Bachelor of Business (Finance), 2011
UTS Business School Award
Social entrepreneur, Shaun Christie-David believes food is a powerful catalyst for change. It allowed him to connect to his Sri Lankan heritage and to people across different cultures, backgrounds and generations. This belief, coupled with the deep-seeded sense of social justice inherited from his mother, has helped Shaun change the lives of countless people from marginalised communities.
Shifting from a career in finance into the for-purpose sector, Shaun has used his commercial nous to drive strategic partnerships, diversify revenue streams and innovate income generation for a selection of not-for-profits and charities over the past decade.
He created Plate It Forward in 2020 – a collective of soon-to-be six social impact restaurants that provide food relief, training, and employment opportunities to people who need it, including refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. The organisation’s meal donation initiative, The Social Meal, also delivers up to 2,000 restaurant-quality meals each week to community members who are facing food insecurity – and repurposes over 800kg of food each week that would otherwise be discarded. Since its foundation, Plate It Forward has employed 150 staff members, paid over $3.5 million in wages and provided 75,000 hours of training. It has also delivered over 600,000 meals to people in need across the globe.
In the years prior, Shaun worked in partnership with the Australian Federal Government to develop the Aboriginal Health Television Network. The Network is a world-first in-language, culturally appropriate platform dedicated to improving health outcomes and health literacy for Aboriginal communities and First Nations people. Since its launch in 2019, the network has been instrumental in changing the conversation around First Nations health.
In 2009, Shaun completed his Bachelor of Business majoring in Finance, Financial Planning and Banking from UTS – an experience he says opened the doors that led him to where he is today.
In recognition of his work, Shaun has received many prestigious accolades including the inaugural Time Out's Hospitality Future Shaper, the AMP Tomorrow Maker and the Westpac ChangeMaker awards. In 2021, Plate It Forward was also recognised as the Community Human Rights Champion by the Australian Human Rights Commission.
My mum always said when you have an opportunity, make sure you give back to people. That’s what we’re doing with Plate It Forward – using the power of being an employer to empower people.