Justin grew up on the Gold Coast, where life revolved around surfing, football, and time with mates. He speaks with deep love and appreciation for his parents, who shaped his values of hard work, kindness, and responsibility toward others.

Justin completed a trade as a greenkeeper and later studied theology and psychology. Following Jesus has shaped Justin’s life and work. As a pastor, he spent many years walking alongside people experiencing homelessness and children who had lived through trauma and abuse. Thirty years ago, a trip to Thailand with World Vision exposed him to deep poverty and the reality faced by many girls at risk of exploitation. It changed the direction of his life.

Justin began building relationships with organisations including World Vision and Tearfund Australia, as well as schools, churches, NGOs, and local partners across Australia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. He established OTV in Australia and a foundation in Thailand, developing community-based prevention programs designed to reduce girls’ vulnerability to exploitation and create pathways out of poverty.

Building OTV has been hard. There have been financial pressures, difficult environments, and ongoing challenges on the ground. It has been exhausting at times. It has taken years of persistence. But the focus has remained the same: stay in communities, build trust, strengthen families and create practical pathways that give girls greater safety and opportunity.

Today, OTV works alongside girls, families, community leaders, churches, schools, and local groups across Thailand and the Mekong region. The work is built on long-term relationships and sustained presence — preventing exploitation and creating pathways out of poverty.

“I didn’t choose this work. I know it’s my calling, and I’m grateful for that. But it hasn’t been easy. At times it’s been exhausting. Still, as we look ahead, I’m hopeful. We’ve learned so much along the way, and now we can use that to help even more children and families,” Justin says.