About the Founder
The Story of "Australians In..."
In 2005 a few fellow "exiled" Aussies roaming around the Greater Richmond region of Virginia randomly bumped into each other and ended up celebrating Australia Day together, thus sparking the early flames of the "Aussies In..." network. Finding this to be a refreshing cultural oasis, replicating it was in order - and also supporting a growing band of Aussies who'd already begun to muster years earlier when the group began gathering for its Greater Richmond Australia Day celebrations around 1993.
Since then we've continued to communicate, share info, and casually get together from time to time (occasionally in more coordinated fashions) - for an occasional yarn (sometimes online, sometimes in person), to share culturally appropriate refreshments - to help keep (some of) us (mostly) sane and help grow some close friendships.
The idea has taken off and as folks moved about and other friends popped up in different parts of the US, we have grown from one group in one city to now having assembled a network of communities across the country, supported by a Facebook group and community in each and every state... for all Aussies "in exile" to call their own!
Darren Green
Born in Brisbane, Australia, Darren is an Australian and US passport-carrying dual citizen since 2020 (and has been a permanent US resident since 2008).
Connect on LinkedInHe played his first ever real games of Aussie Rules in April 2019 - as a 48-year-old - IN THE USA - at the inaugural USAFL Mid Atlantic Cup tournament which he created... having also just launched in February 2019 the Virginia Lions Australian Rules Football Club (the tournament's host). That first MACup tournament was between the Baltimore Dockers, North Carolina Tigers and the DC Eagles.
He continued on to play more than 50 games of "mildly competitive" and highly social games in the USAFL before retiring as a player in 2025 due to on field injury (& old age!). Darren also served 2 years on the USAFL's national board (2024, 2025), and retired from the role of Founding President of the Virginia Lions in 2026.
For his efforts furthering international growth of the game of Australian Rules Football, in 2023 he received Brisbane Lions' "Community Champion Award", and in 2025 received the USAFL founders' award for Sports Administration - the "Paul O'Keefe Medal" ~ "For The Good Of The Game".
He even occasionally still waves the flags in goals, runs the boundaries or pretends to coach - but only when things get desperate.
While he did not play organized Aussie Rules footy for a team/club growing up back in Australia, he did follow it in the media - and was stoked when a Brisbane-based team was finally added to the AFL's national lineup.
Although an enthusiastic big-picture macro thinker, Darren is also comfortable getting his hands dirty at the coalface, helping to make details work at the grassroots level. Always searching for learning opportunities and better ways and ideas, you'll find Darren is open to a chat and is happy to listen and learn from others' experiences across the US, Australia and beyond.
In January 2026, Darren handed over stewardship of the Australians in the USA network to Josh Pugh of America Josh, ensuring the community continues to grow and support Australians across all 50 states.