Bill Armstrong has more than 35 years experience in the aid and development field, with more than half of this time at Australian Volunteers International
http://www.ozvol.org.au. He had a long association with the Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA) and was the President from 1993 to 1997. He is a Founding Member of the Pacific Islands Association of Non Government Organisations (PIANGO).
His first association with the Australian Volunteers program was between 1964 -1970 when he worked as the Executive Assistant to the founding Director of the Overseas Service Bureau, Jim Webb. In the 1970s, he was involved in establishing the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and Action for World Development (AWD), a church based development education program. He was National Coordinator of AWD from 1975-1981.
In 1982, Bill was appointed the Chief Executive of the Overseas Service Bureau, (now Australian Volunteers International). In this role he has traveled extensively in Asia, the Pacific, Africa and Latin America and has participated in many regional and international forums focusing on community development, social justice, human rights and the development of civil society.
In November 2000, Bill was awarded the Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop Asia Medal, an annual award to an Australian with a record of outstanding achievement and long-term commitment to enhancing the quality of life of people in the Asia region and forging sustained Australia-Asia relationships.
In June 2000 Bill was appointed to the Board for Voluntary Service to Indigenous Communities Foundation whose aim is to improve the access of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to business, management, technical and professional skills. He is also a Board member of Caritas Australia.
