![GO Foundation's new CEO Shirley Chowdhary with Adam Goodes (R) and Michael O'Loughlin (L) at SCG.](/content/dam/images/g/s/a/e/e/t/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gs901l.png/1477884508018.jpg)
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Former AFL players Adam Goodes and Michael O'Loughlin have named a former Westpac lawyer as the first chief executive of their Indigenous scholarship foundation in order to further invest in Indigenous education.
Speaking from Sydney Swans office in the Sydney Cricket Grounds, the former Sydney Swans players said they appointed Shirley Chowdhary as the first CEO of the GO Foundation after screening more than 80 candidates and going through five rounds of interviews.
The former Westpac and JP Morgan lawyer said the foundation currently covers tuition fees of 16 students in high schools in Sydney but she would like to increase the number of scholarship recipients and expand the program to offer scholarships for tertiary education.
"We would like to support as many students as possible. The sky is the limit," Chowdhary said.
"I have always had one foot in the not-for-profit sector," she said, adding her intention to quit her corporate job to lead the GO Foundation did not surprise people who knew her well.
Chowdhary also sits on the board of YMCA NSW as a non-executive director.
The GO Foundation, founded by Goodes and O'Loughlin, provides scholarships to academically gifted students to attend private schools including at St Gregory's College in Campbelltown and Pymble Ladies' College on Sydney's north shore. The latter charges up to $30,000 a year in tuition fees.
"One way we're able to give back to the community is to start here in Sydney because this place made who we are now," Goodes said.
'Set a precedent'
Since it was founded in 2009, the foundation has grown to a $1 million not-for-profit organisation, with more than half of the funding coming from private and corporate donations.
Although all GO Foundation scholars currently attend private schools, Goodes said as its partner organisation, the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, expands its approved list of schools, the foundation will be able to support kids to attend public schools which, in turn, will allow more students to receive scholarships.
"We're not saying private institutions are the way forward for education," Goodes said.
Both Goodes and O'Loughlin are the eldest children in their families and have previously told The Australian Financial Review of the foundation's principle if you educate the first kid it will be easier for the others to follow.
Goodes said it was important to invest in the education of the eldest child to "set a precedent" for the rest of the siblings and, on one occasion, the GO Foundation decided to award a scholarship to an elder sister over her younger sister because of their philosophy.
However, to the relief of those academically-gifted middle and last children, the Foundation will consider application from candidates regardless of their birth order, Goodes said.
Goodes said both himself and O'Loughlin are from South Australia and he would like to see the GO foundation expand its reach to other capital cities.
O'Loughlin said despite the new leadership the foundation will continue to work with the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, which handles the student selection process for the scholarship. "We're not trying to reinvent the wheel. We will be focusing on giving non-sporting scholarships to those who work extremely hard," he said.