OUR FELLOWS

Nikko Riazi is a government relations and public policy professional whose work experience spans banking, healthcare, international trade and investment, infrastructure and the public service. 

 

Her writing has appeared in The Mandarin, the Lowy Institute’s The Interpreter and ASPI’s The Strategist, focusing on Asia-Pacific housing, superannuation and the links between finance and national security. 

 

A former OECD Australian Youth Delegate, she also chairs the Education CHANCES Foundation - a youth education not-for-profit. She holds a Master of Public Policy and Management, Bachelor of Commerce (Economics/Finance) and a Diploma of Languages (French Studies) from the University of Melbourne.

Amrita Chahal is a recent graduate of the University of New South Wales, where she completed a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Media (Communications and Journalism) with Distinction. She holds a Certificate in Transnational Law from the University of Geneva, strengthening her understanding of Australia’s role in international affairs. 

 

Amrita has professional experience in law, public policy and international engagement. Serving in the U.S. Consulate General Youth Advisory Council, she advises the Consul General on issues affecting the U.S.-Australia partnership. Her work in public policy includes developing policy briefs for state and federal governments, with a focus on internet safety and digital governance.

 
Additionally, Amrita has worked in refugee law, youth justice and human rights, shaping her interest in considering regulatory frameworks and international relations through a humanitarian lens. She is particularly interested in exploring how Australia can support the responsible global governance of emerging technologies. 

Abby has experience living across Australia, Asia, and Europe, and speaks English, Mandarin, French, and Italian. Growing up among drastically different cultures and ideologies made her passionate about the international arena.

Abby graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Commerce. She has participated in study trips in Spain and Germany, as well as in an English teaching assistant program in France, where she served as an ambassador representing Australia. These experiences further deepened her interest in international affairs and cooperation, leading her to further pursue a Master's in Management at Emlyon Business School in France.
 

As the Europe and Eurasia Fellow, Abby is passionate about playing a part in building stronger ties between Australia and the region. By drawing on her grassroots experiences—from extensive backpacking and local immersions to consuming regional media—she is committed to fostering a more nuanced, mutual understanding across Europe and Eurasia.

Anne Jacob is an Australian-qualified lawyer with experience at a leading international law firm advising on complex commercial litigation, international arbitration and regulatory matters across the energy, oil and gas, and financial crime sectors. She spent six months working in the Middle East where she developed a keen interest in the region's rapid economic and infrastructure transformation, its growing influence in global energy markets, and the legal and policy challenges arising from labour migration.

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Her principal areas of interest are public international law, human rights and international dispute resolution. She studied international human rights law at the University of Copenhagen and currently volunteers with legal counsel at Amnesty International Australia. She has contributed to several public interest matters supporting refugees and self-represented litigants.

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Through this fellowship, Anne hopes to explore Australia's engagement with the Middle East and make complex legal and policy issues accessible to broader audiences.

Mia Ruddock is a recent graduate of The University of Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Politics and International Studies, and History. Throughout her studies, Mia has sought to shape her understanding of the United States’ current domestic and foreign policy affairs through a historical lens, exploring the rise of the United States as a global superpower in the 20th century.

 

Mia’s research on the United States has combined several multidisciplinary interests, ranging from the United States’ wars in the Middle East in the 2000s, to depictions of political scandals through popular culture. Outside of academics, Mia conducts archival research and writes articles for her university’s student publication, Farrago.

 

As the United States fellow, Mia hopes to contribute original, thoughtful, and carefully researched analysis to explore the rapidly evolving and unique geopolitical role of the United States today.

Biola Ngang is an African - Australian student of International Relations, Business Information Systems and Economics at Macquarie University, with interests spanning technology, financial systems, infrastructure, and economic development. She serves as a Board Director at Rose Breast Health and volunteers with Young Australians in International Affairs as a Sydney Events Officer.

Biola is the Founder of Colliq Systems Pty Ltd, a governance and operations SaaS platform supporting not-for-profits, NGOs, SMEs, and organisations in Australia and globally. Through her work across startups, technology, financial services, and governance, she explores how digital infrastructure and institutions can support organisational resilience and sustainable economic growth.

Biola is an alumna of the Emerging Leaders in Australia - Africa Diplomacy (ELAAD) Program, convened by the Australian African Universities Network and Curtin University.
She is particularly interested in Africa's evolving role in global affairs, Australia - Africa relations, and how entrepreneurship, innovation, and financial systems can contribute to the
continent's continued transformation.

David is a final-year Bachelor of Laws student at the University of Sydney, where he has also completed a Bachelor of Economics. He is interested in how economics, law, and international cooperation can be harnessed to confront climate change and drive the energy transition. Underlying this is a conviction that a stable climate is not a policy choice but a precondition for basic human rights – one that runs through his broader work across First Nations, refugee, and gender equality causes. 

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He spent three years as an Associate in Commodities and Environmental Markets at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, helping build carbon markets as a nascent asset class alongside fast-evolving regulation. A semester exchange at the University of Copenhagen studying sustainable development and economic policy offered a working contrast to Australia, showing him how an economy can be organised around environmental sustainability. 

Annabel Simpson has a master’s in Taiwan Studies from SOAS, University of London, and a bachelor’s in Applied Foreign Languages from Aix Marseille University. After completing her master’s, Annabel studied mandarin at National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung.

 

Her main research interests include Taiwan’s debated statehood, transnational crime and human rights. Some of her past research has been published in Taiwan Insight and Global Taiwan Brief.

Genevieve Phillips is a third-year Law and Arts (History) student at the University of Notre Dame Australia and a 2025 New Colombo Plan Scholar, currently based in Lautoka on exchange at Fiji National University.
 

Genevieve combines academic study with sustained community engagement. She currently serves as Regional Correspondent for Australia and the Pacific with the Young Diplomats Society and as a Publications Associate with the Asia-Australia Youth Association. Additionally, with the Bluescope Youth Orchestra, she served as Social Media Manager, coordinating promotion for international fundraising tours supporting humanitarian relief, animal welfare, and economic empowerment initiatives across the Indo-Pacific.
 

Her commitment to international relations has been shaped by study and immersion in Cambodia, Italy, France, Fiji, and Samoa, where she has lived in cross-cultural settings and
worked with local institutions. Genevieve is dedicated to bringing informed Pacific perspectives to Australia's international affairs discourse and a future career in international law and diplomacy.

Olivia Wearing is a student at RMIT University in her final semester of completing a Bachelor of International Studies. She has a strong interest in linguistics, particularly the Spanish language and also Latin American history and culture, especially given the current influence of the US government in politics within the region.
 

Having spent a semester studying at Universidad de Carlos III in Madrid, her interest only grew as she deepened her understanding of Latin American contribution to the world with its natural riches and unique cultures.

Olivia has gained a more personal insight into the experiences and push-pull factors of Latin American migration to Australia through working as an intern at SisterWorks Inc., which is a
non-profit social enterprise dedicated to supporting migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking women with employment and economic independence.

Olivia looks forward to contributing considered and informed analysis of issues within the region and their implications globally during this fellowship.