Kerry Weste - President
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 as a human rights consultant 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 UN Special Procedures mechanisms.
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 Co-Chairs ALHR's Children's Rights Subcommittee and Co-Convenes the Human Rights for NSW Alliance. As president, Kerry Chairs ALHR's Executive Management Committee which oversees the organisations governance and strategic direction. She also Chairs the ALHR National Committee.
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Nicholas Stewart - Vice President
Nicholas is a partner at Dowson Turco Lawyers, a boutique and prominent LGBTIQA+ law firm in Macquarie Street, Sydney. He was formerly an intellectual property lawyer at an Australian top tier corporate firm, and Corporate Counsel at a large telecommunications company. Since leaving commercial law, Nicholas has focussed his work on criminal law. At Dowson Turco Lawyers. Nicholas heads up the indictable crime team and regularly appears in the Local and District Courts of NSW and the Children’s Court of NSW.
Nicholas also manages a human rights practice, and takes carriage of complex cases involving LGBTIQA+ discrimination, bullying and vilification, as well as hate crimes. In this regard, Nicholas led the campaign for two parliamentary inquiries, and the recently announced special commission of inquiry into NSW's dark history of gay and transgender murders.
Nicholas is Vice President of New Theatre Sydney, Chair of the Women's Advancement Subcommittee within the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Law Society of NSW, and a Friend of Distinction at University of Technology, Sydney. He is also a former director of Rainbow Families NSW and previously a long-standing pro bono lawyer at the Inner City Legal Centre. 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 is a longstanding co-chair of the ALHR LGBTIQA+ Rights Committee and prior to taking up the Vice Presidency in 2022 has also contributed to ALHR's governance and strategic direction as a member of the ALHR Executive Management Committee.
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Anna Kennett - Secretary
Anna was admitted to practice in 2006 and currently works for the South Australian government in Adelaide. She holds a number of academic qualifications including a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Laws specialising in international law and human rights. She has held a number of board positions in not for profit organisations including the Alliance for Gambling Reform and SHine SA. Anna has a passionate interest in social justice and grassroots advocacy which has seen her currently undertake work to form a new not for profit focussing on gambling rehabilitation and assistance services for women.
Anna is the national secretary of ALHR, a South Australian Convenor and a member of the ALHR Women and Girls Rights Subcommittee. As Secretary, Anna sits on ALHR the Executive Management Committee.
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Katherine Hinton - Treasurer
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.
Katherine has been a highly valued member of the ALHR Executive for four years and in her role as treasurer sits on the Executive Management Committee overseeing ALHR's governance and strategic direction.
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Valerie Heath - Executive Management Committee
Valerie is a barrister at the NSW Bar (called 1994) and an Australian legal practitioner (since 1990). She has a Bachelor of Jurisprudence and Bachelor of Laws from UNSW, a Graduate Diploma (PLT) from UTS and a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney. She practices in insurance, administrative and commercial law, professional liability, professional and sports licensing and disciplinary matters and in general practice.
Valerie has advised and appeared in disability and racial discrimination claims and in judicial review proceedings against government and statutory authorities. She is a past Secretary and past Vice-President of NSW Women Lawyers and a past member of a NSW Bar Professional Conduct Committee.
Valerie has been a member of the NSW Bar Accessibility Panel since 2019. Valerie has a keen interest in the protection of civil and political rights of the individual and transparency and accountability of government. In particular, Valerie is interested in the human rights implications of data collection, data matching, surveillance and algorithmic decision-making and the need for strong, independent, investigative corruption watchdogs and other checks on the abuse of power.
At ALHR, Valerie is a member of the Executive Management Committee overseeing ALHR's strategic direction and governance as well as a Senior Chair of the Freedoms Committee.
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Dr Natalia Szablewska - Executive Management Committee
Natalia has 20 years’ experience spanning the public sector, governmental and non-governmental organisations and academia in five countries. She is currently Professor in Law and Society at The Open University (UK), with further academic affiliations in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Cambodia and France, as well as she serves on the Modern Slavery Advisory Leaderships Group to the New Zealand Government. She has published widely and presented internationally for academic and non-academic audiences (over 100 outputs). She specialises in public international law with a particular focus on human rights, and her most recent projects examine the linkages between business and human rights, modern slavery and sustainable development.
In addition to serving on the ALHR Executive Management Committee, Natalia is a Senior Co-Chair of ALHR's Business and Human Rights Committee.
Andrea Rogers - Executive Management Committee & Torture Spokesperson
Andrea Rogers is a qualified Australian solicitor with extensive experience in commercial and human rights law in both London and Australia. Her human rights roles have included drafting the Modern Slavery Statement for Médecins Sans Frontières (Australia) and working as a legal adviser for REDRESS (UK), an NGO seeking justice and reparations for victims of torture. This work involved submissions to the UN Human Rights Committee to hold governments to account for human rights violations including enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention.
Throughout her career, Andrea has developed highly specialized skills working with vulnerable clients in Legal Aid as well as with asylum seekers who are victims of torture and discrimination in her role at Freedom from Torture (UK). These roles have given her distinct insight into how trauma affects survivors of human rights violations. She has also developed unique advocacy skills having worked in UK Parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group, dedicated to challenging international civil and political human rights violations, and supporting human rights defenders.
Alongside her BA/LLB from Monash University, she holds an MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights from the School of Advanced Study, Commonwealth Institute, University of London. Her thesis centered on genocide relating to indigenous Australians, trauma, and juvenile justice.
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Georgia Burke - Executive Management Committee
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.
In addition to sitting on ALHR's Executive Management Committee, Georgia is a Senior Co-Chair of ALHR's LGBTIQA+ Committee
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Dayne Kingsford - Human Rights Act(s) Chair
Dayne is a Principal Solicitor at Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion (QAI), a specialist community legal service for Queenslanders living with disability. Dayne manages QAI’s Human Rights Advocacy Practice and assists people in the areas of disability discrimination, human rights, and guardianship and administration. Prior to this, Dayne worked and volunteered at a range of organisations, including community legal centres, not-for-profits, and in commercial practice. Dayne has a passion for protecting the rights of vulnerable community members. Dayne holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the Queensland University of Queensland and is completing a Master of Laws, with a particular focus on human rights and public law, from the University of Melbourne.
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Vacant - EOIs sought - Human Rights Act(s) Co-Chair
If you are interested in applying for this role and joining Dayne and Kerry in leading this vital aspect of ALHR's advocacy across Australia please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au
Natalie Wade - Disability Rights Senior Chair
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.
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Vacant - seeking EOIs - Disability Rights Senior Chair and Youth Chairs
If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au. ALHR encourages lawyers with a lived experience of disability to apply, however, all EOI's from all lawyers with relevant, appropriate expertise and a passion for disability Rights are welcomed
Valerie Heath - Freedoms Chair
Valerie is a barrister at the NSW Bar (called 1994) and an Australian legal practitioner (since 1990). She has a Bachelor of Jurisprudence and Bachelor of Laws from UNSW, a Graduate Diploma (PLT) from UTS and a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney. Valerie joined ALHR as a member in 2018 and has enjoyed working with the incomparable Tamsin Clarke and Nicholas Stewart and other tireless ALHR contributors on submissions and public presentations for ALHR since that time.
She practices in insurance, administrative and commercial law, professional liability, professional and sports licensing and disciplinary matters and in general practice. She has advised and appeared in disability and racial discrimination claims and in judicial review proceedings against government and statutory authorities. She is a past Secretary and past Vice-President of NSW Women Lawyers and a past member of a NSW Bar Professional Conduct Committee.
Valerie has been a member of the NSW Bar Accessibility Panel since 2019. Valerie has a keen interest in the protection of civil and political rights of the individual and transparency and accountability of government. In particular, Valerie is interested in the human rights implications of data collection, data matching, surveillance and algorithmic decision-making and the need for strong, independent, investigative corruption watchdogs and other checks on the abuse of power.
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Dr Tania Penovic - Women and Girls' Rights Co-Chair
Tania is a legal academic with expertise in access to justice, gender equality and the human rights of vulnerable groups. She commences as an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business and Law at Deakin University in October 2022, having served the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University for nine years as Deputy Director and two years as research group leader in gender and sexuality.
Tania’s qualifications include a Masters in International Human Rights Law (with Distinction) from the University of Oxford and PhD from Monash University and she has won awards for research impact, curriculum design and excellence in teaching. Tania has represented asylum seekers through her volunteer work at the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (Melbourne) and Citizens Advice Bureau (UK). She has designed and delivered units in Vietnam National University’s Master of Laws and provided human rights training to judges and government officials from Australia, Indonesia and Iraq.
Tania’s research has been cited by the Supreme Court of Victoria and High Court of Australia and relied upon in submissions to international courts including the European Court of Human Rights. Tania has provided numerous submissions to state, federal and international inquiries into law reform and human rights which have been cited in federal and state parliaments and reports of the UN Human Rights Council are associated with legislative change.
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Dr Hannah Tonkin - Women and Girls' Rights Co-Chair
Dr Hannah Tonkin is a barrister at Hanson Chambers in Adelaide and Garden Court Chambers in London. She previously worked for the United Nations and other international organisations in a wide range of different contexts around the world, including Rwanda, Syria, Gaza, Sierra Leone and the former Yugoslavia.
Hannah also has extensive experience teaching public international law and human rights, including on the master's programmes at the University of Oxford and the American University of Paris.
Hannah holds a master's degree and PhD in public international law from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and an Honours degree in Law and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Adelaide. Hannah’s book, "State Control over Private Military and Security Companies in Armed Conflict", was published by Cambridge University Press in 2011.
In addition to her role as a Senior Co-Chaihttps://alhr.org.au/wp/wp-admin/post.php?post=6&action=editr of the ALHR Women and Girls' Rights Committee, Hannah is a member of the ALHR Executive Management Committee overseeing ALHR's strategic direction and governance.
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Elaine Stops - Women and Girls' and Rights Deputy Chair
Elaine is a feminist and has a passion for women’s rights. She has been a member of the ALHR Women and Girls’ Rights Committee since its inception and has contributed to a number of submissions and projects that the committee has worked on so far. She currently works at the Attorney-General’s Department and has a background in commercial litigation in private practice.
Elaine has also been extensively involved in pro bono projects including considering the rights of Bangladeshi women in live-in domestic work settings in the Middle East, and a secondment to the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service where she represented female Aboriginal clients on a number of issues, including sex and race discrimination. She is currently studying a Master of Human Rights Law and is very excited for her upcoming unit on gender and human rights.
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Dr Natalia Szablewska - Business and Human Rights Co-Chair
Natalia has 20 years’ experience spanning the public sector, governmental and non-governmental organisations and academia in five countries. She is currently Professor in Law and Society at The Open University (UK), with further academic affiliations in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Cambodia and France, as well as she serves on the Modern Slavery Advisory Leaderships Group to the New Zealand Government. She has published widely and presented internationally for academic and non-academic audiences (over 100 outputs). She specialises in public international law with a particular focus on human rights, and her most recent projects examine the linkages between business and human rights, modern slavery and sustainable development.
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 and the British House of Commons. She has worked for over 10 years in Cambodia, including in developing the first Master’s Programme in Human Rights in Cambodia (at Cambodian Mekong University), and since 2016 has been an Adjunct Professor with the Centre for the Study of Humanitarian Law, a Cambodian human rights academic centre, based at the Royal University of Law and Economics.
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Lara Douvartzidis - Business and Human Rights Co-Chair
Lara Douvartzidis is a human rights and environmental lawyer at Johnson Winter & Slattery., having started at the firm in 2019. She completed a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Environmental Policy and Management at the University of Adelaide in 2016 and an Advanced Masters in European and International Human Rights Law from Leiden University in The Hague in 2017. In 2018 she served as the Associate (‘Tipstaff’) to the Honourable Chief Justice Kourakis of the Supreme Court of South Australia. In 2021 she was seconded to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre where she worked as a lawyer in the Strategic Litigation Unit, conducting complex human rights litigation and advocacy. Lara appeared in the Australasian Lawyers Rising Start List for 2021. She is passionate about strategic litigation trends, including the convergence of international human rights law with national and international environmental law, and emerging trends in climate change and ESG particularly as it relates to businesses. including due diligence reform. She has contributed to numerous articles, publications, podcasts and chapters in these areas and has presented to clients and NGOs globally.
Lara co-chairs the ALHR Business and Human Rights sub-committee with Dr Natalia Szablewska. Together they assist businesses and civil society in improving the implementation of human rights principles and meaningfully contribute to the development of modern slavery laws in Australia.
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Millie Jones - Business and Human Rights Youth Chair
Millie holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from Bond University, where she graduated with a specialisation in international and comparative law in early 2021. Since that time, Millie has worked as a Law Graduate in a leading corporate M&A team in Brisbane, before serving as the Associate to a Queensland District Court Judge. Alongside this, Millie is currently engaged as a graduate research assistant at Bond University. Her personal research interests lie in the intersection between sports business and human rights, forming the focus of her Honours Thesis which received the 2021 Paul Trisley Award from the Australian New Zealand Sports Law Association.
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Johanna Byrne - Indigenous Rights Co-Chair
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.
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Vacant - seeking EOIs - Indigenous Rights Co-Chair
If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au. This is a First Nations identified role, however, ALHR will consider applications from all lawyers with relevant, appropriate expertise in Indigenous Rights
Nicholas Stewart - LGBTI Rights Co-Chair
Nicholas is a partner at Dowson Turco Lawyers, a boutique and prominent LGBTIQA+ law firm in Macquarie Street, Sydney. He was formerly an intellectual property lawyer at an Australian top tier corporate firm, and Corporate Counsel at a large telecommunications company. Since leaving commercial law, Nicholas has focussed his work on criminal law. At Dowson Turco Lawyers. Nicholas heads up the indictable crime team and regularly appears in the Local and District Courts of NSW and the Children’s Court of NSW.
Nicholas also manages a human rights practice, and takes carriage of complex cases involving LGBTIQA+ discrimination, bullying and vilification, as well as hate crimes. In this regard, Nicholas led the campaign for two parliamentary inquiries, and the recently announced special commission of inquiry into NSW's dark history of gay and transgender murders.
Nicholas is Vice President of New Theatre Sydney, Chair of the Women's Advancement Subcommittee within the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Law Society of NSW, and a Friend of Distinction at University of Technology, Sydney. He is also a former director of Rainbow Families NSW and previously a long-standing pro bono lawyer at the Inner City Legal Centre.
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.
In addition to co-chairing the ALHR LGBTIQA+ Rights Committee, Nicholas is ALHR Vice President and prior to taking up that role has contributed to ALHR's governance and strategic direction as a member of the ALHR Executive Management Committee.
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Georgia Burke - LGBTI Rights Co-Chair
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.
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Jessica Bayley - Refugee Rights Co-Chair
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.
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Caitlin Caldwell - Refugee Rights Co-Chair
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.
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Kerry Weste - Children's Rights Chair
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.
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Annika Reynolds - Environment and Human Rights Senior Chair
Annika Reynolds is a non-binary person emerging as a young leader in the environmental justice movement, advocating for an inclusive vision of climate justice. They are the Founder and CEO of GreenLaw, a youth-led law research institute that is empowering the next generation of lawyers to tackle the climate crisis. Annika is also a Board Director for Zero Emissions Noosa Inc, working at the grassroots level to support a just transition to a carbon zero society.
Annika is a published researcher on public interest environmental litigation, the human right to a healthy environment and the impact of climate change in the South Pacific. In 2019-2020, they were a Research Assistant to Dr Peter Burnett on Australia-first analysis into Federal Environment Department decision-making practices, and in 2020 were appointed a Legal Research Consultant to the Australian Conservation Foundation.
External to their legal advocacy, Annika is the Co-Founder of the Rainbow Bee-Eaters LGBTIQA+ Group, which is an ACT based network for Queer people to connect to community and nature. They are in their final year of a Laws (Hons)/International Security Studies Double Degree, with a minor in Korean, at the Australian National University. In 2021, Annika was also named The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG Scholar by the Pinnacle Foundation, for overcoming diversity and their leadership within the Queer community.
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Vacant seeking EOIs - Environment and Human Rights Senior Chair
If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au
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Vacant seeking EOIs - Environment and Human Rights Youth Co-Chairs
If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au
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VACANT - Seeking EOIs - Economis, Social & Cultural Rights Chair
If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au
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Jessica Elliott - ACT Convenor
Sophie Trevitt - ACT Convenor
Sophie Trevitt is a Canberra based community lawyer who is Executive Officer at Change the Record, Australia’s only national Aboriginal led justice coalition of Aboriginal peak bodies and non-Indigenous allies. Sophie works every day to end the incarceration of, and family violence against, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Previously Sophie has been a lawyer at Canberra Community Law and prior to that worked 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.
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- NSW Convenor
Talya Jaffe is a fifth-year Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of International Relations Students at the Australian National University and she is due to graduate in the middle of 2022. Since learning about the criminal justice system in school, Talya developed a strong interest in advocating for, and learning more about, alternative means of sentencing to improve recidivism rates and protect those members of society who are more vulnerable from being exposed and stuck in the cycle of the prison system. Throughout her degree, she has been interested in advocating for such a reform, and ALHR provides a perfect platform to do so. Throughout Talya’s studies, she has maintained the goal of working in criminal law after her graduation and advocating for the rights of women and children, particularly focusing on juvenile crime and justice for victims of domestic violence.
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Vacant EOIs sought - NSW Convenor
ALHR is currently seeking EOI's for NSW Convenors. If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au
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Vacant - NT Convenor
ALHR is currently seeking EOI's for Northern Territory Convenors. If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au
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Anna Kennett - SA Convenor
Anna was admitted to practice in 2006 and currently works for the South Australian government in Adelaide. She holds a number of academic qualifications including a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Laws specialising in international law and human rights. She has held a number of board positions in not for profit organisations including the Alliance for Gambling Reform and SHine SA. Anna has a passionate interest in social justice and grassroots advocacy which has seen her currently undertake work to form a new not for profit focussing on gambling rehabilitation and assistance services for women.
In addition to being an ALHR SA Convenor, Anna is the national secretary of ALHR and a member of the ALHR Women and Girls Rights Subcommittee
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VACANT - Vic Convenor
If you are interested in applying for this role please send an EOI including CV and cover letter to president@alhr.org.au
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Ella Furlong - QLD Convenor
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.
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Johanna Byrne - Tas Convenor
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.
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Alexandria Bishop - WA Convenor
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.
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Zubayr Abrahams - WA Convenor
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.
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Georgia Kalyniuk - WA Convenor
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.
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