Beyond UWA

Nevin Jayawardena 2016 Guild President, BSc '16

About Nevin
I am a Mechanical Engineering student in my sixth year at university. Since commencing studies at UWA, I have been involved in almost every aspect of university life. I have been Treasurer and President of DESI, a club which represents students with a background from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Nepal. I was Societies Council President in 2015 and responsible for managing 150+ clubs and societies affiliated to the Guild. Last year, I was the Vice-President (Coursework) for the Postgraduate Students' Association. Currently, I am the Guild President, responsible for managing the peak representative body for all students enrolled at UWA. The UWA Student Guild prides itself on enhancing the student experience at UWA, and is responsible for student representation, student support, building a community, facilitating engagement, and providing various facilities and catering on campus. I am also an elected member of the Senate, the governing authority of the University.

Sophie Stewart (BA '17) - Campaign Coordinator at Social Reinvestment WA, Director of Swim for Refugees

Current Campaign Coordinator for Social Reinvestment WA, launching the public campaign for Healthy Families, Smart Justice, and Safe Communities, so we can close the gap on Aboriginal incarceration in WA once and for all.

Vanessa Vershaw (BA ’92) - CEO & Founder, Managing Director Reinvention Consulting/Author Bitch Fight

Vanessa Vershaw is an Australian organisational psychologist, coach, entrepreneur, journalist and former executive with over eighteen years of extensive international organisational development and leadership consulting experience. As an executive level practitioner, Vanessa is a highly regarded trusted advisor to high level executives and Fortune 500 organisations. She has successfully managed both leadership and large-scale organisational development initiatives with executive teams and companies around the globe. An engaging business leader and innovative entrepreneur, Vanessa is passionate about developing leadership capability, unlocking human potential and building mindful, conscious and inclusive organisations. She is known for her ability to assist her clients through deep and sustainable transformation with life changing and social impact. She has also held sessional roles in academia. Vanessa is a published author and in addition to her many industry articles released her first book Bitch Fight: Putting an End to Women Bullying Women in the Workplace in February 2016 in French & English. Vanessa was also short-listed for the Telstra Business Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016.

Shantha Bloemen (BA '92, BA(Hons) '93) - #ShiftThePower Platform Coordinator

Shantha has spent the last two decades working in international humanitarian and development assistance. She first started her work in development in Zambia, where she worked in a rural community. She subsequently spent a decade based in New York, where she worked as a communications consultant for UNICEF, as well as a producer in advertising, news and independent film. Her award-winning film T-shirt Travels, the story of second hand clothes and third world debt, which highlighted the impact of debt in poor countries, aired on PBS in the US in 2001 and was used widely in schools and universities as a teaching tool. 
For UNICEF, Shantha worked on a variety of communication initiatives and has been actively involved in getting media attention to child rights, global health and poverty in Africa and Asia.  During her stint as head of UNICEF’s Africa media hub, based in Johannesburg, she travelled extensively across the continent to provide communication support in Sub Saharan Africa. Most recently, based in China, in addition to managing UNICEF's external relations, she helped to initiate an innovation partnership between UNICEF and Tsinghua University and contributed to strengthening collaboration between China and African countries on global health. Shantha has a master's degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and a honours degree in History from University of Western Australia.

Paul Fleay (BSc '92) - CEO, Australian Inclusion Group

Paul is the CEO of Australian Inclusion Group. The group is currently comprised of 2 businesses, Inclusion WA and Inclusion Solutions. Paul has been in the role for the past 8 years. During this time he has overseen significant growth and the expansion of the inclusion focused work into the Government and Corporate environment, as well as public design.
Prior to joining Australian Inclusion Group Paul was the State Manager of the Taxation Institute of Australia and before that spent 8 years as the Director of Outreach Programs at Scitech.
Paul holds a Bachelor of Science from UWA, a Graduate Diploma of Education from Edith Cowan University and is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration at UWA.

Natasha Kusmuk (BA '11, BA(Hons) '12) - Multicultural Community Liaison, Department of Social Services

"I was born in Bosnia and have lived in Australia for more than half of my life. I have been working for the Commonwealth Government for the past five years and am currently a Multicultural Community Liaison Officer at the Department of Social Services. While professionally I have worked in service delivery and policy fields, I remain passionate about academia and continue to pursue research in collaboration with current and former UWA professors on topics such as maritime piracy and boundary delimitation." - Natasha Kusmuk

Andrea Coomber (BA, LLB '96) - Director of JUSTICE

Andrea Coomber has been Director of JUSTICE since February 2013. As Director she has reoriented the organisation’s strategy and been instrumental in the development of JUSTICE’s work on system reform, including on changing the model of decision making in the civil courts and tribunals, reconfiguration of court buildings to respond to the use of ordinary court users and increasing judicial diversity. 

The Honourable Dr Fred Chaney AO (LLB '62, DLitt '10) - Founding co-chair of Reconciliation Australia

Fred Chaney’s hard work in support of often marginalised people has never faltered.  As founding co-chair of Reconciliation Australia and an early advocate for Aboriginal voting rights, Fred’s contribution includes establishing the Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia and  between 1978-80 sat as Federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.  For many years, Fred was Deputy President of the National Native Title Tribunal and, more recently, is Chair of Desert Knowledge Australia and chaired the Board of Central Desert Native Title services.  He was instrumental in establishing the Graham (Polly) Farmer Foundation, which supports Indigenous young people to reach their potential.  Fred’s long history of public service is rooted in his fierce commitment to social justice and a belief in the inherent equality of people.  In all his leadership roles, Fred inspires others to work collaboratively, respectfully and ambitiously to overcome the barriers that inhibit people’s full economic and social participation in Australian society. 

Peter Reading (BA, LLB '98) - Legal Counsel at the Equal Opportunities Commission Hong Kong

Peter is an international human rights lawyer who has been working in the field of human law and advocacy for 18 years in Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe, Commonwealth countries, and most recently in Hong Kong China.
Since November 2012, Peter has been working as Legal Counsel at the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) in Hong Kong where he has been leading a number of advocacy and policy projects relating to improving the anti-discrimination legislation and related policies.
Previously for 11 years Peter worked in London United Kingdom in a number of human rights roles including at Amnesty International UK; the Commission for Racial Equality as Principal Litigation Officer and Head of European and International Legal Policy from 2005 to 2008; the Equality and Human Rights Commission as a Senior Lawyer and Director of Legal Policy from 2008 to 2012; and at the Commonwealth Secretariat in 2012 as a human rights consultant on Commonwealth projects.

Aleesha Kumar (BA '17) - CEO & Founder, LOVE Foundation Australia

Aleesha Kumar graduated from Penrhos College in 2013. She studied a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Western Australia, majoring in Political Science & International Relations and French. During this time she completed a six month exchange at Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid. She is Founder and CEO of non-profit LOVE Foundation Australia, which works to fight poverty through the arts. She is currently completing the CASE Asia Pacific Fundraising Graduate Program and is an Advancement Officer at the Development and Alumni Relations Office at the University of Western Australia.