Ryan Charlton is a property developer and manager, as well as a community leader and philanthropist. He gives back to his community by working with community members and organisations to help them develop properties that will benefit everyone.
Charlton says that regardless of your career path or industry, it’s always possible to give back to others and carve out a path that allows you to better the people and the world around you.
He challenges people to take a look at the work they are already doing to discover new ways to realign it to benefit their overall community. The result is a better social impact and a greater sense of satisfaction.
Charlton decided after 15 years in the property industry that he wanted to pivot and focus on the nonprofit sector, developing a mental health centre for youth in Mount Druitt, Australia and developing affordable housing across the country.
The mental health centre for youth in Mount Druitt can now accommodate more youth who need access to mental health services.
The entire project totalled $1.15 million, and Charlton oversaw the process from start to finish. He recalls seeing the project through from the acquisition of the site all the way to the construction and development process.
In addition to this, affordable housing is an issue across Australia with house prices vastly outpacing the rate of inflation, and pushing lower-income families out of the property market.
With the help of Ryan Charlton and the community-based organisations he works with, slowly but surely, they are beginning to alleviate the affordable housing crisis one step at a time, though there is clearly more work to do.
The NGO, Australian for Affordable Housing, declared that house prices are rising faster than income for about 80 per cent of Australians, which means the issue is felt to some degree by the majority of people.
The issue with soaring house prices is that it vastly exacerbates the wealth gap in Australia. It makes it even more difficult for lower-income families to achieve financial freedom.
Ryan Charlton’s day-to-day work has him overseeing up to ten people at a time, reporting to CFOs, CEOs and board members within his organisation and at church groups.
Charlton has also been featured on digital news platforms for his insights on career development and community involvement.
Some of Charlton’s tips include staying humble, being customer-centric and abiding by strong ethical principles.
Ryan Charlton says that working within the community sector brings him a high level of satisfaction.
“No matter what you accomplish in life, it’s important to remember where you came from,” says Charlton.
Right now, Ryan Charlton hopes to remain laser-focused on the property industry in the nonprofit sector. The work is exciting and it benefits many people, and being able to see the result of improving people’s lives is deeply satisfying to Charlton.
In addition, Charlton says he learns a lot from his role on a daily basis.
“You learn something from everybody who touches your life.”
