Our leadership

Sarah Dale, Centre Director
and Principal Solicitor

Prior to joining RACS Sarah spent four years working for the Public Interest Law Clearing House (now known as Justice Connects) on projects such as MOSAIC which deliver free legal outreach services to refugees and recently arrived migrants.

In 2013 Sarah became our first Child Specialist Solicitor, wherein she developed an outreach legal service for unaccompanied children within NSW and throughout Australia. Through this service she worked extensively with children who were detained on Christmas Island and faced transfer to Nauru.
In 2016, Sarah became Principal Solicitor of RACS and in 2018 she was awarded Migration Partner of the Year by Lawyers Weekly. By 2019 she had been promoted to RACS Centre Director, going on to win the UTS Alumni Law Award in the same year. Sarah has also managed projects responding to the Immigration Data Breach that occurred in 2014 and has been instrumental in helping people held in offshore detention with accessing critical medical attention.

Katie Wrigley,
Co-Principal Solicitor

At RACS, Katie manages our LGBTQI+ Safety program, having previously led the Women at Risk program, where she helped women at risk of violence seek permanent safety in Australia.

Previously, Katie was the Senior Solicitor in the Legal Aid Commission’s Immigration Team, overseeing the Commission’s work in domestic and family violence exemptions for immigration matters. She has over 20 years of experience in the not-for-profit legal sector, predominantly in immigration law. In 2015 she was a finalist for the Women in Law Awards Mentor of the Year.

Isobel McGarity,
Supervising Senior Solicitor

Isobel first joined RACS in 2013 as a student legal volunteer, going on to become a Solicitor and then Senior Solicitor. During this time she helped to establish RACS’s Women at Risk Program, of which she was the Program Manager.

In 2021, Isobel worked as a Senior Lawyer for the Australian Human Rights Commission. Following this, she joined Anti-Slavery Australia as a Senior Lawyer where she provided legal assistance to people experiencing forced marriage, trafficking and other forms of modern slavery. She has been a key speaker on panels and at events including the 2023 National Modern Slavery Conference and the 2024 National Immigration Law Conference. She has also drafted submissions and provided evidence to Parliament and other national and international bodies on human rights and law reform issues. In 2024 she was a finalist in the Women In Law Awards, Pro-Bono category.

Ahmad Sawan,
Supervising Senior Solicitor

Ahmad started with RACS as a student legal volunteer in 2017, then went on to complete his practical legal training at RACS in 2018.

During his time at RACS Ahmad has been responsible for coordinating the RACS Data Breach Project and assisting people seeking asylum with claims for protection. Today he is one of RACS’s Supervising Senior Solicitors and heads our Palestine Project. An alumnus of The University of Melbourne, he has gone on to work with RACS Centre Director and Principal Solicitor Sarah Dale at their Stateless Legal Clinic, where he has represented clients held offshore on Nauru and Papua New Guinea. He has also been involved in a number of provisions and submissions to Parliament, most recently in 2024 with his work on the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Kerrith Sowden, Director or Finance
and Operations

Kerrith is a key player in our strategic planning processes and a leader and guide in the implementation of operational improvements across all of our departments.

Kerrith has extensive experience as an executive leader in the For Purpose and Commercial Sectors, having worked as a Finance Manager for Xtreme, Harvey Nichols, and The George Institute for Global Health. She has been a key player in start-ups and rapidly growing organisations both overseas and in Australia. Prior to joining RACS, she spent eight years working for Manna from Heaven in Sydney, a company she left as their Chief Financial Officer in 2015.
Kerrith has been working at RACS for more than eight years.

Shauna Wolifson,
Head of Philanthropy

Shauna has used her comprehensive knowledge of the Australian fundraising and philanthropic sector to raise funds for causes she is passionate about.

Prior to joining RACS in 2017, Shauna held roles at Mission Australia, Australian Theatre of the Deaf, Belvoir St Theatre and Sydney Philharmonic Choirs. As Head of Philanthropy at RACS, she is responsible for developing impactful partnerships with philanthropists, trusts and foundations to support our mission.
In a previous life, Shauna was deeply involved in the film industry as a Casting Director on Australian and international films.

Hsu-Ann Khoury, Head of Engagement and Communications

Hsu-Ann has over 10 years’ experience working for human rights and international development nonprofits in Australia and Latin America.

Her roles have covered marketing, communications, advocacy and mobilisation and she is particularly passionate about connecting people to causes, encouraging ordinary Australians to see the positive impact that they can make in the world. She has a combined Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Arts (Spanish Honours) and a Diploma in Asian Studies from the Australian National University. You can follow her on LinkedIn and Inst agram.