Claerwen Little has been appointed as the new National Director of UnitingCare Australia.
The announcement was made yesterday by Colleen Geyer, general secretary of the Uniting Church in Australia, Peter Bicknell, UnitingCare Australia National Committee Chair.
Claerwen has worked in the community sector for over 35 years and comes to UnitingCare Australia from Uniting in NSW/ACT where she has held senior executive roles in service delivery, advocacy and innovation across 25 years. She has been responsible for establishing the research and advocacy capability of Uniting as well as leading a large and complex suite of programs for children, families, young people, communities and people with disability across NSW and the ACT.
Claerwen Little holds a Masters of Policy (Social Policy), is a Stanford Graduate of the Executive Program for Non-Profit Leaders and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She has sat on numerous high level Boards and is a current member of the UnitingCare Australia National Committee, a role she has filled for various periods since the 1990s. She is also the current chair of the UnitingCare Australia Children, Young People and Families Network.
“Claerwen is a committed Christian who loves the Uniting Church, its strengths and diversity, and its vision and values,” Colleen said. “She is an active member of her local Picton Uniting Church congregation and Church Council and holds the strong belief that by uniting together we can truly make a difference to those most in need in our community and can bring about transformation in our world.
“With her unique combination of church experience, service delivery, social policy and qualifications, we believe Claerwen is an ideal choice for the role of national director and we look forward to working with her as she leads UnitingCare Australia into its next exciting phase,” Colleen Geyer said.
Claerwen will commence in the role on 6 February 2017. Martin Cowling, associate national director will continue in the role of acting national director until then.