ALHR

Kerry was admitted as a solicitor and barrister in South Australia in 1998 and has been a member of the ALHR National Committee since 2014, including a two year term as ALHR Vice-President. She has practiced in South Australia, London and Sydney as a criminal defence solicitor and as a Senior Legal Officer for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and has over 24 years experience as an advocate.

Kerry has worked for top tier private firms and currently works in the civil society and NGO sector. She has extensive experience working within the policy and law reform space, in domestic and international advocacy campaigns and engaging with the media. Kerry has a long held interest in Children's rights and juvenile justice and is a registered contributor with the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO). She was a recipient of the The Children's Interests Bureau Prize at Flinders University. Kerry also Co-Chairs ALHR's Children's Rights Subcommittee and Co-Convenes the Human Rights for NSW Alliance.

Contact

Natalie Wade is ALHR Vice-President and Chair of our Disability Rights Subcommittee. Named by the Law Council of Australia as the 2016 Australian Young Lawyer of the Year and awarded Young Lawyer of the Year for South Australia and Australia in 2016 for her work on the South Australian Child Protection Systems Royal Commission and contribution to law reform for people with disabilities, Natalie has a well-respected legal background in international human rights law and law reform.

Natalie received a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor Commerce from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Laws (Legal Practice) from the Australian National University. As a leader in disability rights and reform, Natalie was the founding Chairperson of Australian Lawyer’s for Human Rights’ Disability Rights Subcommittee and has worked individual complaints to the Committee for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Since 2015, Natalie has been member of the Every Women, Everywhere Campaign which advocates for an international treaty on violence against women and girls. In that role, Natalie assisted in drafting the Implementation and assessment memo for the campaign.

Natalie has dedicated much of her time to research relating to participation of individuals with communication disabilities in courts. Her research advocated for the implementation of judicial training on obtaining evidence from witnesses with communication disabilities. Following the introduction of the SA Disability Justice Plan, Natalie prepared a comparative analysis, published in the Alternative Law Journal, of the law reform in South Australian and Commonwealth jurisdictions to evaluate their effectiveness in upholding the international human rights of people with communication disabilities.

Contact

Sangeeta is currently a practising solicitor in Sydney. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Science (Psychology) double degree from the Australian National University and is currently studying her Masters in Law (International Law). She has had her work published in The Journal of Legal Pluralism and is currently working on her Masters thesis project. She has volunteered in a number of organisations focusing on the rights of refugees, migrants, women, Indigenous Australians and prisoners. After completing two internships overseas, at the Legal Resources Centre in Cape Town and the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs in New York, Sangeeta commenced working at Ken Cush & Associates, a civil litigation firm in Canberra, as a Senior Associate. Sangeeta also volunteers at the ACT Law Society's Legal Advice Bureau.

Contact

Katherine is a Chartered Accountant with over 20 years Finance experience who has a strong interest in human rights and social justice. Katherine is currently the Finance Manager at SNAICC - National Voice for our Children which represent the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Contact

In addition to his role on the Executive Management Committee at ALHR, Anthony is a lawyer at Hall & Wilcox and a tutor with the Law Faculty at Monash University. He is also on the editorial board for one of the International Law Association's official publications. Anthony has a Master of Laws (LLM) in Transnational Law from King's College London, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Monash University and a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights Theory from Monash University. During his LLM at King's College London, Anthony specialised in human rights law. He was awarded the university's Prize for the Best Student on the LLM in Transnational Law in recognition of ranking first in his subjects and first in the LLM cohort overall. Anthony has also been awarded the Sir Owen Dixon Prize for International Law (supported by the International Commission of Jurists), the LexisNexis Prize for Research and Writing, the Monash Global Scholarship on two occasions, and the Nicholas Auden International Study Scholarship.

Anthony consistently contributes to Hall & Wilcox's pro bono practice, and he has previously contributed to the human rights work of other organisations including the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Anthony has authored and co-authored a number of articles and he has presented his human rights research at conferences around the world. Anthony's interests and experience cover a broad range of areas within the general field of international human rights law, including non-discrimination rights, LGBTI+ rights, children's rights, business and human rights, rights to social security, and the human rights of vulnerable individuals in the context of the criminal justice system, medical treatment and employment.

Contact

Naomi Gould is a senior solicitor at Canberra Community Law. She currently works in the Social Security and Housing Law programs. Naomi has regularly argued the ACT Human Rights Act over her years working at Canberra Community Law and is a strong advocate for the implementation of human rights at the local level. She has many years experience working as a community lawyer in both Australia and the USA. She previously worked as a senior economic rights and patients rights attorney with the Mental Health Advocacy Project in San Jose, California. Prior to that, she was with the NSW Legal Aid Commission based in the Fairfield office. She has previously been active with Amnesty International Australia and was also a seconded solicitor to Kingsford Legal Centre while working at what was then known as Freehills, where she started her legal career.

Contact

Joanna is the Principal Lawyer of Justice Connect's Court Programs (Sydney), overseeing the legal practice of the Federal Service assisting self-represented litigants with civil law matters, including human rights, in the Federal Court and Federal Circuit Courts in NSW, VIC, ACT and TAS. Joanna also currently volunteers as a Lawyer at the Inner City Legal Centre, which provides access to justice for vulnerable people with a focus on those who identify as LGBTIQ. Previously, Joanna investigated and conciliated Federal discrimination law and human rights matters at the Australian Human Rights Commission. Joanna also worked as a Lawyer at Caxton Legal Centre Inc. in Brisbane in the Family Law and Domestic and Family Violence (formerly Family and Elder Law) and the Human Rights and Civil Law Practices (formerly General Practice). Joanna has volunteered on projects with a human rights focus, including at the Refugee and Immigration Legal Service, UN Women, LawRight and the Pacific Community.

Joanna completed a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws through the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, which included post-graduate studies in human rights. Joanna also completed a Bachelor of Social Science through the University of Queensland. During her studies, Joanna was awarded the Toni Dick Memorial Prize for Outstanding Community Service and the Gerard Connolly Memorial Prize for Outstanding Community Service.

Contact

Named by the Law Council of Australia as the 2016 Australian Young Lawyer of the Year and awarded Young Lawyer of the Year for South Australia and Australia in 2016 for her work on the South Australian Child Protection Systems Royal Commission and contribution to law reform for people with disabilities, Natalie has a well-respected legal background in international human rights law and law reform.

Natalie received a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor Commerce from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Laws (Legal Practice) from the Australian National University. As a leader in disability rights and reform, Natalie was the founding Chairperson of Australian Lawyer’s for Human Rights’ Disability Rights Subcommittee and has worked individual complaints to the Committee for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Since 2015, Natalie has been member of the Every Women, Everywhere Campaign which advocates for an international treaty on violence against women and girls. In that role, Natalie assisted in drafting the Implementation and assessment memo for the campaign.

Natalie has dedicated much of her time to research relating to participation of individuals with communication disabilities in courts. Her research advocated for the implementation of judicial training on obtaining evidence from witnesses with communication disabilities. Following the introduction of the SA Disability Justice Plan, Natalie prepared a comparative analysis, published in the Alternative Law Journal, of the law reform in South Australian and Commonwealth jurisdictions to evaluate their effectiveness in upholding the international human rights of people with communication disabilities.

Contact

If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au

Contact

Madeleine Bridgett is a barrister in Sydney, Australia, specialising in human rights and international law. She has also been admitted to the Bar of England and Wales, and in 2011 was awarded the Hardwicke Scholarship and the Peter Duffy Human Rights Scholarship from The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn. She spent a year working in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, West Africa, for the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC), where she fearlessly advocated for the rights of children and vulnerable adults whilst actively promoting the rule of law. Madeleine was part of the legal team who successfully prosecuted a number of cases involving child labour and child abuse. Following this Madeleine worked at the European Court of Human Rights where she was responsible for preparing draft reports and decisions on cases brought before the Court regarding admissibility.

Madeleine holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from City Law School (formerly the Inns of Court School of Law) (UK), Postgraduate Diploma in Law (UK)(Distinction), Master of Social Work (UNSW, Australia) and Bachelor of Social Work (UNSW, Australia). She was awarded the Head of School Prize, University of Brighton, UK in 2008 and the Oxford University Press Prize, University of Brighton, in 2009. Madeleine has published work in both national and international journals and has presented at a number of conferences globally. In 2010 she was selected by The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn to debate at the English Speaking Union National Competition and the Cambridge IV International Debating Competition.

Contact

Natalia holds a LLB(Hons)(England), DipIHL(ICRC), BEconSocSt(Hons) (Univ.of Wales), GradCertAP(SCU), PhD (Aberystwyth) and is currently a senior lecturer in the School of law and Justice at Southern Cross University. Natalia has over fifteen years of experience in research and public policy that spans across the public sector, governmental and non-governmental organisations and academia in four countries. She is an Adjunct Professor at the Center for the Study of Humanitarian Law, Royal University of Law and Economics (Cambodia) and was a Visiting Professor at Cambodian Mekong University (Cambodia). Her academic experience includes working at universities across Australia, the UK and Cambodia where she has taught and convened numerous courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She has also delivered guest lectures at universities and institutions in Germany and Canada. Natalia has over 50 publications for academic and non-academic audiences and conference papers presented at numerous conferences worldwide.

Natalia's professional experience includes working in a Human Rights NGO in Moscow (Russian Justice Initiative) litigating before the European Court of Human Rights, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (UK), the Welsh Assembly Government, the British House of Commons, the Welsh Centre for International Affairs, the United Nations Association Wales and the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies (DDMI). In these roles, she conducted four public consultations and prepared internal and external reports, educational materials and information bulletins.

Contact

Johanna was admitted as a solicitor in 2017 in Western Australia and currently works at Rae & Partners Lawyers, Launceston in the commercial team. She was the National Indigenous Law Student of the Year in 2016.
Her interests in Human Rights originated prior to her studying law when she worked with vulnerable members of the community who were caught up within the criminal justice system. Johanna’s honours thesis was on section 32 of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 NSW. She is particularly interested in Indigenous rights and the rights of those people who suffer from mental health issues.

Contact

Patrick, a proud Aboriginal (Nunga) man, is Youth Co-Chair of the ALHR Indigenous Subcommittee. Having graduated from his Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) in 2020, he is currently going into his penultimate year of Law (LL.B) at the University of Sydney. Patrick also works as a paralegal for the Litigation and Financial Restructuring and Insolvency teams at Norton Rose Fulbright. In his time at University, he has received the Bernard Lee Scholarship and Sydney Scholars Award, as well as serving on the Sydney University Business Society in 2018 and Sydney University Law Society Executive in 2020.

Patrick is a strong advocate for Indigenous education and reconciliation, and is devoted to tackling racial inequality in the workforce. He has worked, and continues to be a mentor, for the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME), which seeks to achieve educational parity by providing cultural identity and vocational pathway support to Indigenous high school students.

Contact

Sonali is a lawyer in Sydney, practising in the areas of environment and planning law and native title. She has had a longstanding interest in human rights and Indigenous issues, and in particular, has developed knowledge of land rights and native title through her work experiences at the National Native Title Tribunal, NTSCORP and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. Sonali is committed to reconciliation and is an active member of her firm’s reconciliation action plan working group.

Contact

Nicholas Stewart is a partner at Dowson Turco Lawyers, a boutique and prominent LGBTI law firm in Sydney. He was formerly an intellectual property lawyer at Minter Ellison and Corporate Counsel at Singtel Optus. Nicholas has acted as an instructing lawyer and as an advocate in the Australian Crime Commission, the Local Court of NSW, the Children’s Court of NSW, the District Court of NSW and the Federal Court of Australia.

Nicholas takes carriage of complex cases involving human rights matters and currently he is acting for a group of NSW Police officers who claim homosexual discrimination, bullying and vilification while employees of the NSW Police Force. Nicholas is also the lawyer for Alan Rosendale, a gay bashing victim of the 1980s who believes his assaulters were part of an organised group of law enforcement members who engaged in systematic gay bashings during that time.

Nicholas is a Director of Rainbow Families NSW, Vice President of the New Theatre Newtown, on the LGBTI sub-committee of Unharm Australia, and a pro bono lawyer at the NSW Inner City Legal Centre. Between 2006 and 2012 Nicholas was the President of Caretakers Cottage, Bondi, and during part of this time he also worked as a policy and projects officer in the NSW Government.

In 2009 Nicholas was awarded the Elizabeth Hastings Memorial Human Rights Award and the UTS:LAW Alumni Association Prize at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Nicholas chairs the ALHR LGBTI sub-committee with Kathryn Cramp. Together Nicholas and Kathryn champion LGBTI human rights and law reform.

Contact

Georgia has been involved with ALHR as either a student or practitioner since 2013. In 2015/2016 she spent twelve months as a Tasmanian Co-Convenor, before moving on to the LGBTI Subcommittee, which she has proudly chaired with Co-Chair Nicholas Stewart since 2018. Since then, she has worked to pursue post-marriage equality law reform affecting the LGBTI community.

By day, Georgia is a family lawyer with Holmes Donnelly & Co Solicitors in Sydney, having relocated from Tasmania in early 2020. Georgia was an Out for Australia 30 under 30 award recipient in 2019 in recognition of her contributions to the LGBTI community, and Lawyers Weekly 30 under 30 Finalist in 2020 in the Family Law category. Georgia is also a member of the New South Wales Young Lawyers Family Law Committee.

Contact

Jessica was admitted as a lawyer in Western Australia in 2010 and became a registered Migration Agent in 2015. She is the Specialist Migration Lawyer at Law Access, which coordinates pro bono referrals in Western Australia, as well as the Communication and Education Manager at The Humanitarian Group, which provides migration and legal assistance to the culturally and linguistically diverse community in Western Australia. She is currently a Master of Law candidate at The University of Melbourne with a focus on international human rights law.

Contact

Caitlin is a solicitor and registered migration agent from Sydney. She currently volunteers at the Toongabbie Legal Centre and runs pro bono migration cases for organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers in New South Wales. Caitlin graduated from Macquarie University with a Bachelor of International Studies and Laws, and from the Australian National University with a Master of Legal Practice. She has interned at the UNHCR and the Refugee Advice and Casework Service and is interested in issues concerning international refugee and asylum seeker policy.

Contact

Kerry is ALHR's current president and was admitted as a solicitor and barrister in South Australia in 1998 and has been a member of the ALHR National Committee since 2014, including a two year term as ALHR Vice-President. She has practiced in London and Sydney as a criminal defence solicitor and as a Senior Legal Officer for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and has 20 years experience as an advocate. Kerry has a long held interest in Children's rights and juvenile justice and currently co-chairs ALHR's Children's Rights Subcommittee. She is a registered contributor with the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) and was a recipient of the The Children's Interests Bureau Prize at Flinders University.

Contact

If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au

Contact

If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au

Contact

Bethany Hender is the Employment and Discrimination Solicitor at the Women’s Legal Centre and has had previous roles at the ACT Human Rights Commission and the Australian Human Rights Commission. She has studied international human rights law at the University of Oslo in Norway and has a valuable understanding of the international human rights landscape. She brings important knowledge and insight into Australian’s piecemeal adoption and application of international human rights law, combined with firsthand experience of the consequences of governments and business not adhering to human rights principles.

Contact

Sophie Trevitt is a Canberra based community lawyer who was most recently working in the Northern Territory with incarcerated children or children at risk of incarceration. She has worked in a wide range of areas in civil law including housing and homelessness, Centrelink, police accountability, discrimination and employment law. Sophie is a strong advocate for reforming the youth justice system to embrace restorative and therapeutic practices rather than the exist punitive model. As a progressive jurisdiction, and one with a Human Rights Act, Sophie sees the ACT as an important site of potential law reform. 

Contact

Manny is a graduate solicitor in the Family Law Early Intervention Unit at Legal Aid NSW and joined ALHR in 2018. Manny graduated with a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University. Her Honours thesis focused on transitional justice and forced displacement in Colombia. Manny has interned with the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, the Mexico City-based NGO, the Institute for Women in Migration, and Asylum Access Thailand, a refugee legal centre in Bangkok. She is particularly interested in refugee rights and racial and gender discrimination.

Contact

Christina Hey-Nguyen specialises in international and commercial law, foreign policy and international aid. She is currently an Assistant Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) and has recently returned from a diplomatic posting to The Hague, Netherlands, where she advised the Australian government on a suite of international legal issues including international human rights law, refugee law and international criminal law. She was also Editor of the 2015 Australian Yearbook of International Law.

In The Hague, Christina represented Australia across six international courts and tribunals including at the International Court of Justice and at the International Criminal Court. In 2017 Christina founded the Women in International Law Network in the Netherlands, an informal network of over 200 female lawyers, judges and legal experts, advocating for gender equality.

Contact

Nameeta is a lawyer with Holman Webb Lawyers in its Commercial Law practice. Prior to that Nameeta was a Senior Associate with Salvos Legal practising commercial litigation. Nameeta has also interned at Amnesty International Australia, and worked at the National Justice Project, the Australian Red Cross, the Office of Australian Information Commissioner and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Nameeta currently volunteers at the Toongabbie Legal Centre. Nameeta graduated with a Bachelor of Laws / Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Sydney and Graduate Certificate in Human Rights from the University of Sydney. Nameeta is interested in issues concerning access to justice.

Contact

Jessica is the Research Director to the Hon T F Bathurst, Chief Justice of New South Wales and was previously his Judicial Clerk (Tipstaff). Jessica graduated with a Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University where she majored in human rights. She has also studied international human rights law at the University of Copenhagen. Jessica has previously been an academic observer assisting the Australian Delegation at the United Nations in New York, a paralegal at the Aboriginal Legal Service and a summer clerk at King & Wood Mallesons. She is particularly interested in issues relating to gender and Indigenous justice.

Contact

Isobel was admitted as a lawyer in 2012 in Western Australia and is now an Alice Springs based lawyer. She is currently working as an in house lawyer at an Aboriginal community controlled health service, and has previously worked for native title representative bodies and an Aboriginal land council. She is currently completing a Master of Policy and Politics at Deakin University. Isobel is interested in addressing social and economic inequalities through law, advocacy and policy change.

Contact

If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au

Contact

Bianca has just come on board and her bio will be uploaded very soon. If you are interested in joining Bianca as an ALHR Victorian Co-Convenor please send an EOI with your resume and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au

Contact

Ella Furlong is a lawyer with Clayton Utz in its Commercial Litigation team and holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours), with an academic specialisation in public international law, and a Bachelor International Relations from Bond University. Ella's past experience includes working both in-house and in boutique private practice, and interning at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia to work on the prosecution of General Ratko Mladic, one of the largest international criminal trials in modern history. She has also previously volunteered for Amnesty International Australia, knowmore Legal Service and Women's Legal Service Queensland. Ella is particularly interested in the access to justice for victims of sexual and gender-based violence, and its intersection with international criminal law.

Contact

Johanna was admitted as a solicitor in 2017 in Western Australia and currently works at Rae & Partners Lawyers, Launceston in the commercial team. She was the National Indigenous Law Student of the Year in 2016.
Her interests in Human Rights originated prior to her studying law when she worked with vulnerable members of the community who were caught up within the criminal justice system. Johanna’s honours thesis was on section 32 of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 NSW. She is particularly interested in Indigenous rights and the rights of those people who suffer from mental health issues.

Contact

Alexandria Bishop is an Associate in the International Arbitration Group at Clifford Chance. Alexandria has previously volunteered for community legal centres and was an active member of the Law Society of WA's Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Committee, Access to Justice Committee and the Aboriginal Incarceration and Justice Reinvestment Working Group. She was also the Access to Justice Committee representative for the Law Access Stakeholder Advisory Group, which informs the work of Law Access, an organisation that matches applications for pro bono legal assistance from vulnerable individuals to pro bono lawyers. Alexandria is passionate about addressing human rights issues and improving access to the justice system in Australia.

Contact

Zubayr Abrahams holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and History from the University of Cape Town and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from Murdoch University and is currently undertaking a Masters of Laws at the University of Western Australia. Zubayr is a disputes lawyer in the Projects, Infrastructure and Construction Group at MinterEllison and has volunteered with community legal centres including the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency in the Northern Territory. Zubayr has an interest in public law, international human rights law, international environmental law, global governance, socio-legal studies and legal and regulatory theory. He was awarded a Geneva International Human Rights Scholarship in 2014 and a Commonwealth New Colombo Plan Scholarship in 2015.

Contact

Georgia Kalyniuk is a final year student at Murdoch University due to graduate in 2019 with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts in International Development with a minor in Asian Studies. Georgia also undertook studies in Social Development and Public Policy at City University in Hong Kong in 2016. During her studies at Murdoch, Georgia completed their Geneva Human Rights Law program and has been a long-time volunteer at SCALES Human Rights and Refugee Law Clinic. She has founded an alumni network for the Geneva program aimed to promote ongoing human rights law interest in law students and recent graduates. Georgia was previously the State Director of World Vision Australia’s youth movement in WA.
She is due to start as a graduate at Herbert Smith Freehills in 2020 and will be admitted as a lawyer in the WA. Georgia is particularly interested in business and human rights, refugee and migrant rights, and increasing the accessibility of the Australian justice system.

Contact