CRAIG MADDEN
Member, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council
Craig Madden is a proud Gadigal/Bundjulang man who was born and raised in the inner city suburbs of Redfern and Alexandria were he still resides today. He has worked within the Aboriginal community for the past 25 years as an Aboriginal Employment Consultant for Australia Post and, currently, as Aboriginal Welfare and Community Liaison Officer for Corrective Services New South Wales. Mr. Madden is a member of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, the Redfern Aboriginal Housing Company, Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group Redfern and a former director and current member of the Aboriginal Medical Service Redfern.
MELANIE MACKENZIE
Deputy Head, Office of Social Cohesion, Department of Home Affairs
Melanie Mackenzie is Deputy Head of the Office for Social Cohesion in the Department of Home Affairs, established in September 2024 to drive a whole-of-government, cross‑cutting approach to social cohesion and democratic resilience in Australia. The Office for Social Cohesion builds on the work of the Strengthening Democracy Taskforce, which Melanie was instrumental in establishing in January 2023. From 2019 to December 2022, Melanie was Counsellor (Home Affairs) in Washington DC, responsible for strategic engagement and partnerships across the United States government and civil society sector. Representing all parts of Home Affairs, Melanie advanced strategic policy engagement across national security, criminal justice, immigration, border protection and emergency management functions. Melanie’s core responsibilities included engagement on countering foreign interference, counter-terrorism, and border protection.  Prior to this role, Melanie led the Americas engagement section of International Policy Division, which she joined in June 2016. From 2007-2016, Melanie was a policy advisor in the National Security Division of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Melanie was recognised for her work to advance national measures to counter violent extremism and in the establishment of the Commonwealth Counter‑Terrorism Coordinator. Melanie also led advice to the Prime Minister on major defence capability and acquisitions during a transformational period in Australia’s Defence capability. Melanie commenced her professional career as a lawyer with the Australian Government Solicitor, after her admission as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2001. She graduated from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia with a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts (European Studies).
ALEEM ALI
CEO, Welcoming Australia
Aleem has spent more than two and a half decades seeding and mentoring the development of leading initiatives and social enterprises that advance inclusion, belonging and justice for diverse communities. He is the Deputy Chair of Oxfam Australia and a mentor and advisor to various startups, community enterprises and government agencies. As the CEO of Welcoming Australia, Aleem is working with leaders and organisations across the country to cultivate a culture of welcome and advance communities where people of all backgrounds can belong, contribute and thrive.
YVONNE WELDON AM
Councillor, City of Sydney
Yvonne is an independent councillor and the first Aboriginal councillor in the City of Sydney's 180-year history. She was born and raised in inner Sydney but maintains strong ties to her Wiradjuri homelands of Cowra and the Riverina areas of New South Wales.Yvonne has held numerous senior positions in NSW Government, non-government and Aboriginal controlled organisations working across health, human services, housing and child protection. She has served as the elected Chair of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, Deputy Chair of the NSW Australia Day Council and as a Board member of Domestic Violence NSW. In 2022, Yvonne was recognised as the NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to the Aboriginal community. She also recently published her debut novel, Sixty-Seven Days.
ANTHEA HANCOCKS
CEO, Scanlon Foundation Research Institute
Anthea Hancocks is the CEO of the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute. They are dedicated to making research into social cohesion accessible and understandable while maintaining the highest levels of research expertise and integrity. She has a background in leadership positions in government, professional services, academia, philanthropy and not for profit organisations. Anthea is Chair of the Huddle Advisory Committee at the North Melbourne Football Club, Chair of the Monash Migration, and Inclusion Centre Advisory Board. She is a Fellow of Monash University, a Civil Society and Public Administration Fellow with the Toronto Metropolitan University and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is a PhD candidate at Monash University.
DR. PENNY TAYLOR
Truth-telling & Reconciliation
Dr Penny Taylor is the former Head of Research at Larrakia Nation Aboriginal Corporation. She has a PhD in race relations. Her research has focused on building capacity in non-Indigenous Australians for more fair and constructive engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. She has developed a number of creative resources to improve race relations, including the Darwin Radio Diaries played on ABC radio, and the autobiography of Yolngu Senior Law Man, James Gaykamangu. In a former life she worked as a lawyer in women's and children' human rights throughout the Pacific and the Northern Territory. She is currently Manager of research and resource development in Reconciliation Australia's Community Truth-telling Pathways program.
TÜRKAN AKSOY
NSW Coordinator, Welcoming Cities
As a proud Türkic person and a neurodivergent advocate, Türkan possesses extensive experience in both governmental and non-governmental sectors. Their work primarily focuses on enhancing the capacities of small and emerging communities. Türkan is dedicated to fostering social cohesion, promoting employment, advancing gender equity, and improving mental health, particularly in relation to cultural and psychological safety while addressing the lingering impacts of racism. As the convenor of the NSW Public Sector Support Network, they are committed to these vital issues. In their capacity as the NSW Coordinator for Welcoming Cities, Türkan takes pride in assisting local governments and allied organisations in their commendable initiatives. The challenges of social and economic development, along with civic engagement, center on how communities embrace diversity and leverage its strengths. Among various levels of government, local authorities possess a unique understanding of the complexities and diversities inherent in their communities, enabling a more comprehensive approach. Through their work with Welcoming Cities Türkan collaborates with local governments and their communities to advance Australia’s aspiration to become a welcoming, prosperous, and cohesive nation.
ROSEMARY KARIUKI OAM
2021 Australian Local Hero, Multicultural Community Liaison Officer, Author
Rosemary is a Multicultural Liaison Officer with New South Wales Police, where she links and facilitates communication and interaction between the police and culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Through this role, Rosemary has helped build relationships in the community and improved service delivery to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people. Rosemary is an advocate for CALD women’s social and economic empowerment as it ultimately sets the ground for them to live in freedom and independency. Her work has earned her many recognitions including Australia’s Local Hero (2021), Community Fellow- Western Sydney University (2021), Parramatta Citizen of the year (2012), Woman of the year from Western Sydney Uni, African Walk of Fame among many others and recently with 2021 Australia Local Hero and Order of Australia Medal (OAM) 2022. Rosemary has written a memoir by the name of A Joyful Life. Rosemary has also just launched Mama Rosemary Foundation to continue doing what she likes best: walking with women.
DANIEL BARAKATE
Director, Commissioning and Planning, NSW Department of Communities and Justice
Daniel Barakate holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Social Work, a Graduate Diploma of Social Inquiry, a Master of Policy Studies, and an Executive Master of Public Administration. With a deep passion for service commissioning, program design, and project, program, and change management, Daniel is dedicated to facilitating meaningful change that empowers and improves outcomes for children, young people, families, and communities. Currently, Daniel serves as the Director of Commissioning and Planning for Western Sydney and Nepean Blue Mountains at the NSW Department of Communities and Justice. In this role, he leads a talented team of planning and commissioning specialists and contract managers, working to build and enhance services across the diverse communities of Western Sydney and the Nepean Blue Mountains.
SAMIM LOFTUS
Board Member, NSW/ACT Training Institute
Samim Loftus works at the intersection of leadership, education, and social transformation. He has spent over 15 years engaged in initiatives that build social cohesion and collective capacity within local communities and among emerging leaders. Through the NSW and ACT Training Institute and a member of its Board, he supports neighbourhood-based programs that foster agency, service, and unity across diverse backgrounds. Internationally, he has coordinated and facilitated seminars with the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity across Africa, Asia and Europe, which accompany university students and young professionals to examine how religious and scientific knowledge can combine to address society’s challenges. His work focuses on cultivating the habits of dialogue, collaboration, and shared purpose that underpin cohesive, unified and forward-looking communities.
MEHRABAN FARAHMAND
Coordinator, Adasiyyih Development Initiative
Mehraban Farahmand, has over 35 years of experience in the developmental field, having served with international organizations, the UN system, and bilateral and multilateral donor capacity-building initiatives in India, Laos, and, for the past two decades, in Australia. Now based in Gracemere, Central Queensland, Mehraban is the founder of the Adasiyyih Development Initiative, a community-based organization which focuses on fostering community resilience and social progress through learning, collaboration, and collective action in agriculture and education. Deeply community-minded, Mehraban works closely with diverse groups at the grassroots to build unity and purpose across cultural and social lines. His current engagements include contributing to discourses on the environment, youth empowerment, gender equality, and social cohesion. Mehraban seeks to nurture patterns of community life founded on trust, participation, and shared responsibility.
MAY SABET
Programme Coordinator, Hampton Park Community Learning Centre
May Sabet is an educator and community development practitioner whose work centres on how communities build the capacity to shape their own futures. As a programme coordinator at the Hampton Park Community Learning Centre and with the Training Institute (Victoria & Tasmania), she engages in neighbourhood-based processes that strengthen capacities for consultation, collective learning, unified action and empowerment so that individuals and groups become protagonists in their lives and communities. Guided by the belief that sustainable change arises from within communities themselves, May’s research explores how education at the neighbourhood level can become a force for social transformation and the advancement of civilization.
ANIESZKA
Australian/Mauritian Musician
Anieszka is an Australian/Mauritian artist based in Eora/Sydney. Fusing R&B, neo-soul and her Mauritian roots, she provides introspection with her thought-provoking writing and dulcet vocals. Selected as a 2025 Acclaim All-Star, her sound championed by the likes of triple j, Bandcamp Daily, Nikkei Asia, BBC Radio, Colors, Capital XTRA, Rinse FM, Vogue France, RUSSH Magazine and more. With numerous performances in Sydney, Melbourne and London, and showcases at BIGSOUND (2023) and SXSW Sydney (2024 & 2025), her live presence is equally as soothing as it is vivacious. Dubbed the ‘R&B Angel,’ her music feels like a love letter to our inner selves. There’s no doubting Anieszka’s ability to fill every crevice with soul and remind us what it is to be human. She does not conform to standards, nor current trends, she’s here to break down barriers with hypnotic, soulful music in its purest form.
SHEPHALIE WILLIAMS
Director, Office of External Affairs of the Australian Baha'i Community
Shephalie Williams serves as a Director on the Office of External Affairs of the Australian Baha’i community. Shephalie has over 20 years experience in the area of government relations. Currently her focus is on advancing the discourses of social cohesion, the environment, the role of religion in society and human rights. Shephalie has a background in literature and information technology and has previously held an academic post at the University of South Australia and has worked as the managing director for a specialist medical practice.