Kelsey Gray

Kelsey works at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water as one of Australia’s lead negotiators to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Kelsey works with international counterparts to strengthen climate cooperation and implement the Paris Agreement. This follows three years as an international climate adviser at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Kelsey has made a significant mark in her first year as a negotiator, endorsed by her counterparts to co-facilitate negotiations at her first UN Climate Summit (COP30) last year in Brazil. She helped deliver Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target, our national contribution towards global efforts to reduce emissions.

Kelsey was previously Careers Director at Young Australians in International Affairs, delivering the inaugural mentoring program and supporting young people navigating early career opportunities. She is a 2019 New Colombo Plan Scholar, and worked internationally with the UN’s Asia-Pacific headquarters in Bangkok, the supreme court in Brazil, and community not-for-profits in Singapore and Timor-Leste.

Kelsey graduated with the University Medal from a Bachelor of Laws (Hons)/Bachelor of Science from the University of Newcastle, and recently graduated with Distinction from a Masters in Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford.

Rooan Al Kalmashi

Rooan Al Kalmashi is a lawyer, policy professional and a human rights advocate with international experience through Settlement Services International’s (SSI) ECOSOC status with the United Nations. She has represented Australian civil society at multilateral forums in New York, Geneva, and across the Asia-Pacific, including the Global Refugee Forum, UNHCR Global Consultations with Refugees and the Commission on the Status of Women. Rooan is a strong advocate for the protection of religious and ethno-religious minority communities in the Middle East, including historically and presently persecuted groups. Her interest areas are refugee protection, counterterrorism, peace and security, and the crosscutting issues that connect these fields. 

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In 2023, Rooan was selected as the Australian Delegate for Peacebuilding and Reconciliation under the auspices of the G20 under India’s Presidency. She submitted and published a policy proposal on Leveraging Peacebuilding Successes in the Indo-Pacific to Inform Strategies in the Middle East and North Africa region. Later that year, she was recognised as Third Sector’s 2023 Young Leader of the Year.

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Over the last five years, Rooan’s work at SSI has focused on humanitarian aid delivery in fragile conflict zones as well as supporting regional dialogue on protection, durable solutions and complementary pathways. She has supported emergency humanitarian responses in Afghanistan and worked with on the ground organisations and regional networks like the Asia Pacific Network for Refugees and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network.

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Rooan currently works as an Associate at the NSW Cabinet Office, contributing to national security-adjacent matters. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Technology Sydney.
 

Nakshathra Suresh

Nakshathra Suresh is a cyber criminologist, lecturer at the University of New South Wales and the co-founder of the technology consultancy eiris, where she advises organisations on safety-by-design and the human impact of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. She has previously held national security and intelligence roles across the Australian Government. 

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Nakshathra created and currently teaches Australia’s first criminology-based cybersecurity course, developing an interdisciplinary pipeline of graduates equipped to address cyber threats through legal, policy and social frameworks. She is the Oceania Youth Ambassador for the Internet Society and an inaugural Fellow at the Center for Human-AI Research, Ethics and Studies, and contributes to responsible technology initiatives across the Asia-Pacific.

Her work has been recognised through the Australian Border Force Commissioner’s Award for Excellence and multiple national and international award nominations for leadership in technology and global impact.

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She holds a Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Research) from Griffith University and a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of New South Wales.

Mwangaza Milunga

Mwangaza Milunga is the Program Manager at Mentoring, Coaching & Counselling (MCC), where she oversees the operations, development, and implementation of culturally responsive, curriculum-aligned programs for African diaspora and CALD young people. In this role, she leads community consultations and delivers cultural safety and empathy training, ensuring programs are inclusive, evidence-informed, and impactful.

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Previously, Mwangaza has held senior positions including Senior Policy Officer at the Department of Education, Operational Manager at the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and Strategy, Risk & Transaction Consultant at Deloitte Australia, where she advised on policy, operational strategy, and cross-agency program delivery. She has also co-led research initiatives with the University of South Australia and the Department for Education SA, designing evidence-based frameworks and policies to improve equity, inclusion, and social cohesion for Afro-diasporic youth in schools and justice settings.

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Key career highlights include developing the Sauti app to remove language barriers for migrants, leading systemic inclusion programs for youth and women, and implementing community-focused interventions that strengthen social resilience. Her work has shaped government policy, informed organisational practice, and delivered measurable outcomes in education, community engagement, and youth development.

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Mwangaza is deeply committed to humanitarian and international affairs, volunteering with the Australian Refugee Association, co-founding the Sister Tribe Women’s Empowerment Initiative, and also volunteered as the grants and partnerships officer for the United Nations youth office. She was awarded Young Citizen of the Year 2026 in recognition of her outstanding contributions to youth and multicultural communities.

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She holds a Bachelor of International Relations with a minor in international development from the University of Adelaide, combining academic expertise with practical leadership in policy, community development, and international humanitarian work.

Georgina Tenny

Georgina Tenny is an Honours student in International Relations and Political Science at Flinders University and a congressional intern in the U.S. House of Representatives with The Fund for American Studies (TFAS), engaging in legislative research, observing how decision-making translates values into action, and completing her Honours in gender policy, governance, and Indo-Pacific diplomacy. TFAS develops leaders to think critically, act responsibly, and contribute meaningfully to public life — an ethos Georgina applies to her work.

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She completed a Women’s Empowerment Internship and Research Fellowship in Nepal, conducting field research on women’s rights and generating policy recommendations aligned with SDG #5. Georgina also undertook a New Colombo Plan study tour in Vietnam, engaging with policymakers, the Diplomatic Academy, and UN representatives on regional diplomacy and development. In Sri Lanka, she volunteered on sustainable development and marine conservation initiatives.

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Her highlights include conducting 20+ qualitative interviews informing policy recommendations, authoring advocacy briefs to strengthen community engagement, and founding Not a Typical Club, a youth-led platform amplifying emerging Australian voices in international affairs. She volunteers with the Zonta Club of Adelaide and St Peters Rotary Club, completing Rotary Positive Peace Academy training and receiving the Geoff Anderson Award for Outstanding Public Policy Performance.

Amber Brock-Fabel

Amber Brock-Fabel is the Founder and Director of the South Australian Youth Forum Inc. (SAYF), a youth-led platform she established at seventeen to bridge the gap between young people and decision-makers. She leads the strategic direction of the organisation, oversees research partnerships, and supports young South Australians to translate lived experience into policy influence at local, national, and international levels.

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Amber has co-led world-first research on youth loneliness in partnership with Flinders University and Durham University, co-authoring peer-reviewed publications in Qualitative Research and Critical Studies in Education. Her work reframes loneliness as a systemic issue within schools and has been presented at the World Anti-Bullying Forum in Norway, at Federal Parliament, and at an international webinar convened in alignment with the World Health Organisation’s global agenda on social connection. She is also an Associate Investigator on the federally funded Trauma-Aware School Village Project.

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In 2024, Amber secured Special Accreditation for SAYF to participate in the United Nations Summit of the Future, strengthening youth participation in global policy dialogue.

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She was named the 2025 South Australia Young Australian of the Year.

Charlotte Brown

Charlotte is a Policy and Project Officer at the South Australian Attorney-General’s Department.  She is an emerging legal and policy professional, with experience in international efforts to advance gender equality.  

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A consistent support to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Charlotte first entered the United Nations Office at Geneva at 19 years old.  Serving as an Expert Member’s Assistant, Charlotte held an ongoing role engaging with civil society to produce briefings on the most critical human rights issues faced by women and girls around the world.  

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Specialising in the right to health and the right to equal representation in public life and diplomacy, Charlotte has advocated for the advancement of women’s representation in international affairs.  She also assisted the Official Australian Delegation to the 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), supporting Australia’s successful candidacy in the 2024 CEDAW election campaign across Geneva, New York and Washington D.C.  

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Charlotte has served on the South Australian Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence and with the Equal Opportunity Legal Advice Service.  She recently graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB).

Zodie Bolic

Zodie is an early career public servant, currently working as an A/g Senior Policy Officer in the Australian Government’s Office for the Arts. Whilst working in the Office for the Arts’ International section, she supported Australia’s participation in the G20 Culture Working Group and activities of the Australia-Singapore Arts Group.

Prior to her public service career, Zodie worked for the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria supporting upgrades to the Youth Engagement Resource Platform and Victoria’s Code of Ethical Practice for Youth Work. 

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Zodie currently serves as an Independent Director on the board of UN Youth Australia, supporting the organisation’s mission of opening young eyes to the world. Additionally, Zodie is a member of Global Shapers’ Canberra Hub, an initiative of the World Economic Forum.

Previously, Zodie has been a finalist for Victoria’s Young Achiever Awards and was a recipient of Victorian Government’s Office for Women Leadership Scholarship. In 2023, she was awarded a Wattle Fellowship, through which she presented an original contemporary dance work entitled ‘COOKING WITH GAS’ at Buxton Contemporary.

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Zodie holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) from the Victorian College of the Arts within the University of Melbourne, with breadth studies in International Relations and Modern History.

Isha Singhal 

Isha Singhal is an economist and sports reporter committed to advancing international cooperation to build a more equal and inclusive society. Born in Sydney and educated across three continents, Isha developed an early global outlook and deep appreciation for cross-cultural dialogue.

Isha has served as Chief International Operations Officer for UN Youth Australia, Treasurer of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Australia Board, Diplomatic Liaison Officer for the ANU International Relations Society, and Vice President of the Youth Coalition of the ACT. She is currently Communications Lead for UN Women Canberra. She has facilitated significant diplomatic engagement directly with senior officials, including hosting a discussion with the Ukrainian Embassy Secretary the day after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and hosting a Philippines-Australia sporting event with the Philippine Embassy.

While on the inaugural U.S. Embassy Youth Advisory Council in Canberra, she pitched Indo-Pacific policy proposals directly to senior U.S. officials including the Deputy Secretary of State. Her work focuses on strengthening youth representation in foreign policy conversations and fostering grassroots diplomacy through sport. She is the founder of IshaOnTheField, a women’s sport platform strengthening international sport diplomacy that reaches over 50 million people globally.

Rani Ravinthran

Rani Ravinthran is a Solicitor at DLA Piper, where she advises on commercial and corporate matters and supports clients navigating complex finance and regulatory frameworks. Alongside her practice, she contributes to the firm’s community and pro bono initiatives, including the delivery of legal education programs tailored for refugee and Indigenous communities. As a Tamil woman, Rani brings a lived understanding of the importance of access to justice and culturally grounded legal advocacy, which continues to shape her approach to both client work and community engagement.

Before joining DLA Piper, Rani served as the Community Manager at Speaking Schools Australasia. In this role, she played a central part in developing one of Australia’s leading youth public speaking and debating communities. She strengthened partnerships with students, families and schools, managed large‑scale engagement programs, and oversaw initiatives that supported thousands of young people in building confidence, communication capability and leadership potential. Her work expanded the organisation’s national reach and reaffirmed her commitment to empowering young Australians to participate meaningfully in civic and global conversations.

Rani’s contributions have been recognised through several awards, including the Macquarie Business School Highest Achiever Award, the Judy Sachs PACE Prize (Highly Commended), and the Global Leadership Program Award with Merit.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing and Consumer Insights).

Annette Cole

Annette Cole is a Government Lawyer in the Australian Public Service, where she supports accountable decision-making and strengthens the governance frameworks that underpin Australia’s human rights and institutional integrity. Her work contributes to effective public administration within a complex regulatory environment.

She is the Founder and President of Amplify Black Women, a Sydney-based civic organisation advancing economic empowerment, leadership development and political participation for Black women. Through strategic engagement with policymakers and community stakeholders, she has built a platform that connects grassroots perspectives with broader policy dialogue.

Annette serves as a Council Member on the Young Women’s Council of Australia, contributing to national conversations on youth leadership and gender equality. She has also engaged in multilateral advocacy, including participation in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), strengthening connections between diaspora communities and global governance spaces.

She sits on the Board of Just Governance and is actively involved in initiatives promoting ethical leadership and women’s representation. Annette has received community grant recognition for her leadership initiatives. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Social Science

Isha Desai 

Isha has made an important and robust impact to Australian international affairs through a combination of track 1 and 2 diplomacies, volunteering and policy skills development.

Her track 1 diplomacy is evident in her role as a Global Voices Fellow advocating for a dignified, rights-based approach to climate displacement for vulnerable Indo-Pacific civilians. Earlier this year, she consulted with the US Embassy, ACT Human Rights Commission, DFAT and DPMC on the role of young people in multilateralism. She will represent Australia at the G20 Youth Summit to produce the 2026 Y20 Communique, which will be used in G20 negotiations later this year.

Her work in track 2 diplomacy targets the core priorities of Australia’s international engagement. These include research on Australia’s first International Gender Equality Strategy (ASPI), Australia’s inclusion of PNG in Talisman Sabre and its implications for regional defence and an appeal for climate defence policy in the National Defence Strategy. International affairs publications outside this area includes her insights on US- Indian relations (Australian Institute of International Affairs) and Pope Leo XIV’s foreign policy agenda (Lowy Interpreter).

Previously, Isha was a volunteer with Australia reMADE and Mahboba’s Promise. Australia reMADE is an NGO dedicated to dismantling unjust systems and promoting peace. In this role Isha researched Australia’s traditional and contemporary war narrative to stimulate discussion on incorporating peace into a credible policy objective. She presented this to a panel of board members including Greenpeace CEO David Ritter, MAPW President Dr Sue Wareham OAM and others. At Mahboba’s Promise she supervised government grants to aid underprivileged women and children in Afghanistan.

Finally, Isha’s impact is supported by hard policy skills, which she developed during her time as a researcher with the Australian Human Rights Commission, Legal Aid NSW and Penguin Random House ANZ.

Anna Kalamkarian

Anna is a public health researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide whose work strengthens how governments can identify and respond to complex disadvantage. Her research uses whole-of-population linked administrative data to advance the measurement of early childhood disadvantage, helping inform how governments can better allocate investment and deliver services. During her PhD, she undertook further study in history, politics and society at the University of Oxford, examining how geopolitical pressures shape government policy and decision-making.

As a 2024 Global Voices Fellow, Anna participated in the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and produced a policy proposal on how governments can better collaborate to address complex disadvantage. She has also contributed to Australian strategic policy discussions through the Women in Strategic Policy Program and was part of the winning team in the Global Leadership Challenge, a joint initiative between the University of St. Gallen and Oxford.

Anna was awarded a 2022 Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship and previously served as Chair of the Westpac Scholars National Executive, supporting a national network of emerging leaders. She currently teaches undergraduate and postgraduate public health and holds an Honours degree in Public Health from the University of Adelaide.

Ellie Drenth

Ellie Drenth is a Portfolio Coordinator at REnew Pacific, where she supports DFAT‑funded off‑grid renewable energy initiatives across the Pacific and Timor‑Leste. Her work advances access to renewable energy in schools and health clinics, with a strong emphasis on inclusive project design, gender equity, and community‑led energy transitions.

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Previously, Ellie worked as a Climate Change Adaptation Officer at the City of Melbourne, contributing to the city’s Heat Program, and as a consultant with C40 Cities on the Cool Cities Accelerator. Through the Australian Volunteers International program, she worked within Cambodia’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs and advised on advancing women’s climate rights in internationally-funded projects, while also supporting climate‑responsive agricultural design with Engineers Without Borders.

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Ellie is deeply committed to climate justice and to elevating community and youth voices in policy spaces. She mentors young women pursuing STEM pathways and volunteers with Sweltering Cities, the Australian Red Cross, and the World Food Forum Australia chapter. She is also a member of the Climate and Health Alliance Youth Advisory Board.

She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Science and a Master of Environmental Management, and is currently undertaking a Master of Philosophy at UNSW focused on climate and gender justice in the Pacific.

Hannah Bourke

Hannah Bourke is the Senior Program Coordinator of the La Trobe Centre for Global Security and La Trobe Asia, where she coordinates policy and research programs that champion integrated responses to multidimensional security challenges and contribute to a more secure and resilient future.

A dedicated volunteer, Hannah is the Melbourne Program Coordinator of Girls Run the World Melbourne. She collaborates with Consulates General, leading think tanks and international organisations to provide transformative opportunities for young women to broaden their understanding of careers in international affairs, develop their leadership skills and build connections with the diplomatic community.

Hannah currently serves on the Youth Advisory Council of the U.S. Consulate General Melbourne. Prior to joining La Trobe, Hannah was the Office Coordinator of the Australian Institute of International Affairs Victoria, supporting the Institute to help Australians know, understand, and engage more in international affairs.

Hannah holds a Bachelor of International Studies (Languages) with Distinction majoring in Japanese from RMIT University, receiving awards for Japanese language and research achievements throughout her degree. She built her foundations in the Australia-Japan space as the former Marketing Manager of a subsidiary branch of SoftBank and Board Member of the Australia Japan Business Council of Victoria.

Liv Siefert

Liv Siefert is an Online Threat Intelligence Researcher at Control Risks, where she analyses cyber, disinformation, and geopolitical threats with direct implications for international security and corporate diplomacy. She is also the Project Manager of the K9 Programme at Red Arch Cultural Heritage Law and Policy Research and a Contributing Editor at the Museum of Looted Antiquities, examining how cultural property crime, armed conflict, and international legal regimes intersect.

She has spoken on behalf of Australia at the UN Girl Up Foundation's summit, at the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Culture in Crisis Programme, the Sydney Institute of Criminology, and the Cambridge Security Initiative's 'Intelligence and National Security in a Changing World' conference - where she was chosen to be a Sir Richard Dearlove Scholar.

Liv has authored multiple publications on terrorism, AI governance, cyber warfare, and the law of armed conflict within the heritage and diplomatic sectors. She previously worked with Macquarie University's Department of Security Studies and Criminology to publish a series of white papers on intelligence and counterintelligence operations within auxiliary campaigns during the apartheid in Africa. 

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Liv is highly active in global professional networks focused on women and disability in the security and risk sectors. She holds a Bachelor of Archaeology (Egyptian and Near-Eastern Archaeology) from Macquarie University and additional qualifications from Universiteit Leiden, the Basel Institute on Governance, UNESCO, and the Peace Operations Training Institute.