Catholic Social Services Victoria has appointed Joshua Lourensz as its new executive director, the organisation’s chair Bernie Cronin announced yesterday.
Mr Lourensz takes the helm from Denis Fitzgerald, who retired in September.
“Josh was chosen for his demonstrated passion for social justice underpinned by his commitment to Catholic social teaching and ethos,” Mr Cronin said.
“He has strong communication skills and experience at the cutting edge of advocacy for those disadvantaged and on the margins. He will be known to many people working for our members as he has been involved in a number of CSSV activities in recent years.”
Mr Lourensz has most recently been working as national coordinator of the Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA), a broad alliance of Catholic organisations, schools, parishes and individuals co-convened by Jesuit Social Services and Jesuit Refugee Service Australia. CAPSA works to positively influence government policy and hearts and minds towards a more compassionate response to refugees.
Prior to this Mr Lourensz worked for a range of social service organisations in policy, governance and direct service provision roles, with particular concern for homelessness and issues pertaining to asylum-seekers.
He is a member of the Society of St Vincent de Paul and sits on the boards of the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project and the Arena Foundation.
Mr Lourensz has completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Social Theory and Anthropology and a Diploma of Languages: French.
“We warmly welcome Josh into this important role and look forward to working together with members and Council towards the CSSV mission,” Mr Cronin said.
This article first appeared in cathnews and published on 10 December 2019.