Chris Govers

After graduating with an engineering degree from the University of Newcastle, Chris began his career in government infrastructure and transport planning, including roles supporting the Sydney and London Olympics.

"Newcastle taught me to think with an engineering mindset, so think about things systemically, but to understand the human implications and impacts of those systems."

A new role as National Volunteer Program Coordinator (and later National Programs Manager) with Habitat for Humanity in Bogotá would shift his focus from the systems themselves to the people those systems serve.

"In Colombia, we worked with the same community for many years. For the time I was there, we were able to incrementally develop a neglected space in the community, along with housing improvements, into a multi-purpose sports field that children and adults could use, play on, and use as a gathering space for the community," he says.

"I remember being there and watching everyone from the community working together on the sports field and I thought, this is the time when we need to step back and disappear."

While his leadership had mobilised more than 500 volunteers, generated significant funding and delivered housing and infrastructure projects in underserved urban communities, Chris realised his measure of success had changed. It was not in making himself indispensable but enabling communities to lead change for themselves.

His innovative, locally-led model has since influenced how international NGOs approach volunteer engagement and community partnership.

“I used to think leadership was about having all the answers, and working with communities all around the world has really taught me that the opposite is true,” he explains.

“The people we work with already have extraordinary strength, knowledge and resilience. Our role really is to tap into that and connect people with resources and opportunities that they may not have access to otherwise.”

As his career has evolved, Chris has led across a wide range of environments, from interacting with corporate partners and government ministers to collaborating directly with people in local communities.

"I've learned that what's of interest to the community that I'm talking with in rural Yogyakarta is also of interest to a government representative in Australia," he says.

"At the end of the day, we're all human beings, and we're all aiming towards the same types of aspirations. We want our families to be healthy and happy. We want to live in a safe and adequate environment so that we can progress as humanity together."

Now based at Habitat for Humanity Australia, Chris is leading major development programs with more than 10 countries. His multi-year projects to improve housing, sanitation, climate resilience, and disaster preparedness have directly impacted more than 150,000 people.

Chris' impact permeates throughout the sector, convening researchers and industry peers through the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Urban Community of Practice.

As his influence continues to grow, Chris holds on to the lesson he learned working alongside individual communities earlier in his career: good leadership starts with collaboration and championing the skills of others.

"It's helping people. It's facilitating people. It's encouraging people and drawing from those strengths and abilities that people will have to achieve their goals together."