Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs Meet Judy Barraclough, Acting CEO at The Smith Family
05 July 2021
When The Smith Family’s CEO Lisa O’Brien left the organisation earlier this year, the search began for her replacement. For the last four months, Head of Strategy & Philanthropy Judy Barraclough has been holding the fort. We chat to her below to find out a little more about her.
Q: What has your Smith Family journey been like so far?
A: I am deeply committed to our mission of supporting young people in need through education and it is so good to be able to come to work each day knowing that we are making a real and important difference in these children's lives.
Q: What does it mean to be Acting CEO?
A: The role is about delivering on our strategy, and of course that means as a priority supporting the effectiveness of our work with children and families. Then it's about ensuring our continued strong financial performance and finally oversight of our governance.
In talking with this young woman, it was clear that being part of Learning for Life had a positive impact for her, and for family and her community. What a wonderful thing to be part of this!
Q: What's one of your most memorable highlights from your working life to date?
A: One of the very special things about The Smith Family is the ripple effect of what we do. I'll never forget a conversation I had with a young woman at a graduation event we held a few years ago. She is from a family of seven children and came to Australia from a refugee camp in northern Africa. She was beaming with pride to tell me that she was graduating from university as the first in her extended family to have a degree, and even more proudly telling me her sister had just finished school and was also enrolled in university.
In talking with this young woman, it was clear that being part of Learning for Life had a positive impact for her, and for her siblings, her extended family and her community. What a wonderful thing to be part of this!
Q: What are some of the things you are working on at the moment?
A: My focus at the moment is strategic planning. Our organisation’s next Five Year Plan kicks off in July 2022 so we are spending time now to understand what our families are facing, trends that are affecting them and what strategies we will need in place to support them. We will be talking directly to students and families for their feedback as well as principals of our partner schools and our staff on the front line.
I look forward to welcoming our new Chief Executive Officer, Doug Taylor when he commences in early August. Doug brings to The Smith Family extensive national and international experience in leading innovative social impact initiatives in partnership with the not-for-profit, government, philanthropic and the corporate sectors. Please join me and welcome him to The Smith Family!
