OUR COMMITTEE
Meet our Liberation Larder Committee !!
We're a team of Byron area locals, all passionately committed to delivering on our mission, through creating a fun, inclusive & safe environment for our volunteers to provide our services with compassion for those in our local community who need our help.
As a team we have extensive business, charity & governance experience, which ensures a strong focus on building, leading & supporting a great team of volunteers; operational health, safety & hygiene; strong financial & organisational management & sustainability; ensuring a strong community presence & working collaboratively with other local support organisations.
We're all volunteers ourselves, we all roll our sleeves up & work in our kitchen or collect food donations & we're all passionate about rescuing food & fighting hunger within our local community. We work hard to ensure 100% of the donations we receive of food, money & other items goes towards helping our team achieve our mission & make the most of our limited resources !!
John Morgan (President)
John brings a lifetime of entrepreneurial experience & community spirit to his role as President of Liberation Larder. Best known as the founder of Maddog Surfboards, he has built successful businesses while maintaining a strong connection to the Byron community & its values. Passionate about reducing waste & supporting people doing it tough, John is proud to help lead an organisation that rescues quality surplus food & redistributes it to those who need it most. Through his leadership, John is committed to fostering a culture of compassion, sustainability & inclusion, helping Liberation Larder continue to grow its impact across the Byron Shire. He's honoured to work alongside volunteers, donors & community partners who share a vision of a more caring & resilient community for all.
Alice Jarvis (Treasurer)
Alice migrated to Australia in 1994 after serving as a Personal Assistant to the CEO of a multinational company in Taiwan. She built a new life through education, completing both University & Master’s Degrees before beginning her career as an accountant. In 2011 Alice began volunteering at the Byron Community Centre, supporting the finance team as a pioneer of the Tax-Help program in the Byron Shire. She joined Liberation Larder as a volunteer in 2012 & has been the Treasurer since 2014 with her continued focus on supporting the organisation with financial governance & sustainability. Alice loves the sense of belonging in the Byron community, the way people greet each other with warmth on the street & the daily interactions in the Liberation Larder kitchen. Giving back has become one of the most meaningful parts of Alice's life.
David Graus (Secretary)
David worked in Sydney as a corporate lawyer for a number of financial services organisations including the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. He moved to Byron in 2016 & started volunteering at Liberation Larder in 2017, joining the Committee in 2019 & then becoming Secretary in 2020. David finds volunteering at Liberation Larder to be extremely satisfying & makes him feel a part of the community.
Ruth Walker (Committee Member)
Ruth brings a lifetime of caring for people to her role with Liberation Larder. After spending many years as flight attendant with Qantas, she developed a deep appreciation for connection, kindness & helping others feel supported. She moved to Byron Bay in 2010, started with our Liberation Larder team in 2022 & also joined our committee that same year. Ruth considers herself fortunate in life & finds volunteering at Liberation Larder gives her the chance to give back to the community & help those who haven't been so lucky in life.
Donna Gordon (Committee Member)
Donna comes from a long line of cooks & food lovers, and for her, food has always been her love language. Having worked in hospitality for most of her life, she has never been able to stay out of the kitchen for long. Since joining in 2023, Donna has found Liberation Larder to be a wonderful way to stay connected to the community, work alongside other volunteers, rescue perfectly good food from going to waste & help provide meals to anyone who needs them. She loves being part of a team of happy, passionate cooks & hopes that the care, generosity & joy that go into preparing the food are reflected in every meal served.
Roland Dickson (Committee Member)
Roland brings a wealth of experience & practical knowledge to our team, having spent more than 30 years in the foodservice industry working in sales & marketing, both for a manufacturer & as the owner of a distribution company.
After retirement Roland became increasingly aware of the challenges faced by many in our community & found Liberation Larder a great match for his own personal values on supporting those in our community with great meals, as well as also having a positive environmental impact with the reuse of valuable resources.
Lisa Carey (Committee Member)
Lisa brings many years of experience in the procurement of gourmet & organic foods, along with a deep commitment to community service. In 2018, she became a full-time volunteer with Assistance Dogs Australia in Sydney, helping to raise Labrador puppies that would go on to support people living with disabilities. After relocating to the Byron Shire, Lisa was keen to continue giving back to her community. She was inspired by Liberation Larder’s 100% volunteer-led model & its dedication to rescuing surplus food & essential items, then giving them to local people experiencing hardship. She is proud to contribute to an organisation that makes such a positive difference in the lives of people in our local community.
Suvi Chou (Committee Member)
Suvi has been one of our most awesome volunteers since she joined Liberation Larder in 2020 & our committee in 2025. She not only brings an enormous amount of experience as a food collector & works weekly in our kitchen, Suvi also focuses on helping our families & ladies who are in need of support from us.
Janet Montgomery (Committee Member)
Janet spent many years volunteering with Dune Care & Cape Byron Lighthouse before joining Liberation Larder in 2019. She has been an important part of our team taking on a leadership role as a co-ordinator throughout 2024-2025 & sitting as member of our committee since 2023.
Darrin Northey (Committee Member)
Daz spent the first 25yrs of his working life in banking & finance, eventually saw the light & now operates a number of hospitality venues in QLD & NSW. He is deeply passionate about our Byron community & his belief that every single human on the planet deserves to have access to good food & doing whatever he can to help those people in our local community really struggling day to day. Daz joined the Liberation Larder team in 2026.