The Business School has recently farewelled their colleague Dr Theresa Ruig-Smith as she embarks on a new journey as the Director of Volunteer Partnerships with Vision Australia. 
 
Theresa was employed at UNE in 2006 on a range of fixed term contacts before she was appointed as a senior lecturer in the management and marketing discipline in September 2009. 
 
Theresa also held some additional roles at UNE, including Course Coordinator for all undergraduate and post graduate business and management degrees (2016-2018), she was also the Deputy Head of the Business School from mid 2018- March 2019, and served on the Vice Chancellor’s Diversity Advisory Committee.
 
At a student level, Theresa enjoyed leading the Lucie Mentoring Program which helped connect business and law students with a mentor in the workplace.
 
Her involvement with the students at UNE has been her highlight during her time here. 
 
“One of my favourite memories is of one particular student who I taught, but also went on to provide career advice throughout her degree and following graduation. She was so grateful that upon graduation she managed to find (from overseas) a braille version of the book Tuesdays with Morrie – a memoir. It was a narrative based on the author Mitch Alboms’ life in which he recounts his experiences with meeting with his old college professor. 
 
Mitch tells the professor how he had a profound impact on his life. I’m not sure what touched me more, the fact that the student had specifically sought out a braille book in order that I could read it, or the theme of the book and what it represented.”
 
Whilst working at UNE, Theresa has also spent over a decade working with an organisation close to her heart, Vision Australia. Theresa joined the board of Vision Australia in 2007 until 2017, where she had spent time as Deputy Chair on the board and Chair of the People & Culture committee. 
 
“It was an incredible opportunity that allowed me to be part of an amazing organisation that directly impacts the lives of people who are blind or have low vision.”
 
Theresa was also engaged as a Project Manager to review the structure of volunteer management in the organisation. Vision Australia has more than 800 employees, and over 2500 volunteers with the latter contributing around 1.1million hours of service to the organisation each year. 
 
“Volunteers play a critical role in all aspects of our society, and this is definitely the case at Vision Australia. We have an amazing diversity of volunteers, ranging in age from those in their teens, to those over 90. Some of our volunteers have been volunteering their time for more than 40 years, which is an incredible testament to their generosity of spirit and strong connection to the mission of Vision Australia.”
 
As her new role as Volunteer partnerships Director, Theresa will manage the Volunteer Partnerships Office which comprises of 13 paid staff who are responsible for managing the 2500 volunteers across Vision Australia. Theresa’s role is essential in the leading and executing of a national volunteer strategy. 
 
“It is incredibly humbling to be given the opportunity to work with such wonderful staff and volunteers, and the chance to make a contribution to the blindness and low vision community.
 
We must do all that we can to ensure all members of our community are given equal opportunity to achieve their aspirations in life.” 
 
We wish Theresa the best of luck with her new ventures at Vision Australia and thank her for all her support and involvement with the UNE Business School.