Flourishing: ADM’S COO Clare Steele appointed to lead Compassion Australia
Clare Steele, ADM’s Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed as Compassion Australia’s next CEO.
Clare Steele, ADM’s Chief Operating Officer, has long been a supporter of Compassion Australia. Her family has sponsored a child for years, and her husband Matt, an Anglican minister, has participated in Compassion-sponsored pastor’s trips overseas.
But it wasn’t until Clare travelled with her family to Cebu City, Philippines, last year that she saw first-hand the extraordinary work Compassion was doing.
“Matt came back from his first trip blown away and believed there were fewer things more important to do with our resources than to serve and give to the work of Compassion, especially with the way churches were flourishing there with the Gospel ministry,” Clare said. “So when we had the opportunity to go as a family with our church, well, I don’t think any of us had seen the power of the Gospel so strongly at work as we did there in the projects and the churches.”
The experience was so transformative that Clare began to wonder if there was more she could do to serve the mission of Compassion Australia. And when Matt learned that Tim Hanna, Compassion Australia’s CEO since 2010, had announced he’d be retiring at the end of 2019, he encouraged his wife to apply. It was the last thing Clare expected to do; still, she submitted her application, went through the interview process and in July, the board of directors for Compassion Australia announced Clare as the next CEO of the organisation.
“It was a big decision but we felt that God had chosen this time and this role for us as a family,” she said.
Now after three years at Anglican Deaconess Ministries, two as COO, Clare will be taking her leadership skills to Compassion Australia’s headquarters in Newcastle where she’ll oversee more than 150 staff across the country who help care for the 120,000 children sponsored through thousands of Australian churches and communities. She begins her new role part time in November in what she calls a “learning, listening and praying phase” and will begin full time as CEO in January, one of only three women CEOs in Compassion around the world.
“If more women had the heart of deaconesses, the world would be a better place”
“It’s the greatest joy in my role to see women flourish in Kingdom work, responding to God’s call in their lives. To see Clare flourish in her role at ADM as COO and then pursue faithfully this next role at Compassion brings me great joy personally, and inspiration for our team as a whole,” said Dr Kate Harrison Brennan, CEO of ADM. “We want to see women raised up with theological formation who are practically and publicly engaged. Clare embodies this. We will miss Clare greatly but we are excited for her for this season ahead and will be praying her onwards!”
Clare leaves a much-loved mark on the ADM staff, with ten direct reports and so many new programs and events that it’s hard to miss her fingerprint. During her tenure at ADM, Clare has helped oversee the launch of the School of Theology, Culture & Public Engagement, the new office opening at St. Andrew’s House, a series of new MAC courses, Annual Funding Events, and numerous other programs, events and ministries, helping create a culture of hospitality and organisational excellence.
“I’ve gotten really good at food,” she said. “Seriously, I feel grateful for the opportunities I’ve had at ADM. My role here has been so wide: I can go from looking at the annual report layout to finalising budgets to caring for staff to answering emails from program users, all the normal administration that comes with running a business and ministry. But as our company secretary Ken Breakspear has taught me, it only matters if we offer it in prayer.”
Originally from the Blue Mountains, Clare’s Sydney career first began studying electronic engineering—mechatronics to be specific—at the University of Western Sydney before also earning her Master of Divinity from Sydney Missionary and Bible College. She has lived in Sydney’s inner west for 18 years and has worked in childcare as a children’s services manager as well as a consultant in various banks and corporate settings. Because Matt has served as minister for the past ten years at St. Alban’s Anglican Church in Five Dock, Clare has also been a part of building community and coordinating ministry opportunities and events through the church.
“Each has taught me that leadership is about people first, to really want to see them flourish. ”
“Leaving our community (in Five Dock) as well as ADM won’t be easy,” she said. “But we know it’s part of what it means to trust God together. It’s been inspiring to watch staff members grow or to see the excitement of a church member as they deepen their understanding of the Gospel. Each has taught me that leadership is about people first, to really want to see them flourish. My greatest joys at ADM have been to see my team grow, the laughs we’ve had and the things we’ve achieved as a team.”
Along with their children Jackson, 14, Rori, 12, and Cooper, 9, Clare and Matt look forward to discovering a new community in a new part of the country, and to watching how God provides for them as a family. That same enthusiasm is what will motivate the new CEO as she helps care for supporters and advance the vision of Compassion Australia: to see more children released from poverty in Jesus’ name. Though it’s her first experience as a CEO, Clare believes her experiences at ADM, in business and ministry have uniquely prepared her for this opportunity. Compassion Australia, like ADM, is also about helping women and their children flourish in God’s kingdom.
“That means as people give monthly financial support for school and essentials, they are also called into a deep commitment to the child’s life through a relationship and through prayer,” she said. “Things like writing letters really matter, as well as helping inspire their churches to better care for their communities, to care for these kids that God cares for and to help them flourish.”
As she moves into this next phase of flourishing for God’s kingdom, Clare also looks forward to hearing how ADM continues to help women use their gifts to serve and to see the Gospel go out in creative and interesting ways.
“If more women had the heart of deaconesses, the world would be a better place,” she said. “I’m so thankful to have served the mission of ADM, that there’s an organisation like it at all that cares so deeply about women. It has been such a privilege.”
—by Jo Kadlecek