The MWN core committee drives the strategic direction and priorities of the Multicultural Women's Network. The executive committee comprises of seventeen women working across nine different departments at UTS. The group consists of professional and academic staff and brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and life experiences to the network.
Chair, Leah Subijano
Leah Subijano is a first-generation Filipino-Australian and is the Senior Engagement & Events Officer at the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion. She has extensive experience in marketing, communications, and event management. She is also a dancer, performer and rhythm-maker with the performance groups Nāpua Australia and ILE ILU. Leah is a fierce advocate for racial justice and gender equality and believes that drumming and dance are decolonising tools that help people reconnect with themselves, their ancestral wisdom, community, and the natural world. She explores these concepts in her podcast, Dance Unravelled.
Secretary, Mehal Krayem
Dr Mehal Krayem has over twenty years of experience in the community sector in arts and women's organisations. She has a PhD in Communications, and her research used Australian film and television to better understand the representations of Muslim and Arab masculinities in Australia. Mehal authored Heroes, Villains and the Muslim Exception, published by Melbourne University Press. As an academic, she has published on race, gender, religion, and pop culture. Mehal is currently the Manager of Community Engaged Learning at the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion. She is also the deputy chair of Arts and Cultural Exchange and a founding board member of Hunar Arts x Conflict Symposia.
Treasurer, Nidhi Aggarwal
Nidhi Aggarwal is a Chartered Accountant by profession and manages finance for one of UTS's core divisions. She wants to make a difference in the staff and student environment and encourage them to feel included and empowered to incorporate their cultural identity in all spaces. Her prior volunteering in various community and professional projects aimed to bring justice and educational equality, especially for women and young girls growing up in countries outside of their origin.
Memberships Officer, Dr Ariel Pezner
Dr Ariel Pezner is a Chancellor's Research Fellow and passionate advocate for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in STEM. She holds a PhD in oceanography and continues her research at UTS while teaching and mentoring the next generation of ocean scientists. She has extensive experience advocating for underrepresented groups on campus throughout her undergraduate and graduate studies, winning an Inclusive Excellence Award during her leadership of the group, Women and Minorities in Science, at UC San Diego in 2021.
Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion Liaison, Dr Kumi de Silva
Dr Kumi de Silva’s commitment to drive and influence inclusion and belonging has led her from a career as an immunologist with an interest in infectious diseases and developing vaccines to her current role as the Gender Equity Programs Manager at UTS. Kumi advocates for equity with a focus beyond gender alone. She co-founded a network to support culturally and linguistically diverse staff at the University of Sydney (Mosaic) and was a member of the successful application for the Science in Australia Gender Equity (Athena SWAN) Bronze Award there and is a Dr John Yu Fellow for Cultural Diversity Leadership.
Project Officers
Project Officer (Special Projects), Dr Elaine Laforteza
Dr Elaine Laforteza has a PhD in Cultural Studies and is the Equity and Diversity Project Officer (Cultural Diversity) at the UTS Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion. She has held academic positions at Macquarie University, Charles Sturt University, and most recently in the School of Communication at UTS. Her work has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals and community media, and her book The Somatechnics of Whiteness and Race is available through Routledge. Elaine hosts SBS’s award-winning podcast, My Bilingual Family, and is also an emerging playwright, producing plays for various festivals in Sydney.
Project Officer (Advocacy), Tofa Amanda Moors-Mailei
Tofa Amanda Moors-Mailei is the Manager of Indigenous Outreach at the UTS Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research. In this role, she leads the design and implementation of initiatives, programs, and strategies that expand access to higher education for Indigenous students. As a passionate advocate for culturally responsive practice and racial justice, she actively challenges dominant narratives that marginalise communities within the Australian education system. Amanda is also the Executive Lead, Pacific, for Equity Practitioners in Higher Education Association (EPHEA) and the Founding Director of the Australian Pasifika Educators Network (APEN).
Project Officer (Research), Dr Zozan Balci
Dr Zozan Balci is an academic and sociolinguist in the School of Communications. An expert in life history interviewing, she excels at transforming research into powerful storytelling that resonates with a broad range of audiences. As a passionate social justice advocate, she connects researchers and students with real-world issues for social change, earning multiple awards for her work with not-for-profits and community organisations through the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion. Her new book, Erased Voices and Unspoken Heritage, is available through Routledge.
Project Officer (Evaluation), Anusha Muller
Anusha Muller has extensive experience in the human rights and social justice sector, with roles spanning media, campaigning, and project management. Anusha began her career working for Lord Mayor Clover Moore, where she was focused on advocating for social housing and marginalised communities. Since then, she has been a climate campaigner for GetUp! and, most recently, worked in strategic communications at the Australian Human Rights Commission. Anusha is passionate about racial justice, climate justice and using her skills for social good.
Marketing and Events Team
Marketing and Communications Lead, Steffi Dourado
Steffi Dourado is passionate about widening access and participation in higher education for students from underrepresented backgrounds. She is currently working as a Student Equity Project Officer at the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion and delivers the on-campus experiences for the U@Uni Academy Program, an alternative entry pathway to UTS. Outside of work, Steffi has completed nine half-marathon programs, done a seven-day motoring rally in regional Queensland and Northern Territory, and recently sported a skullet to raise funds for cancer research!
Marketing & Communications Officer (Engagement), Doris Xu
Doris Xu is the Donor Growth Manager at the UTS Advancement & Alumni Unit, responsible for managing and growing a mass fundraising program to garner support for UTS’s efforts in equity and inclusion, groundbreaking research, and more. Since leaving her corporate marketing career in 2019, Doris has dedicated her digital and growth marketing skills to scale high-impact fundraising campaigns and programs for the social good. As a first-generation Asian immigrant, Doris is deeply passionate about advocating for women of colour and creating a workplace culture that embraces diversity and promotes inclusion.
Marketing and Communications Officer (Social Media), Alexandra Nicolas
Alexandra Nicolas is an administrator for the Research Capability Development team in the UTS Research Office, coordinating the EMCR Capability Development Initiative and helping run the UTS Aspire program for researcher development training. She is completing a Master of Public Health and has extensive experience in research support, executive support, HR and administrative support roles across the public sector and higher education. She is passionate about supporting others and enabling them to fulfil their goals by working on projects that provide these opportunities.
Marketing and Communications Officer (Social Media), Sanskriti Sharma
Sanskriti Sharma is an aspiring digital anthropologist and qualitative researcher who studies internet ontologies and cultures. She explores self-curation and relational developments within social media communities. Her study balances the current Western centricity of digital media research by investigating family vloggers in digitally developing nations like India. It broadly asks the question whether the vlogger-audience relationships manifest a change in the Indian social fabric in terms of familial gender constructions. As a woman of colour, Sanskriti is aware of her sociocultural positioning and considers gender and race as the overriding premises of her research and her other writing pieces.
Events Lead, Nema Madnani
Nema Madnani is a Project Support Officer in the Student Equity Team at the Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion, where she contributes to initiatives that foster inclusivity and remove systemic barriers in higher education. With a Master of Business Administration, majoring in Human Resources, Nema brings a strong foundation in administration, project and stakeholder management, and people-centred work. Driven by a deep commitment to social justice, Nema is passionate about creating inclusive spaces that amplify the voices and leadership of multicultural women at UTS.
Events Officer, Dawn Ajwang
Dawn Ajwang is a Campaigns Officer at the UTS Advancement & Alumni Unit, responsible for providing exceptional customer experiences to our donors through meaningful donor engagement and relationship management, to secure major gifts that support UTS’s Indigenous initiatives and priorities. Dawn is passionate about inclusivity and cultural diversity, and aims to create welcoming spaces that celebrate diversity, foster connection, and reflect the vibrant multicultural community we are. She also enjoys travelling, hiking, bible study, music, dancing, cooking and socialising.
Events Officer, Rachel Khalef
Rachel Khalef is a Lebanese-Australian who works as the Senior Specialist in Quality Management at the UTS Library. With a background in data analysis and stakeholder engagement, she supports evidence-based decision-making and helps ensure services meet the needs of diverse users. She’s currently studying a Master of Global Health and is passionate about women’s health, health equity, and creating stronger connections between communities and the health system. She’s driven by a commitment to inclusion and believes that real change starts by listening to people and working alongside them.
Ordinary Core Members
Veronica Wong is passionate about supporting students to become global citizens, creating opportunities, and building bridges for them to be transformed by engaging with people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and world views. Veronica has extensive experience in international relations and managing study abroad and student exchange programs. She is currently the Manager of the UTS BUILD Program (Beyond UTS International Leadership Development), an extra-curricular global leadership program preparing students to become global leaders and active global citizens.