Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Orange Sky
In October 2014, Lucas Patchett co-founded Orange Sky alongside his best mate NicMarchesi. Together, they built the first van and Orange Sky was born, the foundation forwhich thousands more people would be helped over the coming years.
Awarded Young Australian of the Year in 2016 and a 2020 Order of Australia medal, Lucashas a passion and commitment to supporting friends doing it tough. He has beeninstrumental in the significant growth of Orange Sky and is passionate about leadingOrange Sky to deliver on its five year strategy of supporting 40,000 friends by 2025. In 2023Lucas has been awarded the Churchill Fellowship that will allow him to understand howother organisations around the world provide support and services to people experiencinghomelessness.
Orange Sky now operates over 55 services across more than 35 locations in Australia andfive services across four locations in New Zealand, with continued expansion across bothcountries. The focus is on creating a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment forpeople who are too often ignored or feel disconnected from the community. Since 2014,Orange Sky has provided more than 238,000 loads of free laundry, over 25,000 warm, safeshowers, and more than 370,000 hours hours of genuine and non-judgementalconversation.Lucas has been a Board Member since Orange Sky was founded and has played a criticalrole in the strategic direction of Orange Sky including establishing Orange Sky New Zealandin 2018.
Lucas is genuine, relatable, and a true leader who sets the example of how an Orange Sky Person should act every day and tries to incorporate his two values of learning and having fun into everything he does.
