AWER BUL, Director and Founder

Awer G. Bul was born in 1983 in South Sudan. He grew up in the midst of the Sudanese civil war. When he was seven years old he fled to the border of Uganda and South Sudan with his parents, where he was faced with similar insecurity. In 1994 he was separated from his parents and travelled to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya where he lived for six years, eating just one meal a day. 

In December 2000 at age of 17, he was given the opportunity to go to America as one of the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’. There he attended J.R. Tucker High School and worked at the local grocery store. He graduated in 2004 with Honours, which gave him entry to one of the top American Arts schools.

He joined Virginia Commonwealth University as a full-time Arts student majoring in Kinetic Imaging, with a minor in Fine Arts. While attending university, he created the Awer Bul Art Program, a project which provides artists in Kakuma Refugee Camp with art supplies, and conducts workshops. In 2012, he travelled back to South Sudan with the help of an American friends to build a water well in Wangulei, South Sudan. The well is currently in use by three villages.

Awer moved to Australia in 2012 to join his family. He is now the father of three children and is currently working as Draftsperson for Supaloc International, a steel structure building system. 

IAN SMITH AM, Chair

Ian Smith is the founding partner of corporate and political advisory firm Bespoke Approach. He is also a Senior Adviser to Albright Stonebridge Group, a Washington-based strategy consultancy.

As well as chairing Barefoot to Boots, Ian is engaged in refugee advocacy within Australia and is a director of Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia.

Ian is the United Kingdom’s Honorary Consul for South Australia and the Deputy Chair of Prince’s Trust Australia, founded by his Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. He is a member of the Council for the University of South Australia. 

He is a Director of Developing East Arnhem Limited, a not-for-profit company driving the remote region’s economic development. He became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2018.

MOYA DODD, Director

Moya Dodd is a former vice-captain of the Matildas, and a partner at law firm Gilbert +Tobin.

Moya was one of the first few women appointed to the FIFA Executive Committee

(2013–16), where she advocated for equality reforms. She also served on the governing bodies of the Asian Football Confederation (2007–19) and Football Federation Australia (2007–17).

She graduated with Honours in Law from Adelaide University, then worked as a Judges Associate at the Supreme Court before moving into private practice, then working in inhouse roles at Telstra while completing her Executive MBA at AGSM. Moya then worked in business roles at Fairfax and in economic consulting before returning to the law at Gilbert + Tobin.

Moya writes regularly on sport and gender issues, and is an outspoken advocate for women in sport. She continues to be involved in sports governance as a member of the IOC’s Athlete’s Entourage Commission and the ICAS.

In 2016, she was named the overall winner of the AFR – Women of Influence awards, and in 2018, she was listed as the 7th most powerful woman in international sport (outside the US) by Fortune magazine.

Moya enjoys family and two kids, and playing in the over-40s.

MARGARET JACKSON AC, Director

Margaret Jackson is Chairman of Spotless Group Holdings Limited, Ansett Aviation Training Limited, Prince’s Charities Australia and is also a Director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and a member of Monash University’s Industry Council of Advisors.

Margaret has also served as Chairman of Qantas, FlexiGroup Ltd, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, and a Director of The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, The Australian and New Zealand Banking Corporation, Pacific Dunlop Limited, John Fairfax Holdings Limited, Billabong International Ltd, Telecom Australia, West Gippsland Healthcare Group, President of Australian Volunteers International, former partner KPMG Advisory, and BDO Nelson. 

Margaret is a Companion of the Order of Australia in the General Division (AC) for service to business in diverse and leading Australian corporations and to the community in the area of support for medical research, the arts and education. She was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to Australian society in Business and holds an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Monash University. 

She is a former Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Salvation Army Southern Territory, the Playbox Theatre Company and Methodist Ladies College.

LOUISE STEINFORT, Director

Louise has over 25 years experience in executive office and general management roles in the private sector.

Louise is currently General Manager, Social Impact & Corporate Communications at RACV, and was previously at Goldman Sachs Australia for over 8 years working in the Executive Office. She holds a Diploma in Financial Markets CertV from FINSIA and Governance Foundation for NFP Directors at the AICD.

Louise has completed the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship for Ethical Leadership, the General Management program at Melbourne Business School, Governance Foundation for NFP Directors at the AICD and HBS certification in Sustainable Business Strategy and Strategy Execution.   

Louise sits on the Human Research Ethics Committee of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for medical research. She is also a member of the Development Committee for the Burnet Institute which has involved travelling to Myanmar, Laos and Bangladesh to visit public health programs.