A structured networking opportunity to connect with other event attendees.

The Honourable Jodie Harrison MP is the Member for Charlestown, currently serving in her third term since she was first elected in 2014. Jodie was appointed Minister for Women, Seniors and the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault on April 5 following the outcome of the 2023 NSW State Election. Jodie’s top priority is to put primary prevention and early intervention at the heart of the NSW Government’s strategy to counter Domestic and Family Violence. Prior to her election to Parliament, Jodie served her community in Local Government. She was first elected as a Councillor for Lake Macquarie Council in 2008 and went on to become the first popularly elected female Mayor of the City. Jodie’s life experience as a member of the Salvation Army in her early years and union delegate helped her develop a passion for social justice. 

Tarla is the editor in chief of Women’s Agenda, Australia’s leading digital news site for women, as well as co-founder of parent company, Agenda Media Pty Ltd. She specialises in communications strategy, editorial, podcasting, and strategic partnerships and earned a Bachelor of Arts Global Studies from the University of Sydney. In 2020, she was shortlisted in B&T magazine’s #30under30 awards ‘entrepreneur’ category. Tarla is a politics junkie, regularly appearing on ABC News Breakfast and speaking at various events promoting women’s advancement and equality.

Allyship in the Workplace: Building Collaborative Networks for Impact

Allies play an important role in advancing inclusion in our workplaces and communities by supporting people or groups who are underrepresented, marginalised, or experiencing discrimination. As leaders, engaging allies and collaborating with other supporters is key to increasing our impact. Our diverse panel will share their real-world experiences of allyship in action: what it looks like, what the challenges are, and what can be achieved. We’ll explore practical tips for being a better ally, how we can work with allies to advance change, and how we can all take small actions every day to drive lasting change.

	Sneha Sobti (She/Her) Change Maker; Storyteller whilst working as Engineering Planner; Founder of Pride ERG (Employee Resource Group), Alstom ANZ Sneha is an Electrical Engineer by profession and a DEI advocate by choice. She is passionate about social impact especially LGBTQ+ and women’s rights. Combining her belief that storytelling from lived experiences saves lives and every human deserves to be their true self, she successfully founded a Pride Group and led meaningful change at her Engineering workplace. The Pride Group, an Employee Resource Group, the first of its kind in Asia Pacific and second globally within Alstom, is a powerful shift in furthering the culture of inclusion and providing visibility and representation. Her advocacy journey includes community leadership, writing, curating educational webinars and events to raise awareness for inclusive spaces for people from marginalised identities. And most importantly, how each one of us can be an ally to one another. Every human is unique and has value.
	Marc Chiarella (He/Him) Chief Executive Officer, Bellrock Marc Chiarella is the CEO of Bellrock, a national risk advisory firm which provides advisory and advocacy services to corporate enterprise. Bellrock has offices in Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle and Sydney. It specialises in complex risk and claims across the construction, property, education, executive, professional, financial and technology service industries. Marc has 25 years’ experience across various insurance industry disciplines. This includes time as an underwriter, broker, claims manager and a Partner in the Insurance Group at Colin Biggers & Paisley. Marc has a deep understanding of third-party liability insurance products and specialises advising in financial, professional and executive risk.
	Justine Field (She/Her) Mediator and Writer Justine Field is a writer and mediator with a background in law and policy. She discovered her neurodivergence (Autistic and ADHD) later in life and her writing focuses on accessibility and inclusion in the workplace and consumer processes.
	Rhys Huett Chief Operations Officer, FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia Rhys Huett serves as Chief Operations Officer for FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia (formerly Fuji Xerox Australia). He leads a team of direct and indirect staff supporting customer contracts across all geographies of Australia, with a focus on cost management, labour optimisation and customer experience as well as improving the company’s market-leading environmental and social outcomes. Rhys is the proud executive sponsor of Elevate, FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia’s employee resource group focused on providing a connected community for the women in the organisation and championing women’s causes in the workplace. Rhys also is a Non-Executive Member Director with Australia New Zealand Recycling Platform (ANZRP). Rhys has Bachelor of Engineering, Chemical (1st Class Honours) from University of Sydney.
	Melanie Tran (She/Her) AFR Top 100 Women of Influence 2019; Product Designer; PhD Researcher; Board of Directors, International Youth Foundation Melanie Tran is a designer, an innovator, an activist, and a public speaker. As a Design Manager at Nous Group, Melanie’s work brings together the worlds of technology, design, health, business and social change. Her work has been recognised internationally, including being named the winner of the Laureate International Universities Global Here for Good Award 2018, the Recalibrate Gender Equity Award 2022 and one of the Top 100 Women of Influence 2019 by the Australian Financial Review. Melanie is currently a Board of Director at the International Youth Foundation and also completing her PhD on design innovations in healthcare at Torrens University Australia. Melanie specialises in solving complex problems by harnessing the power of technology to create solutions that innovate and disrupt.

Build your Personal Board: Cultivating Strategic Relationships

As leaders, our relationships with others can be one of our greatest assets. Even the most causal lunch-room conversation can lead to a new idea or opportunity. And with research showing that women feel less safe in the workplace than men, having a trusted group of supporters can be an important step towards improved psychological safety. So, how can we leverage our existing contacts, identify gaps in our professional network, and initiate new connections to help us achieve our strategic and career goals? In this practical session we’ll explore the power of strategic alliances and develop an authentic approach to building a personal ‘board’ of trusted advisors and supporters, at any stage of our career.

Dixie Crawford, is a Barkindji woman from Brewarrina and Broken Hill, living on Ngunnawal country in Canberra. Dixie is the Founder& Director of Nganya, an Aboriginal Engagement Consultancy specialising in cross-cultural leadership, and the development/implementation of Reconciliation Action Plans. Dixie has a strong background in policy design, program implementation and monitoring, and governance expertise in the spheres of social policy, human services, and community wellbeing. She also hosts a podcast named Black Business with Dixie Crawford, was named one of ‘20 Australian ​​Women Making Moves in 2022’ by the Australian Business Journal, was a plenary speaker at the 2022 Reconciliation Australia conference, is the first Aboriginal woman appointed to the Cricket ACT Board (September 2022) and the first Aboriginal woman to become President of Canberra Women in Business (December 2022). Dixie is also the host of the Podcast, Reconciliation Road Map – Building Better Businesses.

The NSW Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership

Antoinette Lattouf is a broadcaster, columnist, author, speaker, human rights advocate, and mental health ambassador who dabbles in satire. Antoinette is the creator and co-host of ‘The Antoinettes’ podcast and is also the co-host of news and analysis podcast ‘The Briefing’. The multi-award-winning journalist is the co-founder of Media Diversity Australia and her first book ‘How to Lose Friends and Influence White People’ was published by Penguin Random House. It is a witty and approachable anti-racism guide and an honest exploration of the modern manifestations of systemic racism in Australia today, and how we, as a collective, can take steps to make change. In 2019, Antoinette was named among AFR’s 100 Women of Influence. In 2021 she was awarded a Women’s Agenda Leadership Award and B&T Women in Media’s Champion of Change. In 2022, she was an Influencer of the Year Finalist at the Third Sector Awards.