessing how missing school hurt him. When basic things like learning and connection felt impossible to access, I knew this wasn’t just our story. I couldn’t walk away then, and that fire still burns today. I’ve done it through sheer will. Now, being 2025 ACT Australian of the Year is a gamechanger for my mission.
Recall a time when you wanted to chuck it all in. What did you tell yourself when it got too hard?
Every day, honestly. Systems change is a slog. But I came to realise that we don’t find our purpose, our purpose finds us. When things get too hard, I make my purpose bigger than the problem. And I remember: if I’m struggling, how excruciating is it for the kids I’m fighting for? I’ve made it my job to rebel against giving up.
What was your biggest break?
There’s never been one big break, just millions of micro-moments of “Yes!”, all earned through relentless action. One example: the moment we proved a telepresence robot can beam a chronically absent kid back into their classroom. That one spark? It blazed a bright trail, shifting thinking, moving systems. But it happened because we showed up, over and over, long before anyone saw the value in it.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
There isn’t just one. Advice only matters if it meets the moment and is followed by action. What helped me today won’t help me tomorrow. So I test ideas, try things, and listen hard to my team, my trusted advisers, and mentors. I’ve learned that breakthroughs don’t come from waiting for wisdom; they come from doing something with what you’ve got, where you are.
What do you love about your industry—and what makes you want to pull your hair out?
Weirdly, I love that the problems are huge, wicked, global … and worth solving. The same scale that lights me up also drives me crazy. Change like this can be painfully slow, and complexity can paralyse. But working on meaningful problems creates a ripple effect. You solve one thing, and a dozen others shift too. That’s why I stay.
How do you stay in the know—what media do you consume?
I consume everything from peer-reviewed research to TikTok commentary. I review government reports, think tank papers, and follow young thought leaders shaking up old systems. New media offers contrast, so essential for shifting perspectives and calling out unconscious bias and old paradigms. I’m obsessed with science fact and thinkers like Jim Collins, who bring elegant, evidence-backed approaches to social-sector strategy, like use of “catalytic mechanisms” and the “flywheel”.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I hope the problem I’ve worked on since 2010 has a permanent government-led solution. I’d love to be teaching others how to lead big, systems-level change and backing reluctant revolutionaries like me with investment. I see MissingSchool influencing the global architecture of flexible schooling. This challenging moment in history is exactly the time to accelerate social good, as we need to meet these problems with positive solutions of equal force.
Why should people follow in your footsteps?
Honestly, you can’t. No one can walk someone else’s path, because we’re all shaped by different contexts, gifts, and timing. But you can take your next step, and the one after that. Complex problems aren’t solved in straight lines. You learn as you go, change directions when you must, and make your own path by laying the bricks beneath your feet as you go.
What advice would you give your past self?
You are capable of so much more than you know. Big problems are invitations to bring your full self—your gifts, grief, talents, insights, and weird ideas—to the table. Don’t wait. Start now. You don’t need permission to make change; you just need to show up. If I’d believed that earlier, I would’ve started sooner.
Australian of the Year 2026 nominations are now open. Visit australianoftheyear.org.au/nominate before 31 July to nominate an extraordinary local who deserves to be celebrated.
Call for federal recognition
The organisation has urged the Federal Government to formally recognise students with chronic conditions as a priority equity cohort. Their recommendations include counting these students in attendance data, addressing them in anti-bullying strategies, and implementing targeted supports like telepresence technology.
The timing of the findings coincides with the World Health Assembly’s adoption of a landmark resolution recognising social connection as an urgent public health priority, underscoring the global significance of addressing social isolation among vulnerable student populations.
