Who we are

Salt was founded by Phil Sparrow in 2013.

Phil lived and worked in Afghanistan for many years,  providing leadership and guidance to long term development projects but also with the UN in political affairs and humanitarian coordination.  He has also worked in Jordan, Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, Nepal, India, Pakistan and  Myanmar, designing and conducting evaluations, in training and support to grow or reorient programs, strengthen governance and internal systems, and build leadership. He's advised on programs in Mongolia, Zimbabwe and PNG. 

He has substantial experience with leadership support and project management with Aboriginal groups across the deserts of Australia and in WA, and in corporate consulting.

 Phil has written extensively on peace, conflict and power, had two books published, and lectured in human rights and international development. In 2001 he narrowly escaped being blown up by the French in the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan, but he has forgiven them. 

He speaks good Persian, passable German and bad Arabic. 

Chelsea is an experienced analyst and grant writer with a background in international and community development, adult education and strategic support. 

Over the past 10 years, Chelsea has worked with an array of Australian and international not-for-profit organisations, supporting them to secure funding, create strategic documentation and undertake high-quality monitoring and evaluation. 

Chelsea holds a B.Arts in International Studies, Masters in International Development, Grad Cert in TESOL and has undertaken training in leadership coaching. .

Damian Tapley

Associate

Damian lived and worked in China for 19 years, with responsibilities across China and the UAE as an executive leader for a large international educational services organisation. As Director of Government Relations, Crisis Management, Employee Wellbeing and HR, he focussed on the organisation’s internal and external relationships to ensure mission delivery.  

Damian is an experienced trainer and presenter, designing and delivering training around the world in areas such as international transitions, intercultural understanding, government relations, and crisis management. He is fluent in Chinese (Mandarin).

His studies have focussed on international organisational leadership and more recently on local intercultural community development.