Sam Donnelly began his career as a dentist working in both the public sector and private practice. In 2005, he moved to Yunnan province in Southwest China to volunteer with a Christian NGO providing dental care for poor and marginalised people and training village doctors in remote rural locations. Across 12 years in China, Sam managed HIV/AIDS care and prevention projects, held various senior leadership roles and focussed on growing the capacity of Chinese nationals to design, implement and lead outcome driven programs to meet the needs of beneficiaries in their own communities.
In 2017, visa related issues forced Sam and his family to make a sudden exit from China and return to Australia. After a stint on the executive team of a rapidly growing medical centre group, Sam again finds himself in transition.