Our people

Professor Justine Nolan
Director, Australian Human Rights Institute

Justine Nolan is a Professor in the Faculty of Law and Justice at UNSW Sydney and Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute. Justine's research focuses on the intersection of business and human rights, in particular, supply chain responsibility for human rights and modern slavery.

Her 2019 co-authored book Addressing Modern Slavery examines how consumers, business and government are both part of the problem and the solution in curbing modern slavery in global supply chains. Other recent books include The International Law of Human Rights (OUP, 2017) and Business and Human Rights: From Principles to Practice (Routledge, 2016).

She teaches international human rights law and related courses on global law, development, globalisation and business and human rights. Justine works closely with business, government and civil society and has been a key driver of the Australian business and human rights movement. In 2019 she was named 'Academic of the Year' at the Australian Law Awards. From 2016-2019 she served as Associate Dean Academic at UNSW Law.

justine.nolan@unsw.edu.au

Dr Allison Henry
Research Fellow

Allison Henry is a Research Fellow and Associate with the Australian Human Rights Institute. Allison was the project researcher on the Institute’s 'Understanding University Responses to HDR Candidate-Supervisor Relationship Challenges', and is now leading a research team on Phase 2 of the project, across 10 Australian universities.

Allison completed her PhD on 'Regulatory responses to sexual assault and sexual harassment in Australian university settings’ with the Institute in 2023. This followed her role as the Campaign Director of The Hunting Ground Australia Project from 2015 to 2018, a collaborative impact campaign that was instrumental in raising awareness of sexual violence on Australian university campuses.

Allison has Masters degrees in International Studies (Syd) and International Law (ANU), both focusing on human rights. Her previous roles include three years as the managing editor of the Australian Journal of Human Rights, five years as a Ministerial advisor in the federal parliament and three years as National Director of the Australian Republican Movement. 

allison.henry@unsw.edu.au

Dr Claire Higgins
Editor-in-Chief of The Australian Journal of Human Rights

With qualifications in history and human rights law and policy, Claire Higgins is a Senior Research Fellow at the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW, and an Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University.

She previously served as editor of the Australian Human Rights Institute’s Human Rights Defender magazine, and is currently undertaking research on safe visa pathways for refugees, as part of her Australian Research Council ‘DECRA’ fellowship. Her first book is Asylum by Boat: origins of Australia’s refugee policy (NewSouth, 2017). 

c.higgins@unsw.edu.au

 

Oras Khalaf
Business Manager

Oras Khalaf has extensive experience in project management roles in both government and not-for-profit sectors. Before joining the Institute, Oras was a senior policy officer at the NSW Ministry of Health, working on drug and alcohol treatment programs with the local health districts and community organisations.

Oras has worked on mental health and suicide prevention with the primary health networks. She also worked in digital mental health at Settlement Services International, where she led the development, implementation, and evaluation of strategies to promote the well-being of newly arrived refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers across Australia.

Oras has tertiary qualifications in education, medical science, and psychology.

o.khalaf@unsw.edu.au

Lily Halliday
Research Project Lead

Lily Halliday is the Research Project Lead at the Australian Human Rights Institute. Lily is also Project Manager for various projects at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) under the Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and the PLuS Alliance, a joint alliance between Arizona State University, Kings College London and UNSW Sydney. 

Her project management work focuses on gender justice, broader human rights issues, as well as sustainability and innovation. Recent long-term projects centred on equity in leadership, women’s wellbeing, women in STEM and politics, and sex and gender in the medical research pipeline. Prior to her work at UNSW, Lily provided research and project support to the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics at the University of Sydney.

Lily obtained her MBA in Entrepreneurship in early 2020 from the University of Technology Sydney, and founded a social venture on facilitating healthcare access in 2019. She is passionate about gender equality and human rights, and is committed to supporting projects and initiatives that work to challenge and transform the systems that threaten the rights of marginalised communities.

lily.halliday@unsw.edu.au

Drew Sheldrick
Communications Manager

Prior to joining the Australian Human Rights Institute, Drew Sheldrick led a media team in the NSW Government responsible for agencies including Cyber Security NSW, the Data Analytics Centre, the Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, and Service NSW. He managed media strategy and coordination for initiatives such as the COVID Safe Check-In, the 24-hour COVID-19 hotline, Dine & Discover NSW and financial assistance programs for people affected by the pandemic, bushfire and flood disasters.

Drew managed media and communications for the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney from 2016-2019 and is a former journalist and editor who's worked for News Corp Australia and SBS. His writing has appeared in The Guardian Australia, ABC's The Drum and Crikey. For several years he was Editorial Manager of CCH/Wolters Kluwer Australia's Political Alert service, based in the Press Gallery in Parliament House, Canberra.

d.sheldrick@unsw.edu.au

Kylie Smith
Events Coordinator

Kylie Smith brings vast experience in event and program management, having worked across a broad range of sectors after beginning her corporate career as an event manager in the conference and medical industry.

Over the past 10 years Kylie has had extensive experience working with the large global charity Enactus Australia as the Community, Operations, and Events Manager; working with universities to deliver social impact projects aligning with the UN sustainable goals. 

Kylie has successfully managed and facilitated regional and national showcase events, conferences, and competitions, both in person and online. She has established effective relationships with business leaders, international partners, universities, conference companies and a wide variety of suppliers, customers, and stakeholders.

kylie.smith2@unsw.edu.au

Samuel Pryde
Research Associate/Managing Editor of the Australian Journal of Human Rights

Samuel Pryde is a Research Associate at the Australian Human Rights Institute, currently working in the field of business and human rights. A recent graduate of the University of New South Wales, Samuel holds qualifications in Law and International Studies. He previously participated in the Institute's Global Student Fellowship at Jubilee Australia.

Samuel is currently the coordinator of the Institute’s research project evaluating the effectiveness of Australia’s Modern Slavery Act, having previously contributed to the project as both a volunteer and a research assistant. His research interests include modern slavery, ethical sourcing practices and corporate environmental accountability.

s.pryde@unsw.edu.au

Susie Shaw
Administrator

Susie Shaw has held positions in government, primary and tertiary education, and brings extensive administration skills to support the team. 

For the past five years, she has worked at UNSW and most recently has provided high-level administrative support in the Office of the Women in STEM Ambassador, an Australian Government initiative to address gender equity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

She supported the Women in STEM National Awareness Raising Initiative (NARI) 2020 by coordinating planning, development and implementation of campaign activities, increasing the visibility of girls and women in STEM. She was also the Program Administrator for the UNSW Women in Science and Maths Champions Program, a 12 month career development program to support  PhD candidates and early-career scientists who identify as women to become science professionals.

s.shaw@unsw.edu.au

Simone Abel

Simone Abel is is a human rights lawyer and former CEO of Capital Punishment Justice Project (2020-2022), Director of Reprieve UK (2013-2020), CEO of Rene Casin (2010 - 2013) and winner of UNSW’s 2022 Alumni Award for Social Impact & Service. Simone focuses on extreme rights abuses, providing legal assistance to those at risk, carrying out advocacy and policy work to challenge the use of the death penalty and other rights violations, and training and equipping advocates and organisations outside of Australia. 

Simone has a Masters of Laws (with a focus on international law and human rights) from UNSW, and has published articles on human rights law issues. She has a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts from the University of NSW. Before moving back to Sydney in 2020, Simone worked at human rights organisations in New York and London. The most thrilling moments of Simone’s career to date have been working to support a case that led to three individuals’ exoneration and release from a death row abroad, and being part of a joint initiative that successfully evacuated and resettled 96 Afghans at risk of execution. 
 

Ed Coper

Ed Coper is recognised as a leading expert on communications for social impact. He has built social change initiatives, advocacy campaigns and political movements. He pioneered techniques that bring politics into the digital age, has advised campaigns on every continent except Antarctica, and high-profile changemakers from Malala Yousafzai to Richard Branson. Ed is a regular media commentator and author of the disinformation defence handbook Facts and Other Lies: Welcome to the Disinformation Age (Allen & Unwin).

Ed founded the New York-based Center for Impact Communications, which has led efforts to safeguard US elections from disinformation and overcome vaccine hesitancy. Ed also founded a New York City creative agency that serviced multiple Nobel Peace laureates, political and social leaders to scale their social impact. His groundbreaking campaigns have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for causes, won landmark social change and have featured in several museum exhibitions. Ed is the co-founder of Sydney-based strategic communications firm Populares, credited as the masterminds behind the recent 'teal' political wave.

Lyndell Droga

Lyndell Droga is an advisor and project manager for Allegra Spender MP, having been Allegra Spender’s 2022 federal election Campaign Chair.

Lyndell has been a member of Human Rights Watch Australia’s Sydney Committee since 2017 and is a Griffin Theatre Company Board Director. She has been a Foundation Member of the Museum of Contemporary Art and has served on the boards of Autism Awareness Australia and Holdsworth Community Centre.

Lyndell has over 20 years’ experience in marketing and project management with large multinational companies and arts organisations. She has previously held philanthropy, project and event management roles with the Sydney Opera House, Australian Chamber Orchestra and Bell Shakespeare. 

Emeritus Professor Andrea Durbach 

Andrea Durbach is Emeritus Professor and was Director of the Australian Human Rights Centre (now Institute), UNSW Law from 2004-2017. Born and educated in South Africa, she practised as a political trial lawyer and human rights advocate, representing victims and opponents of apartheid laws. After leaving South Africa, Andrea initially worked as a solicitor in private practice before joining the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) as Head of Legal Practice, subsequently becoming Executive Director.

Andrea has held senior positions in the human rights field, including as Deputy Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner (2011-2012) and has written on Indigenous rights and reparations, gender justice, public interest litigation, and health and human rights. She is a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and in 2013, was awarded the Australian Human Rights Commission Human Rights Law Award for her promotion and advancement of human rights in Australia through the practice of law.

Craig Foster 

Craig Foster is Australia’s 40th Socceroo Captain and sports broadcaster. Craig is a member of the Australian Multicultural Council, an Ambassador for Amnesty Australia, the Affinity Intercultural Foundation and Addison Road Community Centre, Pushing Barriers, an Australian Committee member with Human Rights Watch, and a Director of the Crescent Foundation.

Craig has participated in several high-profile activist campaigns relating in particular to refugee rights (#SaveHakeem, #GameOver), religious and cultural solidarity (#RacismNotWelcome) and humanitarianism through sport (#PlayForLives, FrontRunners). Today, Craig advises on athlete activism and is an Adjunct Professor of Sport and Social Responsibility with Torrens University, Australia. 

Daniela Gavshon

Daniela Gavshon is the Australia director at Human Rights Watch. She leads the organisation’s engagement with the Australian government on foreign and domestic policy. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, she spent ten years working at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre where she founded the Truth and Accountability program. There, she led human rights and war crimes investigations and a landmark project mapping laws and policies affecting First Nations people in Australia.

From 2009-2012, Daniela was the Solomon Islands Head of Office for the International Centre for Transitional Justice where she advised and supported the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In addition, Daniela has held positions in the Australian government foreign aid portfolio and with UN Women working on women, peace and security. Daniela holds degrees in law and arts from the University of Sydney and obtained a master’s in international humanitarian law from the Geneva Academy on International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. She is the Asia-Pacific Liaison Officer of the International Bar Association’s War Crimes Committee.

Rebecca Gilsenan

Rebecca Gilsenan is one of Australia’s leading plaintiff class actions lawyers. She has extensive experience in running complex and high profile litigation, including numerous class actions in the areas of price fixing, securities, failed investment schemes, product liability and mass torts. She has also run a number of ground-breaking public interest cases in relation to gene patents and refugee rights. 
 
Best Lawyers lists Rebecca as one of the top class actions lawyers in Australia. She is recognised in Doyle’s Guide as a leading dispute resolution and commercial litigation lawyer. Rebecca is an experienced director and currently holds a number of governance roles. She is on the board of Maurice Blackburn, and she is the chair of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.

Kate Harrison

Kate Harrison is a partner in the Disputes + Investigations group at Gilbert + Tobin and Chair of the Copyright Agency. She has in-depth experience in contentious IP matters, having represented parties in copyright and trade mark disputes in the Federal Court and the Copyright Tribunal. Kate also has deep experience advising and acting for Government and in administrative law matters.

After becoming a partner at Gilbert + Tobin in 1998, in 2008 Kate took leave from the firm and spent a period as a Ministerial Adviser, first as Chief of Staff to Minister Faulkner (Cabinet Secretary/SMOS and Defence Minister), and subsequently as a Senior Adviser to Prime Minister Julia Gillard. In that role Kate advised the Prime Minister on legal and parliamentary matters. She returned to the firm in late 2011.

Nathan Kennedy

Nathan is a litigator with more than 20 years’ experience. Nathan holds an LLM (Human Rights & Social Justice) from the University of New South Wales and is the Head of Pro Bono & Community at Hall & Wilcox. He was a member of the National Committee of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights for almost 10 years, including two years as President. Nathan has previously interned for the International Committee of the Red Cross (2010), attended the United Nations as part of the Child Rights Taskforce (2011), and volunteered at the Refugee Advice & Casework Service.

Nathan has also been a regular volunteer at Marrickville Legal Centre for 12 years. Over the last five years he has developed a successful national pro bono practice at Hall & Wilcox, assisting numerous Community Legal Centres and their clients and human rights organisations with pro bono legal support.

Sam Koslowski

Business leader, journalist, presenter and commentator, Sam Koslowski is the co-founder of The Daily Aus alongside Zara Seidler. The Daily Aus is Australia’s leading social-first news organisation targeted at young Australians with an audience of over two million Australians per month engaging with its Instagram, TikTok, website, videos, podcasts and newsletters - with 70% of their audience reporting The Daily Aus as their primary news source.

Sam has been listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30, and released a book on understanding the news with Penguin Random House. 

Fiona Reynolds

Fiona Reynolds is an independent director and advisory board member working across superannuation ESG and sustainability issues. Fiona served as the CEO of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) for over nine years, stepping down at the beginning of 2022.

Fiona has 25 years' experience in the financial services, superannuation and pension sector. She joined the PRI from the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), where she spent seven years as CEO. Fiona was named one of the 20 most influential people in sustainability globally by Barron’s magazine and has twice been named one of Australia’s one hundred women of influence by The Australian Financial Review.

Fiona is the Chair of the UN Global Compact Australia, she also serves on the Board of Frontier Advisors and Client Earth Asia Pacific and the Advisory Boards of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, Affirmative Investment Management and Climate Catalyst and the ESG advisory board of BASF and PWC.

David Robb

David Robb is a corporate and retail banking lawyer with more than 30 years’ experience. David was a partner at Allens and is the General Counsel of Macquarie Bank’s retail operations.He earned his law and commerce degrees at UNSW.

David was a founding member of Allens’ Pro Bono Committee and the chair of PILCH NSW (now Justice Connect) and he is on the Biodiversity Council advisory board.

Jennifer Robinson

Jennifer Robinson is a human rights lawyer and Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London. She advises media organisations, journalists, whistle-blowers and high-profile individuals on all aspects of media law and reputation management. Jennifer advises individual and state clients on a wide range of international law issues, has appeared before the International Court of Justice and regularly engages with UN Special Mechanisms. She has acted in key free speech and freedom of information cases for clients such as the New York Times and Bloomberg.

She is a member of the legal team for WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, having acted for Assange in extradition proceedings, advised WikiLeaks during Cablegate and worked with the Center for Constitutional Rights on United States v Bradley Manning. 

The Hon. Lisa Singh

Lisa Singh is a former Australian Senator and was the first woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to the Australian Parliament. She is also a former Tasmanian Member of Parliament and was a Minister in the Tasmanian Government. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Australia India Institute, a research and policy think tank at the University of Melbourne, and an advisory board member of Asialink. 
 
Ms Singh has been a long-term advocate for the protection of refugees and a vocal opponent of Australia’s offshore detention of asylum seekers. She has been invited to speak internationally including at the United Nations General Assembly and at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. She was subsequently invited by Harvard to contribute a chapter on the challenges of upholding children’s rights in Australia’s immigration policy in a Research Handbook on Child Migration.

Dr Phoebe Wynn-Pope

Phoebe Wynn-Pope is Head of Business and Human Rights, and Head of Pro Bono at Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Phoebe has represented organisations at the United Nations and was a founding director of the Humanitarian Advisory Group. She was also Director of International Humanitarian Law and a member of the leadership team of Australian Red Cross.

Phoebe is Director at CARE Australia and a member of the Monash University Masters of International Relations Industry Board. She is a member of the University of New South Wales Australian Human Rights Institute Advisory Committee and an Ambassador for Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia. She is also a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). 

 

Pablo Berrutti

Pablo is an Investment Specialist with the Sustainable Funds Group at Stewart Investors. Previously, Pablo was Head of Responsible Investment Asia Pacific at Colonial First State Global Asset Management (now First Sentier Investors), for seven years.

He is the founder of Altiorem, a not-for-profit library and resource centre dedicated to supporting a sustainable financial system. He is also the former Chair and a current director of the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia and was on the management committee of the Investor Group on Climate Change for 8 years.

Scientia Professor Louise Chappell

Louise Chappell was Director of the Australian Human Rights Institute at UNSW Sydney.

A Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2010-14), Louise’s research interests are in the areas of women’s rights; gender, politics and institutions and comparative federalism and public policy. 

Louise is a UNSW Sydney SHARP hire - an initiative identifying established research leaders to drive up the University's research performance and the number of high-quality and highly cited research publications.

Dr David Cooke 

David Cooke worked within the tech sector for 35 years before stepping down as Chair and Managing Director of Konica Minolta Australia at the end of 2020.

He is currently the Director of ESG Advisory and is also Chair UN Global Compact Network Australia.

David was a member of the Federal Government Advisory Committee on the Implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights in 2017 and panellist at the DFAT & Attorney General's conference on Human Trafficking & Human Rights in Business 2016.

He currently sits on the Westpac Safer Children, Safer Communities Roundtable.

 

Professor Megan Davis

Professor Megan Davis is Pro Vice-Chancellor Society and a Professor in the Faculty of Law & Justice at UNSW Sydney. She holds the Balnvaes Chair for Constitutional Lawand is the Co-Chair of The Uluru Statement.

Professor Davis is a globally recognised expert on Indigenous peoples right and was an expert member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues and Chair of the Human Rights Council's Expert Mechanism on the rights of Indigenous peoples.

She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, as well as a member of the NSW Sentencing Council and an Australian Rugby League Commissioner. Professor Davis was Director of the Indigenous Law Centre, UNSW Law from 2006-2016.

Kieren Fitzpatrick

Kieren Fitzpatrick is the Director of the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), which brings together organisations to address human rights challenges in the region.

He works closely with a wide-ranging group of regional stakeholders to provide training and support to guide national human rights institutions in protecting and promoting human rights.

Prior to the APF, Fitzpatrick worked at the Australian Human Rights Commission and in the university and trade union sectors, and has qualifications in law, philosophy and social science. 

Fran Kelly 

Respected radio presenter, current affairs journalist and political correspondent, Fran Kelly began work in journalism at the age of 29 and has since held positions with Triple J’s The Drum, as the ABC's Chief Political Correspondent and Bureau Chief in the Canberra Press Gallery, as the ABC’s Europe Correspondent based in London, Political Editor for The 7.30 Report and political correspondent for the prestigious AM program.

From 2005-2021, Fran hosted the ABC's RN Breakfast program, which helped set the news agenda with authoritative analysis of major events and issues at home and abroad.

She is now the host of ABC TV's Frankly program.

Dr Dani Larkin

Dr Dani Larkin is a Bundjalung, Kungarykany woman from Grafton, New South Wales and a public lawyer and representative of the Senior Dialogue Leadership group for the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

Dr Larkin is also a Lecturer and Deputy Director of the Indigenous Law Centre at UNSW.

Dr Larkin has presented on the importance of protecting her Aboriginal cultural identity in Australia through meaningful, long-term supported structural reform to address various legal and policies issues that are barriers to true and full exercise of self-determination rights of First Nation people of Australia. 

 

Professor Robyn Norton AO

Robyn Norton is co-founder and Principal Director of The George Institute for Global Health, Chair of Global Health at Imperial College London, Professor of Public Health at UNSW Sydney and Honorary Professor at Peking University. 

Professor Norton has had a long-standing commitment to improving women’s health and currently leads The George Institute’s research, implementation and advocacy efforts, aimed at improving the health of women and girls worldwide. This program of work takes a lifecourse approach to addressing the leading causes of death and disability for women and girls, namely non-communicable diseases and injuries, as well as focusing on the importance of a gendered approach to the collection and utilisation of health data to improve health outcomes.

Elaine Pearson

Elaine Pearson is the Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. She established Human Rights Watch’s Australia office in 2013 and works to influence Australian foreign and domestic policies in order to give them a human rights dimension.

She has conducted numerous human rights investigations in Australia and around the world.

Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Pearson worked for the United Nations and various non-governmental organisations in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kathmandu and London.

Magda Szubanski AO

Magda Szubanski AO is an Australian comedian, actress, author and LGBTQ+ activist. She is a multi-award winning actor, producer and writer of Australian television shows.

Her best selling memoir, Reckoning, was the recipient of multiple literary awards. She is a patron of Twenty10 and in 2018 was included in the Vogue Game Changers list for her work on the marriage equality campaign.

Scientia Professor George Williams AO

George Williams AO is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Planning and Assurance, the Anthony Mason Professor and Scientia Professor at UNSW Sydney. He has served as the Dean of Law at UNSWs and has held an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship.

He is one of Australia’s leading constitutional lawyers and is widely published on human rights and constitutional issues. 

Noël Zihabamwe

Noël Zihabamwe is founder and Chairperson of the African Australian Advocacy Centre. He is founding member and treasurer for both the Africa Health Australia and Lower North Shore Multicultural Network. He is also the former chairman of Rwandan Community of NSW and President of the Federation of Rwandan Communities of Australia (FRCA).

Noël has also won multiple awards for his book One Thousand Hills which he co-wrote with renowned author James Roy, including the 2016 NSW Premier’s Young People’s History Awards and 2017 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

Emeritus Professor Andrew Byrnes 
Faculty of Law and Justice    

Associate Professor Donna Green 
Climate Change Research Centre 
Faculty of Science    

Associate Professor Fiona Haigh 
Director, Health Equity Research Development Unit 
Faculty of Medicine

Dr Bridget Haire 
Kirby Institute 
Faculty of Medicine

Professor Sarah Williams 
Faculty of Law and Justice

Associate Professor Fengshi Wu 
Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture