Malini Raj is the Executive Director of the Australian Multicultural Women’s Alliance (AMWA) and brings over 20 years of experience across financial services, strategy, diversity and inclusion, and community engagement. Malini has held senior leadership roles at the Commonwealth Bank, including Head of Community Engagement and Head of Strategy for Multicultural Community Banking, where she worked to improve financial inclusion and customer outcomes for vulnerable customer cohorts including culturally and linguistically diverse communities, people with disabilities, First Nations customers, and those with limited English proficiency.

She is a passionate advocate for migrant and refugee women and on issues of equity, cultural diversity, and inclusive leadership. She currently serves on multiple boards and advisory groups and is committed to centering lived experience to shape national policy and drive systemic change for diverse women across Australia.

Heba Al-Adawy is a Senior Policy and Project Officer at AMWA. Through her culturally diverse background as a Pakistani with Egyptian heritage and her lived experience across the United States, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, and Australia, she brings a deep understanding of the challenges and aspirations of migrant and diaspora communities in Anglo-Western societies.

Her lived experience insights are complemented by a strong academic foundation in political and cultural studies, with a focus — among other things — on how different state systems engage with ethnic or religious diversity, as well as difference. Heba holds a PhD from the Australian National University, an MPhil from the University of Oxford, and a BA with high honours from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.

Professor Jaya Dantas is Dean International in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of International Health at Curtin University, Western Australia where she leads the Faculty Strategic International portfolio. Prof Dantas is also an active researcher with focus on health inequities, the social determinants and community based participatory research with refugees and migrants.

Professor Dantas has worked for 38 years in India, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Australia, and undertaken research and teaching in Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and South Africa. She has been a delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN in New York. Nationally she is President of Australian Graduate Women, Committee member of Women in Global Health and Public Health Association of Australia – International Health Special Interest Group.

Dr Anyier Yuol is a South Sudanese-Australian researcher, speaker, and advocate. She is the Founder and President of Lead Beyond Education, Miss Sahara, and Anyier Model Management, which empower African and refugee women through leadership, education, and economic opportunity. Her work spans sectors to advance gender equity, refugee inclusion, and social change in Australia and globally. She holds a PhD in social sciences, with research on the evolving practice of bride price among the South Sudanese Dinka community in Australia. Her work explores how culture, gender, migration, and identity intersect and how traditions are reshaped in diaspora contexts.

Anyier is Corporate Partnerships Manager at Australia for UNHCR, leading strategic relationships to support refugees and humanitarian programs. She is the former Chair of the Australian National Committee on Refugee Women (ANCORW) and served on UNHCR’s Gender Audit team (2017–2019), contributing to protection reviews across diverse settings. In 2023, Anyier received the Les Murray Award for Refugee Recognition for her advocacy through sport and community engagement.

Khayshie Tilak Ramesh is a nationally recognised community leader and thought leader with nearly a decade of governance and strategy experience across youth, legal, health, housing, multicultural and gender equality sectors. A passionate advocate for intersectional justice, she served two terms as Victoria’s Multicultural Youth Commissioner and represented Australia on the global stage as part of the official government delegation at the 2024 UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Khayshie holds national leadership roles, including Vice President of YWCA Australia and Director at Gender Equity Victoria and The Iceberg Foundation. She also advises The Equality Institute, Think HQ, and the Victorian Honour Roll of Women, and teaches justice at Swinburne University. Founder of her own DEI consultancy, Khayshie’s impact has been recognised through multiple accolades, including the Premier’s Volunteer Leadership Award and the Joan Kirner Emerging Women Leaders Scholarship. She was also named in Australia's Top 100 Future Leaders and served as the inaugural Youth Mayor of Greater Bendigo.

Diana Sayed is a respected Afghan-Australian human rights lawyer, strategist and advocate with over 15 years’ experience across gender equality, refugee rights, anti-racism and crisis response in Australia and the U.S. As former CEO of the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights, she expanded casework, programs and advocacy during COVID-19, while also amplifying campaigns such as #ActionforAfghanistan and responses to increasing Islamophobia.

Diana has led campaigns at Fair Agenda and Amnesty International Australia, championing reproductive rights, gender justice, online abuse prevention and accountability in conflict zones such as Syria, Myanmar, and Yemen. Earlier, she worked at Human Rights First in Washington D.C., influencing U.S. foreign policy during the Arab Spring.

A powerful media presence and public voice, her lived experience as a Muslim woman of colour with refugee heritage informs her intersectional leadership and unwavering commitment to justice, safety and equity.

Malaemie (Mal) Fruean OAM is a distinguished community leader and advocate with over three decades of experience dedicated to advancing multicultural inclusion, equity, and representation across Australia. A fierce champion for the Pacific community, her lifelong commitment was recognised with the Order of Australia Medal. Mal currently serves as Chair of the NSW Council for Pacific Communities and CEO of the Southwest Multicultural and Community Centre, where she drives programs that celebrate cultural diversity, empower underrepresented voices, and support vulnerable communities. She contributes her strategic leadership and deep cultural insight through board and advisory roles with Multicultural NSW, the National Multicultural Council, the Police Multicultural Advisory Council, and the Office of Sport’s Multicultural Advisory Panel.

Her impact also spans the arts, policy, and international development, including her involvement with the Parramatta Powerhouse Reference Group and the PALM Program under the Community Connections federal initiative. Mal’s leadership is grounded in lived experience and cultural integrity, and she is widely respected for creating inclusive platforms where Pacific and migrant communities can thrive, be heard, and lead with strength.

Dr Nisha Khot is the President Elect of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG, the College) for the Fourteenth RANZCOG Council (2025- 270. Dr Khot brings extensive experience in women’s health, having served as Vice President of RANZCOG, as well as in key leadership roles across the Board, Council, and various committees and working groups.

Dr Khot chairs the Examinations and Assessments Committee and is an examiner for both Fellowship and Advanced Diploma examinations. She is currently the Clinical Director of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Peninsula Health and is a Board Chair for the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH). Having lived, trained and worked in three countries, Nisha has a depth of understanding of the challenges faced by multicultural communities when navigating health systems. She champions diversity, equity and inclusion in healthcare leadership as a means for addressing the systemic issues in health.

Dr Shanthi Robertson is the Managing Director of The Insight Centre, a research consultancy for social purpose and public interest organisations. With 20 years’ experience across academic research and consulting, she has worked with Commissions, government departments, advocacy organisations and universities, leading research for evidence-driven communications and advocacy, and working with culturally and linguistically diverse and First Nations communities. 

In her academic career, she published extensively on migration, cultural diversity and social inclusion in Australia, with a specific focus on the study, employment and migration experiences of young temporary visa holders.

Melanie Fernandez is a prominent gender equality advocate and activist with over a decade of experience leading membership-based and not-for-profit organisations. Currently, she’s the GM Policy, Communications and Research of Chief Executive Women and previously served as Deputy CEO at the NSW Council of Social Service.

With a wealth of Board Director experience, Melanie is currently a Director of YWCA Australia and has held key positions with the Women’s Electoral Lobby Australia (as Chair) and Rape and Domestic Violence Service Australia. Grounded in her father’s journey as a refugee, she is committed to intersectional leadership and advancing social justice.

Tania Farha is the CEO of Safe and Equal, a merged identity of two organisations: the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria (DVRCV) and Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic). Previously, Tania has held executive positions across the Victorian Departments of Justice and Community Safety and Premier and Cabinet, including as CEO of the former Office of Prevention and Women’s Equality. Tania worked at UN Women for over four years as a policy specialist in the Ending Violence Against Women Section and worked for Victoria Police for over nine years to improve its responses to family violence, sexual assault and child abuse.

Mamiko has a background as an international aid professional specialising in governance, capacity development and peace-building. After completing a Masters Degree in International Relations in the US, she had been working globally including post-conflict developing countries, designing and implementing projects, policy development in the UN system, and as a bi-lateral donor on official development aid.

Mamiko started volunteering at SisterWorks as part of the UN Women program and currently is the Head of Programs since 2000, managing employment pathways programs and small business program.

Astrid Perry OAM is a multicultural leader and advocate. She managed a large Multicultural Health Unit for some years and was involved in state-wide health initiatives with a special focus on refugees, but also national health related committees. In SSI, Astrid led the implementation of the Gender Equity Strategy that she has developed with her team, with a strong focus on new cohorts and cross cutting issues such as the wellbeing of older migrant women.

Mariam Veiszadeh is an award-winning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practitioner, human rights champion and respected social commentator. With more than a decade of DEI leadership and over ten years as a lawyer in an ASX-listed company, she brings deep expertise in driving organisational change and advancing inclusion across sectors.

A former CEO of Media Diversity Australia and senior leader at the Diversity Council Australia, Mariam has shaped national initiatives and policy frameworks focused on gender equality, racial justice and cultural inclusion. She is widely recognised for her advocacy—including founding the Islamophobia Register Australia—and has served on multiple boards, including Our Watch and the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights. Named the 2023 Asian-Australian Leadership Awards winner and the 2016 Fairfax Daily Life Woman of the Year, Mariam continues to influence national conversations through her media commentary, writing and her current role as Board Diversity Lead at the Australian Institute of Company Directors.