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Meet Our Board Members 👥
Toc Deng
Treasurer
Toc’s approach to leadership is deeply shaped by his formative years spent in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Growing up in this environment gave him a profound understanding of displacement, resilience, and the importance of unity and cultural identity. These early experiences have laid the foundation for his lifelong commitment to community-led, culturally safe service delivery.
As Co-Founder and Treasurer of Mät Foundation, Toc plays a vital role in both governance and frontline engagement. In his role as a youth mentor, Toc has become a trusted figure among young people, supporting them to navigate identity, belonging, and systems that can often feel disconnected from their realities.
His strength lies in creating spaces where the community feels seen, respected, and empowered to express themselves and take part in programs that honour their culture, stories, and aspirations.
Toc’s leadership is grounded in transparency, accountability, and a deep respect for South Sudanese cultural heritage. His combined experience in business management and grassroots community work enables him to contribute strategically to Mät Foundation’s growth while remaining deeply connected to the community it serves.
Sarah Deng
Director
With two decades of experience in the disability sector, Sarah Deng brings a strong foundation in social inclusion, cultural diversity, and advocacy for people with disabilities. Her deep commitment to equity and empowerment is rooted in her personal journey – having spent several of her adolescent years as a refugee in Kakuma and Ifo refugee camps in Kenya. These formative experiences shaped her understanding of displacement, resilience, and the critical importance of culturally safe support systems.
Sarah is dedicated to supporting individuals to lead independent and fulfilling lives, with a focus on creating services that are respectful, inclusive, and culturally grounded. Her leadership is shaped by both lived experience and professional expertise, giving her unique insight into the needs of diverse communities -particularly single-parent households, women, youth, and people living with disability.
Over the past six years, she has successfully directed a disability support service, embedding culturally responsive and trauma-informed practices into every layer of service delivery. Her passion for creating safe and empowering spaces led to the development of a Women’s Empowerment Program within the Mät Foundation – an initiative that offers culturally safe environments where women’s voices are heard, respected, and valued.
Lydia Garrett:
Director
Lydia is ever curious, delighted by interactions with each and every person she meets. She speaks several languages including Arabic and relocated to Australia from the UK three years ago. She loves solving problems by enabling people to get out of their siloes, to listen to those with a different perspective. In her role at Igniting Change she is more fulfilled than ever, centring lived experience working alongside Jane Tewson and their tiny but mighty team. Lydia challenges the status quo and pushes for a collaborative approach to social and environmental change across all sectors. She has worked in the UK and overseas, influencing government policy, big business, and at the coalface with women from refugee backgrounds. She enjoys getting her hands dirty, being strategic and doing things differently – all equally handy working with tiny Igniting Change and in her role as a Director of HADIA Foundation – which provides humanitarian assistance and access to education on the ground in Afghanistan. Outside of work, to offset her love of travel and its dependency on planes, she cycles everywhere and experiments with plant-based food – enticing others to do the same. She is also a former GB pentathlete, now boxer, and aspiring salsa and kizomba dancer.
Tut Tut
Director
Appointed to the Board in January 2025.
Tut Tut is an accomplished lawyer with extensive experience in criminal defence law and legal advocacy. Over his career he has represented individuals and entities facing prosecution initiated by the various state prosecutorial agencies, regulatory bodies, and municipal councils.
Currently serving as Director of Sentinel Advisors Tut supervises a legal team, works closely with counsel and appears as an instructing solicitor in serious indictable matters in the Supreme Court and County Court.
Tut’s career highlights include working at Victoria Legal Aid, and senior roles at KPT Defence Lawyers and Tut & Co Lawyers, where he oversaw teams and provided strategic legal advice.
In addition to his legal expertise, Tut has significant experience in governance, risk management and compliance having been a member of the Parkville College School Council – the Victorian State School for children in custody.
His private sector experience includes running legal practices and other business ventures.
Thomas Deng
Director
Thomas Deng is an Australian professional footballer and respected community leader who brings both national pride and global experience to his role as a Board Member of Mät Foundation.
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, to South Sudanese parents, Thomas spent his early childhood between the Kakuma and Ifo refugee camps, where his family experienced the hardships of displacement and limited opportunity. These early years shaped his resilience and grounded his lifelong commitment to community.
His family later relocated to Adelaide through Australia’s humanitarian program, before eventually settling in Melbourne, where Thomas began to pursue football more seriously. Navigating life as a young South Sudanese boy in a new country came with challenges – but through persistence, family support, and community connection, he overcame these barriers to rise through the ranks of Australian sport.
On the field, Thomas has achieved remarkable success. He was part of the Melbourne Victory squad that won the A-League Championship in 2018, and in 2021, he made history as captain of the Olyroos at the Tokyo Olympic Games. His leadership and skill also earned him a place in the Socceroos squad for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022. Professionally, he has played in Japan’s J-League and for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, bringing a global perspective to his leadership.
Beyond football, Thomas is passionate about using his platform to support young people from migrant, refugee, and underrepresented backgrounds, helping them believe in their potential and embrace their identity with pride. Through his work with Mät Foundation, he champions cultural safety, inclusion, and resilience, especially for communities often overlooked by mainstream services.
Thomas brings humility, lived experience, and inspiration to the board, helping guide Mät’s mission to deliver healing and transformative outcomes for vulnerable communities across Australia.