Profile Type: Directorate

Dr Anne T. Gallagher AO is Director-General of the Commonwealth Foundation.

Anne brings extensive leadership experience to the role. A lawyer, practitioner, teacher, and scholar, her long international career has involved specialisation in a wide range of areas including human rights and the administration of criminal justice.

After several years teaching in the law school of the Australian National University, Anne was recruited to the United Nations where she served for 12 years, including as a special adviser to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson. From 2003, Anne worked with the Association of South-East Asian Nations and its ten Member States to strengthen legislative and criminal justice responses to human trafficking and related exploitation.

Her recent and current appointments include President of the International Catholic Migration Commission; Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Presidential Task Force on Human Trafficking; Academic Adviser at Doughty St Chambers; member of the Asia Dialogue on Forced Migration; and Chairperson of Girls Not Brides.

Anne’s work for human rights, justice, and equality has been widely recognised, earning her, among other honours, the Australian Freedom Award and the ‘Peace Woman of the Year’ award for the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. In 2012, she was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) and named a ‘2012 hero’ by US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

As Director-General, Anne is the Commonwealth’s ambassador for civil society: working closely with Member States to advance people’s participation in all aspects of public dialogue.

Mr Shem Ochola OGW leads on programmatic and grant-making priorities as the Foundation’s eleventh Deputy Director-General.

Mr Ochola brings over 20 years of experience in programme management, governance, and policy influence in appointments spanning civil society, the private sector, academia, and government.

He began his career as a lecturer in Economics at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies before working at the High Commission for Pakistan as a Trade Development Officer.

Also early in his career, he co-founded the Sugar Campaign for Change, a campaign for reforms in the sugar industry. Later, he joined ActionAid Kenya as Parliamentary Liaison Programmes Officer before becoming the organisation’s Head of Governance, where from 2005 to 2008, he played a significant role in establishing the Movement for Political Accountability, a citizen-led coalition aimed at empowering Kenyans to hold their public leadership to account. During the 2007-2008 Kenyan crisis, he served as a technical committee member of the Kenyan Cabinet Sub-Committee on the National Accord, which developed a strategy for national reconciliation, including social and economic recovery.

His recent appointments include Regional Policy and Partnerships Director at the Aga Khan Foundation, East Africa and Director of Programme Development and Grants Acquisition at World Vision. Just prior to joining the Foundation, Shem was Head of Network Development and Coordination at HelpAge International, where he led the Africa global hub in network development, advocacy, campaigns, and communications.