Our Team

Ben Oquist is a highly respected policy analyst, commentator and political and communications strategist. He served as Executive Director of the Australia Institute from 2015 to 2022.Ben has a 25 year career engagement with Canberra policy and politics, with a wealth of experience in helping shape policy debates and outcomes.Known for his ability to negotiate across the political spectrum, Ben and the Australia Institute played a key role in stopping the government’s revenue cutting agenda in the form of large company tax cuts, a role for which he was acknowledged in the Australian Financial Review 2018 Power List. He also played a pivotal role in the deal which saw the Senate crossbench save the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Renewable Energy Target, preserving $23 billion in clean energy investment.Ben is also a regular commentator and contributor across broadcast and print media.

Dr Madi Day is a trans Murri researcher. Dr Day is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University and a Managing Editor for the journal of Global Indigeneity. They specialise in anti-colonial and community-led research practices and prioritise research topics relevant to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women and LGBTIQA+ people. These topics include gender and colonialism, mental health and wellbeing, social media, technology-facilitated abuse, and family violence.  

Dr Fisher is currently the Young Men’s Health Research Fellow at the Movember Institute where she leads research aimed at promoting good mental health and preventing poor mental health amongst young men globally, including the role and impact of social media.

Jack Jacobs is a DPhil candidate in History at the University of Oxford, where he is writing a book on the global life of non-violence in the 20th century. Previously, he was the Yindyamarra Research Fellow at Charles Sturt University, where he worked closely with Stan Grant to establish and run the Yindyamarra Trust while advocating for First Nations justice during the year of the Voice Referendum.

Jack has long worked to engage men as part of the solution to gender inequality. In 2022, he supported Professor Don Markwell, Head of St Mark’s College, Adelaide, during a culture review of its practices related to gender equality. Prior to that, Jack worked on the landmark Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces at the Australian Human Rights Commission. He also co-founded Future Leaders for Gender Equality, a mentoring program designed to prevent sexual misconduct in NSW schools, and worked as a speechwriter for Elizabeth Broderick during her culture review of the University of Sydney’s Residential Colleges.

Pnina is an experienced policy and communications professional. She was an advisor to the Federal Communications Minister and for a member of Local Government, and worked in the media space for companies such as The Daily Aus. She is particularly passionate about responding to ways in which emerging technologies can facilitate abuse, and believes young people must be central in solving policy problems across the gender-based violence space. 

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Annabelle is an experienced Creative Producer & Director who specialises in creating engaging and impactful social & digital content. She is committed to using her creative and communication skills to champion inclusivity, equity and authentic storytelling.

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Ralph is a Chartered Accountant and has previously served as Treasurer on the board of the NSW Environmental Defenders Office. Ralph has more than fifteen years’ experience in senior financial management roles in the not-for-profit sector and previous experience as an auditor and financial analyst. Ralph currently splits his time working for both Teach Us Consent and the Jane Goodall Institute Australia. 

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Elaine Unterhalter is a Professor of Education and International Development at the Institute of Education, University College London. Dr Unterhalter works on themes concerned with gender, race and class inequalities and their bearing on education. Her specialist interests are in the capability approach and human development and education in Africa, particularly South Africa. Her current concerns are with education, poverty and global social justice.

Dr Joy Townsend is a sociologist whose area of expertise is in the field of gender and sexualities. Her work centres on the lived experiences of young Australians as they navigate gender, relationships and sexualities. Joy is the Founder and CEO of Learning Consent, a global leader in the provision of comprehensive respectful relationships and consent education. Learning Consent continues to partner with leading educational institutions and organisations to deliver cutting edge programs aligned with UNESCO international best-practice for the prevention of sexual and gendered violence.

Dr Nicky McWilliam is a mediator with Sydney Mediation Partnership, a mediation and dispute resolution practice in Sydney which she co-founded with her colleague Danielle Jaku-Greenfield. Nicky holds a Masters of Law in dispute resolution and PhD (majoring in mediation and dispute resolution) from UTS and also has undergraduate law and arts degrees from the University of Sydney. She has experience in community, commercial, workplace, construction, family and general mediation and is currently involved with government, commercial and community organizations in relation to implementing community mediation programs in workplace, commercial and corrections communities.

Ruveni has over 20 years’ experience advising on all areas of employment law including workplace relations, industrial relations, anti-discrimination and work health and safety laws.

Raewyn is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, a recipient of the American Sociological Association's award for distinguished contribution to the study of sex and gender, and of the Australian Sociological Association's award for distinguished service to sociology in Australia. Raewyn's teaching fields have included general sociology, social theory, sociology of education, gender relations, sexuality, and research methods. Raewyn has conducted applied studies and given policy advice to governments about poverty and education, AIDS prevention, gender equity, and other fields.

Jayneen Sanders (aka Jay Dale) is an experienced author, publisher, elementary school teacher, mother of three and an active advocate for body safety, gender equality and respectful relationship education being taught both in homes and in schools. She is also lead author of Engage Literacy published by Capstone Classroom, and has published over 100 stories for children. Jayneen feels passionately that we can do so much more to keep our children safe by teaching them age-appropriate and empowering prevention education.

Jess Sanders is a social worker, educator, and best-selling, award-winning author based in Nipaluna, Hobart. She specialises in prevention and health promotion, creating resources that help young people navigate tricky topics with confidence and care. Jess is passionate about empowering children and teens with the knowledge and tools they need to understand themselves and the world around them. She regularly presents to young people, parents, and educators on subjects including grief and loss, body autonomy, and self-care.

Maree has worked with young people – and on issues affecting young people – since 1993. She has developed and delivered programs focusing on sexual violence prevention, sexual diversity, pornography, and prevention of sexually transmissible infections. Maree presents about pornography, its impact on young people, and what we can do about it, at conferences, professional learning workshops and parent events in Australia and around the world. She has been interviewed for radio and television, and published articles on young people, sexuality and pornography in online and print media.

Padma Raman PSM is Executive Director of the Office for Women (OFW) at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Prior to joining OFW in September 2023, she was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety Limited (ANROWS) from 2021. In her time as CEO, Padma established ANROWS as the widely recognised leading authoritative voice on evidence to end violence against women and children.

Before starting as CEO of ANROWS, Padma was the Chief Executive of the Australian Human Rights Commission for 11 years. Prior to that she established and was Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Law Reform Commission for 9 years and served as a part-time commissioner of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission for 5 years.

Padma has a wealth of experience as a senior executive at both the state and federal level, and in 2018 was awarded the Public Service Medal (PSM) for outstanding service leading significant cultural, technological and governance change. She has a Master of Laws by research focusing on the experiences of immigrant and Indigenous women under the Australian legal system.

Padma is also appointed by the Commonwealth Government as an independent member of the ANU Council and further serves on the Students Safety and Wellbeing Committee of Council.

Kate Jenkins was appointed for a five-year term as Sex Discrimination Commissioner in April 2016. Her term was extended to April 2023. During her term, her purpose was to advance gender equality and the rights of LGBTIQ+ communities, consistent with the Sex Discrimination Act and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Her work responded to national conversations, sparked cultural change, and improved law, policies, practices and funding to foster greater gender equality and address sexual harassment, particularly in Australian workplaces.

Prior to joining the Commission, Kate spent three years as the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner, 20 years as lead equal opportunity partner with Herbert Smith Freehills and many years serving on the boards of Berry Street Victoria, Heide Museum of Modern Art and Carlton Football Club. She is also an Ambassador for the FIFA2023 Women’s World Cup.

Natasha has an international and national profile as a human rights and gender equality expert, working with governments and agencies in the region to build knowledge and technical capacity.

While specialising in the rights of women at work, Natasha brings to this a holistic and intersectional understanding of disability rights, age discrimination and racial equality. Natasha has 20 years of experience as a senior manager and leader in the government sector and prior to establishing Intersection, led significant national policy reforms including:

Set the Standard, the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces (2021), Respect@Work, the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (2020), and Change the Course, on sexual assault and harassment at Australian Universities (2017).

As the Director of the NSW Office for Women, Natasha led the NSW Government response to domestic and family violence under the NSW Blueprint for Reform focusing on system reform, primary prevention and support for women experiencing violence.

Natasha is a Justice of the Peace in NSW and has degrees in Arts and Commerce in international development and economics and a Master of Global Law from the University of Sydney. Natasha sits on the boards of Full Stop Australia, Plan International Australia and Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College.

Tarang Chawla is a recovering lawyer, storyteller, campaigner and activist. Tarang is the co-founder of Not One More Niki, a campaign to end violence against women and children, named in honour of his younger sister Nikita who was murdered in 2015. Tarang is a Victorian Multicultural Commissioner, sessional academic at Monash University and is on the Board of the Australian Republic Movement. In 2022, Tarang hosted “There’s No Place Like Home”, a double award-winning podcast about domestic abuse, has been named a Young Australian of the Year Finalist, the Young Community Achiever of the Year Award Winner, twice listed as one of the Top 25 Most Influential People Working for Social Change and one of Australia’s Top 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians. Tarang’s work has appeared across all Australian media outlets on TV, print, online and internationally on the BCC, Times of India and Hindustan Times.

Dr Zac Seidler is a clinical psychologist, researcher and leading men’s mental health expert.

He currently holds dual roles as Global Director of Men’s Health Research at Movember and Associate Professor with Orygen at the University of Melbourne.

Zac has dedicated his academic and professional career towards further understanding men’s mental health and masculinity with over 150 published papers and 2 edited books in the field. His ultimate goal is to help reduce the staggering rates of male suicide and domestic violence worldwide.

Dr Ben Mathews is a Research Professor in the School of Law at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, Principal Research Fellow in the QUT Faculty of Business and Law, and Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health.  He was a Professorial Fellow to the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Dr Mathews is an internationally renowned researcher on child maltreatment, conducting innovative, transformative research to assist in preventing, detecting, and responding to child abuse and neglect.  He is especially recognised for his research into how legal and social systems can best define, prevent, identify, and respond to child sexual abuse.

Stuart is a creative comms professional with a career spanning the Australian, United Kingdom and Canadian markets. As the founder and director of earned-first creative agency, We Are Different, he has experience leading communication strategy and creative for some of the world’s biggest brands and most awarded campaigns.

He’s an advertiser who believes advertising is dead.

To truly engage with the next generation, organisations across commercial, not-for-profit, and public sectors need to start by earning their audience’s attention first – by doing things differently.

Professor Kyllie Cripps is a Palawa woman and Director of Monash’s Indigenous Studies Centre. She is one of Australia’s leading researchers on Indigenous family violence, sexual assault and child abuse. Leading major grants she has contributed to the field through empirical studies that have defined violence on Indigenous terms, identified factors contributing to violence, and examined the access and availability of services in the aftermath of violence. Her work has been critical in identifying gaps and opportunities to create sustainable solutions to support policy and practice change.

Kyllie’s research and engagement on solutions draws on the strength of her interdisciplinary experience and the value of using an intersectional lens for appreciating the context of violence. In the ‘doing of research’ Kyllie is focused on creating safe places for community members to talk about topics often shrouded in silence. Hearing their stories and working with community to identify areas for change and the solutions for change is always a privilege. Her work has focused on providing communities with resources to support their work locally, networking with individuals and community organisations and connecting them to other parts of Australia and the world to create a network of care and safety that can be a source of learning and empowerment for all.

Dixie is a Gooreng Gooreng woman living on Gadigal land with over three decades of experience in human services, advocating for safer communities for women, children and families. Dixie is currently an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at UNSW and the Aunty in Residence at Full Stop Australia and the Women’s and Girls’ Emergency Centre. Dixie previously co-founded Mudgin-Gal Women’s Place, and worked as an Advocate and Community Educator (First Nations Women’s Legal Program) for the Women’s Legal Service NSW.

Billy Garvey is a developmental paediatrician with over 20 years of experience working with children and families in various settings. As a senior specialist at one of the largest tertiary paediatric hospitals in the world, he works with families, trains clinicians and professionals who support children, and conducts research in child development and mental health. Billy is also the founder of Guiding Growing Minds (GGM), a social enterprise dedicated to giving all children the opportunity to reach their full potential and live rich, meaningful lives. He is a passionate advocate for supporting those who care for kids—parents, educators, sports coaches, clinicians, and family support workers, by equipping them with the tools and knowledge to foster healthy development.

As part of this vision, Billy hosts the Pop Culture Parenting podcast, which blends expert insights with pop culture references to provide practical strategies for parents and caregivers. He is also the author of Ten Things I Wish You Knew About Your Child’s Mental Health, a book aimed at empowering families and communities to better support children’s growth and well-being.

Dr Asher Flynn is a Professor of Criminology in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University and a Chief Investigator on the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence: the Centre for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW), where she leads the technology-facilitated violence workstream and is Deputy Lead of Research Ethics & Training. Professor Flynn is also the lead Chief Investigator of the first multi-country study on the nature, harms and prevalence of sexualised deepfake abuse (ARC Discovery Project), which seeks to identify appropriate legal, social and educational interventions to this form of abuse. An award-winning researcher in policy and prevention concerning gendered, sexual and technology-facilitated violence, Professor Flynn’s work has shaped almost a decade of research, theory and measurement of these global phenomena. Her research informed the introduction of federal and state laws on image-based sexual abuse across Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States and she is the recipient of a number of prestigious national and international research fellowships. Professor Flynn is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Criminology.

Tess is an experienced communicator dedicated to fostering positive change. She has half a decade of experience working across start-ups, female-led social enterprises, B-Corps and not-for-profits, as well as consulting social media strategy for purpose-driven individuals. She is committed to using her professional life to create a more equitable and sustainable world.

Jack has over a decade of experience in content creation and digital communication. As former Executive Creative Director at Sure Studios and a successful advocacy content creator, he specialises in translating complex issues into engaging, shareable content. Jack is committed to leveraging his creative and communication skills to promote consent education and advance social equity.

Kaylyn has over 8 years’ experience as a policy and public impact consultant focussing on supporting key domestic, family and sexual violence sector initiatives. Her skillset includes research, stakeholder engagement and monitoring & evaluation. She has a passion for achieving better outcomes for all communities through promoting equity and inclusivity.

Sofia is a writer, researcher, activist and advocate for gender equality. Her experience ranges from communications lead for environmental campaigns, administration within the tertiary sector, to policy and governance research centred upon women's rights & liberation.

James holds degrees in Law and Commerce from the University of Sydney. He was formerly a private practice litigator in Australia, the UK and the UAE, and subsequently a Vice President and Executive Director at Goldman Sachs. He is currently a Director and Senior Legal Counsel at GSR where he structures and negotiates financial instruments.

Adam is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Educating the Future, an Australian government-funded NGO providing quality community-led pre-school education to Timorese children. He completed his BComm (Co-Op) at UNSW Sydney in 2019 and subsequently received a first-class honours degree from the University of Sydney for his research on Gender Equality on Australian Boards in 2020.

Holly Rankin is an ARIA nominated artist and strategist (also known as Jack River). Holly uses the power of pop culture to make political change. She has worked with the Uluru Dialogues, Senator David Pocock, Climate 200 and The Australian Recording Industry Association. As an artist, she spearheaded the viral ‘Our Soundtrack Our Stories’ campaign for tv, radio and ads to use more homegrown music.

Matt Hübner holds degrees in Commerce and Science from the Australian National University and has extensive marketing, brand strategy, and business development experience across both B2B and B2C brands. He is currently Head of Commercial for EWA, overseeing commercial development and business strategy, as well as freelance pro bono consulting for impact-driven startups.

Chanel Contos founded Teach Us Consent. It started on Instagram, and soon evolved to make mandated consent education a political priority. In order to achieve this, she worked closely with politicians from across the political spectrum, including prime ministers.

Chanel was the recipient of the Australian Human Rights Commission Young People’s Medal in 2021, and in 2023 she was named NSW Young Woman of the Year for her persistent efforts towards eradicating rape culture. Chanel has also been presented with the prestigious Diana Award for her humanitarian work, and in 2022 she was listed as one of the BBC’s 100 inspiring and influential women worldwide.

Chanel has a Masters in Education, Gender and International Development from University College London and was recently appointed by Julia Gillard to chair the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership’s Youth Advisory Committee. She also sits on multiple government reference panels, and consults for multinational companies on violence prevention.

She is the author of Consent Laid Bare: sex, entitlement, and the distortion of desire.