A note from Ali Green, Chair of our Board
03 Sep 2026
Dear friends and supporters of Story Factory,
As Cath has shared, next year she will step down as Executive Director of Story Factory after 15 remarkable years at its helm. She is not leaving Story Factory and will continue to support our mission as a Non-Executive Director on the Board.
On behalf of the Board, I want to recognise Cath’s extraordinary contribution and express our enormous gratitude for all she has given to Story Factory and the remarkable organisation she has shaped.
Just as importantly, Story Factory is strong enough to keep growing well beyond Cath’s tenure as Executive Director. For a founder, I can think of few greater achievements.
Our responsibility as a Board is now to steward Story Factory into its next chapter with the same ambition, care and sound judgement that have brought us to this point.
This transition has been thoughtfully planned, and it will not happen overnight. Cath will remain as Executive Director while we undertake a thorough and considered search for her successor, and she will work closely with the incoming Executive Director to ensure a comprehensive handover and smooth transition. We have appointed Hourigan International to lead the executive search, and I will personally oversee the process on behalf of the Board. We expect a new Executive Director to join us in the first quarter of 2027.
We will be looking for an exceptional leader who shares Story Factory’s values, understands the trust we have earned with young people and their communities, and has the ambition and judgement to build on this strong foundation while bringing their own vision to Story Factory’s future.
I have had the privilege of working alongside Cath as a Director and, more recently, as Chair, and have seen firsthand the judgement, ambition and deep care she brings to her leadership. Over her tenure, Cath has guided Story Factory through periods of immense growth and transformation, as well as some of the most challenging years the not-for-profit, arts and education sectors have faced. Through it all, Story Factory has continued to evolve and strengthen, while its purpose and the young people it serves have remained firmly at the centre.
Cath is a modest person, and I know she would prefer this letter to focus on Story Factory and the team behind it. But her instinct to share the credit should not stop us from recognising the scale of what she has achieved.
Under Cath’s leadership, Story Factory has grown from an idea into an organisation that has worked with nearly 80,000 young people and is on track to reach 100,000 by the end of 2027. Those numbers tell an extraordinary story of growth, but they can’t fully capture the impact of her work. Story Factory has changed the lives of thousands of young people, and that impact ripples outwards into families, classrooms and communities, and through the teachers we work alongside. Cath leaves a profound legacy, one whose impact will be felt for generations to come.
Importantly, this is not goodbye to Cath. Cath will remain closely connected to Story Factory as a board member, allowing us to retain her experience, knowledge and deep connection to the organisation while giving our new Executive Director the space and authority to make the role their own.
There is so much to be proud of in Story Factory’s first 15 years, and so much to be excited about in the next 15. There are thousands more young people we want to reach, stories waiting to be written and voices that deserve to be heard.
To everyone who has helped Story Factory become the organisation it is today, thank you. I am enormously excited about what comes next, and I hope you will continue to be part of Story Factory’s next chapter.
Many thanks,
Ali Green