Sheetal Deo (She/Her) is an advocate, opportunist and connector. She is passionate about leveraging platforms and privilege to bridge gaps in awareness, education, and accessibility. Sheetal is the Principal Solicitor and Founder of Shakti Legal Solutions; an innovative low-bono law firm designed specifically to improve access to legal assistance for everyday people and offers a unique, ‘pay what you can’ model for eligible clients. Sheetal also works with the College of Law as an adjunct lecturer, runs a diversity and inclusion collective, and volunteers her time on various not-for-profit organisations and boards including Out for Australia, the LGBTI Legal Service, and the Queensland Law Society Council.

Asha Bhat leads the award-winning regional Southern Aboriginal Corporation (SAC), which provides services and programs that address the Noongar peoples’ needs and aspirations in cooperation with other community and business organizations. Asha provides leadership in areas such as structured Indigenous training and employment, family violence prevention legal service, affordable housing, suicide prevention and health promotion and support Noongar people to achieve their potential. Nearly two decades after rebuilding her life and career in Australia as a migrant, Asha has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal for her service to WA’s Indigenous community in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Aarti’s ultimate purpose is to bring sustainability, inclusiveness equity, and more empathy to healthcare and arts. She is the CEO/Founder of the Gold Coast-based production company, Wild Dreamer Productions (WDP). In 2017, Aarti went about assembling a cast and crew of 300 local amateur performers to create the stage show MEERA which played in 2018 to a sold-out crowd of 1,100 and later toured in NZ. Aarti not only wrote MEERA, but starred, directed, and managed all facets of the production. In 2020 Aarti produced a stage show “VOID” that speaks about the impact of child abduction on families and the immediate community.

Thenu Herath is the CEO of Oaktree, a non-profit that supports young people in the Asia-Pacific region to lead sustainable development initiatives in their communities. She has previously worked with World Vision, Teach for Australia and was the first female host of the Australian Institute of International Affairs’ Dyason House Podcast. Alongside her role at Oaktree, Thenu is also a Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum and a co-author of Australia’s first youth national security strategy. She has a degree in politics and international studies and is currently completing her Juris Doctor at the University of Melbourne.

Anjali Sharma (she/her) is 18 years old and was the lead litigant of the Sharma vs Environment Minister, a class action legal case which, in 2021, successfully established that the environment minister owes all young people a duty of care to protect them from the impacts of climate change. She aims to raise awareness about the disproportionate impacts of climate change, particularly towards young people and people of colour, and advocates for a just future where the voices and stories of marginalised communities are amplified in the process of moving to a low carbon economy. Her work has been featured in Saturday Paper, ABC & The Guardian

Mandy (she/her) is the CEO & Founder of Flourish Girl.  Flourish Girl is a not for profit organisation that delivers rites of passage programs for teenage girls & gender diverse teens to build their self-awareness, self confidence and social connectedness within their school community and other trusted relationships. To date, Flourish Girl has worked with over 10000 teenage girls & gender diverse teens across Australia. Mandy is also an ex-speech pathologist, TEDx Speaker, an Australian Accredited Facilitator and was the first-senior female facilitator at The Rites of Passage Institute paving the way for their school programs for teenage girls & gender diverse teens.

Varsha (she/her) is a law student, podcaster, writer and advocate for climate justice and mental health awareness. She has been an organiser for School Strike for Climate and was listed as one of the 100 women resetting The world in 2021 by Women’s Agenda and as one of 30 individuals changing the world by 2030 by Urban List. Varsha is currently a coordinator at SAPNA South Asian Climate Solidarity Network and a paralegal at Equity Generation Lawyers which conducts climate change litigation. Her work along with her podcast, Not to be Controversial, aims to create a community for young South Asians to feel represented and empowered.

“Yatha यथा (she/her) is an award-winning multicultural advocate and speaker, pursuing a career in the medical device industry. She’s currently a Youth Ambassador for the Multicultural Youth Affairs Network NSW and Vice-Chair of the non for profit, Prosper (Project Australia). Yatha has spoken at the International Youth Media Conference, the National Youth Futures Summit and has commented for media publications including the Sydney Morning Herald and Triple J. She also worked with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism in a Global Program to prevent violent extremism among young people. “Photographs taken for a wider portrait collection Heart of Heritage by @until.sunrise”

“Ruchika Rawat is a fierce DEIB advocate, Healthcare Redesigner, community leader, migrant women’s advocate, researcher, physiotherapist, digital health mentor, and the first woman of South Asian heritage to work closely with the Aussie owned AusMumpreneur group after being the national finalist for Sustainability Award in 2017 which resulted in start of a new category – the multicultural category! Ruchika is a local community champion and has landed coverage in various media outlets including the Herald Sun, AFR, The Muse AUS & NZ, and the Indian Sun. She works in the public sector and brings diverse perspectives of the multicultural communities to various steering committees and is Co-Author of ‘More than a Mum’.

Amity Mara (she/her) is an autistic transgender Tamil woman from Sri Lanka, living in Naarm on unceded Wurundjeri country. She is a lawyer and social justice campaigner, currently working as the Director of Campaigns & Strategy at the Foundation for Young Australians. Over her 8+ years she has won campaigns to increase access to the Disability Support Pension, challenge the harmful Robodebt system, stop the Religious Discrimination bill from harming LGBTQI+ communities amongst others. In her spare time Amity is one of the convenors of the Borderless Affirmation mutual aid group for transgender migrants, that provides housing, clothing, food and legal support, as well as direct financial aid, for its members.

Shazleen Lateef (she/her) is the founder of Maba Idi, a social enterprise and ethical beauty brand that captures the essence of Australia. She founded Maba Idi with a fundamental social purpose to promote beauty as a right and a tool to empower women and girls of Australia. Before starting Maba Idi, Shazleen was an education advisor at the UN in Lebanon, taught and managed academic programs at the UNSW and La Trobe University. She worked in China, Poland, Taiwan and Sweden. She holds a Master of Anthropology from ANU and Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Sociology from UNSW.

Vithyaa (She/her) is a second generation Australian-Tamil. She is the first South Asian Female Forensic Fire Investigator and one of only the few females in Australia in the industry. She is also the founder of Murs De Fleurs Events and Sydney Flower Walls which aim to change the event industry by making events affordable to all. In 2018 she co-founded Brown Boss Babes (BBB) Australia which was created to connect and inspire all women, focusing on South Asian and brown women. BBB host events whilst raising money for charities and organisations that assist women all across Australia.

Rose Lewis (she/her) is an Anglo-Indian immigrant thriving on Darug Land in Western Sydney. She earned her Business and Law degrees from Western Sydney University, serving as a Board of Trustees member in 2020-21. Rose consistently volunteers, produces digital content and provides strategic advice on education, healthcare improvement and intersectional feminism. She’s collaborated on research covering child e-safety, financial literacy, and the impact of climate change on youth health. Rose is also an artist, performer and mentor who tackles anti-racism and enables holistic wellbeing, particularly for people from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

Shilpa (she/her) is the founder of Glowreel: a media startup dedicated to amplifying the voices of Black women, Indigenous women and women of colour (BIPOC women). Shilpa’s aim is to ensure BIPOC women feel represented, empowered and inspired to blaze their own trail! Shilpa graduated from University with First Class Honours in Politics. She has a background in public policy and experience as a lifestyle and beauty journalist. Shilpa’s from Wellington, New Zealand and now calls Melbourne, Australia home. When she’s not researching stories for Glowreel you’ll find her chilling with a strong cappuccino or a rosé in hand!

“Sumen Rai (she/her) is Director of the Defence Innovation Partnership, a collaboration between the South Australian Government, Defence Science and Technology Group and South Australian universities. She leads national and international R&D engagement and collaboration between researchers, industry and government, to deliver innovative solutions to the defence and space sectors. Sumen has extensive government experience across investment attraction, trade, and industry development. Sumen was previously a teacher and lecturer in Arts and Design & Technology, a science communicator, and filmmaker.

Raised in a conservative Sri Lankan Tamil family, Janaki Gerard (she/her) was faced with the challenge of going against the grain to pursue a career in the performing arts. Her dedication to refine her craft has taken her to New York City and London; Gaining her Masters in Acting at East 15 Acting school. Since returning to Brisbane, Janaki has worked both on stage and screen, including roles with Queensland Theatre, Laboite, Upside down Media and Dead Puppet Society. Her goal is to champion creativity as a device for our wellbeing and enrich future generations in the entertainment industry through wider representation and diverse storytelling.

Ananya (she/her) is currently a Venture Capital Investor, specifically supporting Artesian’s Female Leaders Fund, investing in high-growth, female-led startups overlooked by other VCs and underrepresented in the startup landscape. Ananya is also a founder of Brown Baddies NFT, an NFT collection that aims to represent South Asian women in the web3 space. Previously, Ananya founded a sustainable tech startup, and spent two years as a Management Consultant where she specialised in the intersection of strategy and customer experience. She is also the Vice Chair for Women of Colour Australia’s Research & Advocacy Committee.

Ana Tiwary (she/her) runs the production company indiVisual films that specialises in multicultural stories. Ana was born in India, holds a Masters in Film from the US, and has lived/worked in many different parts of the world. From Bollywood films to National Geographic Channel, Ana has experience working across factual as well as features and has produced over 25 documentaries for ABC TV and other networks. Last year she produced the first Asian Australian rom-com ‘Rhapsody of Love’ and recently produed ‘India Now’.  Thirteen years ago Ana created the Diversity in Australian Media community and is an advocate for equity, social justice and safe spaces.

Named Best of the Best Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 by B&T, called ‘Mighty Mouse’ in the advertising and marketing worlds by Forbes, nominated as Entrepreneur of the Year finalist by CEO Magazine, and named a ‘Woman to Watch in 2021’ by Campaign Asia, Tash is resetting the way brands and freelancers think about and solve creative problems.
Her business, MASH, curates and connects clients with referral-only freelancers in the communications and creative profession. Founded in 2018, MASH is now active in six continents, 14 countries and collaborates with more than 100 highly vetted and experienced freelancers (known as MASHers).