Foyer Foundation announces new CEO to tackle youth homelessness
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The Foyer Foundation Board has announced the appointment of incoming Chief Executive Officer Liz Cameron-Smith. With over a decade at PwC, Liz has managed multi-level investments and commitments from philanthropic, corporate and government partners, in collaboration with community partners and the for-purpose sector.
Ms Cameron-Smith will commence her role on July 4th, after 13 years at PwC where she fulfilled most recently the role as Founder and Director of The Impact Assembly – an innovative social venture within PwC Australia designed to accelerate change on complex social and environmental challenges.
During her tenure at PwC, Liz was core to the collaborative structure and development of highly innovative projects from their incubation phase through to governance, launch and execution, working closely with many of the Foyer Foundation’s key partners including Paul Ramsay Foundation, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Mission Australia, and Uniting.
Foyer Foundation Chair Keith Bryant says, “Liz’s experience in co-creating, shaping and growing complex strategies through The Constellation Project and Learning Creates Australia gave the Board great confidence in her ability to become a proponent of the Foyer movement in Australia – with her excellent understanding of the relationship between homelessness and a young person’s path towards independence.”
Liz demonstrated skills across an impressive portfolio of projects and initiatives involving diverse sectors and disciplines including housing and homelessness, equity in learning and employment pathways and human services – all core to the success of young people and to the Foyer Foundation’s bold ambition to grow the Foyer approach.
As well as her skills in relationship building, strategy and management, Liz brings practical knowledge and experience of the structural, political and policy context affecting young people who stand to benefit from more accredited Foyers.
As CEO, Liz will work alongside the Brotherhood of St Laurence and the recently launched FoyerInvest – a national consortium of leading Foyer operators and service providers who are developing a national impact and investment framework. This consortium will drive the work we are doing in partnership with all levels of government, impact investors, business leaders, philanthropists, and young people to realise our growth strategy before 2030.
Liz says, “I am very excited to be able to work with the Foyer Foundation’s networks, with the Foyer Foundation Board, including the Chair Keith Bryant, with young people and with some of the most experienced leaders in the country. By harnessing this diverse network’s talents, capabilities, vision and pragmatism we will continue to advance the Foyer approach as an effective, integrated solution that enables more young people to thrive.”
Liz will welcome delegates at the Foyer Foundation’s national conference in August this year. The Foyer Foundation National Conference will reveal new thinking and approaches to grow accredited Foyers across Australia and move beyond youth homelessness.
Liz will oversee the Foyer Foundation’s accreditation work as well as the national community of practice – both of which will feature as part of the conference with an energising and courageous line up of speakers and guests.
She says, “At a time when youth homelessness, mental health and employment challenges are stretched all at once, Foyers are ready to support young people to build their skills, capabilities and learning and employment pathways. And I am right behind this approach.”
Lourdes Antenor is an experienced writer who specialises in the not-for-profit sector and its affiliations. She is the content producer for Third Sector News, an online knowledge-based platform for and about the Australian NFP sector.
