Christine Robertson OAM is a South Australian community leader, not-for-profit founder and senior executive who has spent much of her life turning ideas into action and bringing people together to make things happen.

Christine’s community and not-for-profit work spans more than a decade. She is Founder and Director of The Pawthority Group, the organisation behind Lost Pets of South Australia and Chipblitz. What began as a volunteer response to lost pets grew into a major community operation, with Chipblitz now having microchipped more than 100,000 dogs and cats across Australia.

More recently, Christine founded The Reset Initiative, a South Australian charity created to provide practical help to people who are struggling and need a hand to get back on their feet. It reflects much of what has driven Christine throughout her life: noticing where there is a gap, asking what can be done about it and then finding the people who can help make it happen.

Christine was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2023 for service to the community. She was also named South Australia’s Local Hero in the 2023 Australian of the Year Awards, South Australian Citizen of the Year and was inducted into the South Australian Women’s Honour Roll.

Across business, community and the not-for-profit sector, Christine has become known for practical leadership, resilience, fairness and a willingness to step forward when something needs doing. She believes leadership is less about position or title and much more about what we choose to do with the opportunities in front of us, particularly the doors we can open for other people.

At the heart of Christine’s work is an idea she calls The Sum of Us.

She believes most meaningful change begins much more quietly than we imagine. One person notices. One person helps. One person speaks up. One person decides to have a go. Individually, those actions can seem small. Together, they become The Sum of Us.