Meet Ruth Molloy: The newest member of our team

There’s a phrase Ruth Molloy uses almost in passing: “There’s always room for one more at the table.”

It’s how she describes her upbringing with parents who opened their home to people from all walks of life, who modelled generosity and care not as an occasion but as a default. It’s also, it turns out, a pretty good description of how she works.

Ruth has joined Documentary Australia as Head of Philanthropy, Partnerships and Communications, bringing with her a career that has moved with purpose through nursing, law, international humanitarian work and the not-for-profit sector. A Masters in International Law from the University of Melbourne, sits alongside years of hands-on experience volunteering at women’s refuges, in mentoring and coaching, and leading philanthropy teams.

“It’s not the arts that attracts me,” she told our CEO Mitzi Goldman in her interview about this role at Documentary Australia. “It’s the social impact.”

What Ruth saw in the work that Documentary Australia does was the power of storytelling to change perspectives and challenge assumptions. “Using lived experience to highlight issues and help shift the needle on areas that still need a lot of work,” she says. “That’s what drew me here.”

Ruth describes herself as loyal to causes she believes in, to organisations advancing those causes, and to the people she works alongside.

“I’m somebody who wants to be part of a team that’s making a difference in a meaningful, genuine way.” She believes, with conviction, that the best people in her field of philanthropy are the ones who are personally invested in the cause they’re working for. “It makes you better at your job. It makes you more effective.”

Ruth speaks about supporters not as a constituency to be managed, but as a community to be genuinely looked after. As people who deserve good information, real connection, and the knowledge that what they give matters.

“I want them to feel really valued,” she says. “To know they’re making a difference. To feel part of our community.”

Documentary Australia is fortunate to have found Ruth at our table.

Ruth replaces Sharlene Dadd, who is staying on as Senior Advisor.

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