Sam Henderson has spent more than two decades working across the corporate, government and community sectors on social impact and systemic change. He holds a master of business administration in social impact from the Australian Graduate School of Management and a bachelor of arts in Japanese and philosophy from Macquarie University.
He became chief executive of the Northern Rivers Community Foundation in August 2022, six months after catastrophic flooding devastated Lismore and the surrounding region in northern New South Wales. He has since directed flood relief and resilience grants across seven local government areas from Tweed to Grafton, arguing that disaster spending should build social capital and community connection rather than fund the clean-up.
Earlier roles include Social Futures in Lismore, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Indigenous Affairs Group, and Indigenous Business Australia in the Kimberley.
