RECOGNISING POSITIVE IMPACT 2018 NOMINEES VOTE NOW VOTE NOW The following is a list of nominees with the stated reasons for why they were chosen. The views expressed do not represent Pro Bono Australia’s views but are the opinions of those who nominated. Aarti Bajaj Director of MEERA I have never met someone more driven and committed to their passion than Aarti The Production Bajaj. A medical sonographer by trade, Aarti is a wife, mother, triathlete and also holds a Masters degree in Indian contemporary and classical dance. Aarti is also the director of Navrasa Dance School in Southport. Aarti visited HOTA 18 months ago, scouting a venue for an end of year recital for her Navrasa students. But instead, upon eyeing the incredible Arts Theatre made a spur of the moment decision to book the auditorium for MEERA – a production she had been dreaming about one day bringing to the stage for 14 years. Aarti then went about assembling a cast and crew of 300 local amateur performers to create the stage spectacular MEERA which played at HOTA on the 4th of November, 2018 to a sold out crowd of 1,100. Aarti not only wrote MEERA, but starred, directed, and managed all facets of the production from sourcing costumes, to working with some of the world’s top maestros to create all original musical compositions for the productions to marketing and everything else. Most importantly, Aarti has brought together hundreds of people (men and women), to “be part of something” – an experience that will live with us all forever. She has given hundreds of people a platform, and the confidence to believe in themselves and fulfill life-long dreams. The friendships and camaraderie between those involved with the production MEERA is truly the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed or been a part of. Always humble, Aarti is a woman of vision and purpose – an inspiration to all who cross her path. I cannot think of a more deserving person to be nominated! Adam Mostogl Founder of As a 31-year-old, Adam Mostogl has written and delivered education programs Illuminate that have reached over 9,000 students across Australia, changing schools and Education communities. As the founder of Illuminate Education, Adam designs and delivers the interactive education programs that help young people become the confident, creative and capable people they have the potential to be. Reaching thousands of students every single year, the illuminate:nextgen Challenge partners with schools to explore engaging strategies of learning, through the perspective of having students understand how they can start their own business. His work in this space has secured Adam invitations to participate in high-level discussions to tackle issues such as student attainment; and international opportunities to promote quality education. Recognised in 2015 as the Tasmanian Young Australian of the Year and one of the top 30 entrepreneurs under 30 nationally in 2017, Adam has seized the opportunity to take action, and talk to communities across Australia (and the world) about the importance of education and how all stakeholders have a role in supporting young people to succeed and achieve. In 2018, Adam was selected as one of 1000 social entrepreneurs from across the globe to participate in the world’s largest innovation process, focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Held in Singapore, UNLEASH saw Adam collaborate with education changemakers to look at new strategies and opportunities to underpin quality education outcomes worldwide - and Adam is still supporting people he met through this process to help them achieve better learning outcomes in their own communities. This is only a snapshot of some of the achievements Adam has worked for, to support and develop educational outcomes across the world, to help more young people to become the confident, creative and capable people they have the potential to be - impacting our world for years to come. Adele Rice AM Chair of Friends of Adele Rice AM was the principal of Milpera State High School in Brisbane for nearly HEAL Foundation three decades. She was the founding principal of the school, where their humanitarian approach to welcoming and educating migrant and refugee youth was instigated by Adele. She is a much awarded educator, whose passion for helping others is inspirational. Since retirement, Adele has been constantly active, advocating for the settlement and participation of young people through arenas such as Global Learning, Soroptimists, and the performing arts. She is the reason the HEAL program (Home of Expressive Arts in Learning) exists at Milpera, and she is the Chair of the Friends of HEAL Foundation, providing creative arts therapy to five Brisbane schools for refugee background youth. 2018 NOMINEES PG 2 / 83 VOTE NOW Alan Tse Co-founder of As a co-founder of Altina Drinks, a social enterprise on a mission to shake up the Altina Drinks Aussie drinking culture, Alan has championed a discussion on mindful drinking. Through his collaborative approach, he has influenced organisations, decision makers and government to consider the impact of providing alcohol at events and meetings. He has had considerable success, having worked with private organisations, not for profits and educational groups to create inclusive events with healthy alcohol free alternatives. Alastair Lawrie Senior policy Alastair is a long-term advocate for Australia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and officer of Public intersex (LGBTI) communities, having previously been the Policy Working Group Chair Interest Advocacy of both the NSW and Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobbies. He currently writes one of Australia’s leading LGBTI rights blogs, www.alastairlawrie. Centre net, focusing on a range of issues beyond marriage equality, such as: • LGBTI anti-discrimination and anti-vilification laws (including the need to limit religious exceptions); • identity documentation for trans and gender diverse people; • involuntary medical treatment on intersex children; and • LGBTI refugees and people seeking asylum. He is also the admin of the ‘No Homophobia, No Exceptions’ facebook page. He currently volunteers as a mentor with the Pinnacle Foundation, and sits on the Social Justice Committee of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Board. He has previously volunteered with both the Victorian AIDS Council (now Thorne Harbour Health) and the ACT AIDS Action Council. Professionally, Alastair has served as the Policy & Engagement Manager at Hepatitis NSW, where he helped lead the campaign to ensure all Australians living with hepatitis C achieved access to new highly-effective, short duration and low side-effect direct acting antiviral (DAA) treatments. He is currently the Senior Policy Officer at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre where he contributes on a range of social justice issues, including anti-discrimination law reform, Indigenous justice and human rights recognition more broadly. Alecia Hancock Director of Alecia Hancock started and runs the Change the World Summit, a free summit Hancock Creative designed to inspire people in the not-for-profit sector. Hancock Creative is a business with a purpose. We believe telling stories can change the world, and our goal is to create a sustainable future for social enterprises, community groups and not for profits. That’s why we’ve created accessible, fun and affordable training for organisations that do good things. Our training allows causes to grow awareness on limited budgets, raise funds, attract employees and volunteers, and build impactful partnerships. Together, we can impact millions of lives by building a solid foundation for causes in Australia. Aleisha Davis General manager The Shepherd Centre is a not for profit early intervention and integrated cochlear of the Shepherd implant program for children and their families, providing individual and group-based Centre programs across five centres, teleintervention virtual services and eLearning programs for over 500 families in NSW, ACT and Tasmania. Aleisha joined The Shepherd Centre in 2003 with a Masters in Applied Linguistics (Research) from Cambridge University. Over the past eight years, she has been responsible for the management and development of the clinical and research programs. In recent years, she has led the expansion of the program including school age services, social skills and early literacy programs for children with hearing loss, and music and parent training programs for parents and families. The implementation of these changes and developments have been a direct result of the research The Shepherd Centre has undertaken in the outcomes of children and families, both in the program and after leaving. In combination with internal research, she is part of numerous collaborative research projects on the outcomes of children and young adults with hearing loss through Australian Universities and industry organisations. She is in the final stages of her PhD with Macquarie University and the HEARing CRC on Optimising Language Outcomes for Children with Hearing Loss through the Functional Listening Index for Paediatrics, to provide improved evidence and information to guide intervention for both professionals working in the field and families to guide their decision making. She has over 50 papers accepted at international conferences over the last 10 years on language, cochlear implants and childhood hearing loss outcomes. She was awarded the NSW City of Sydney Business Leader in 2016 and NSW Not-For-Profit Manager of the Year in 2014 by the NSW Business Chamber and the Australian Institute of Management, for innovation and clinical strategic development of the program. 2018 NOMINEES PG 3 / 83 VOTE NOW Alexie Seller Chief executive Alexie Seller is chief executive officer and co-founder of Pollinate Energy. Alexie has officer of Pollinate a degree in mechanical engineering and arts with a long-held passion for sustainable Energy energy solutions. She has dedicated her life to creating meaningful opportunities for the ultra poor while building capacity within the social enterprise sector.