Katrina Van De Ven – NSW Convenor

Katrina is the modest type. When asked what achievement she’s most proud of, she will say she still knows the whole rap section of “Wanna Be” by Spice Girls. While this is undoubtedly an impressive feat, perhaps having been an Intern with the Australian Mission to the United Nations would come to mind first? When not binging on macarons from Ladurée or watching House of Cards, Katrina is (digitally) flicking through the arts and culture section of the New York Times, and getting paid to be a public and foreign policy nerd

Studied: Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and a Masters of International Relations

Passionate about: SDG 1 No poverty; SDG 5 Gender equality; SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities; SDG 13 Climate action

Erandi Samarakoon

Born in Sri Lanka and the daughter of a Diplomat, Erandi has a global interest with a local lens. When not bungee jumping the cliffs of Kenya or hunting for local designers, you can find Erandi advising a multinational infrastructure company on sustainable business and social impact. In her spare time, Erandi analyses opinion pieces with a wine in hand. Yet do not be fooled, Erandi is no ordinary sommelier. Erandi once travelled some hundred-odd kilometres for a glass of wine and would do it again.

Studied: Bachelor in Design; Masters in Architecture; Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainability from Harvard University and currently undertaking Australian Institute of Company Directors training

Passionate about: SDG 17 Partnerships for the goals; SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities; SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth; SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production

Ben Woltmann

Ben is a management consultant who can crack a whip and jump just about anything on horseback. He’s passionate about travel and new experiences, living by the motto ‘work to live, not live to work’. Ben has deployed consultants to Africa and subcontinental Asia in a bid to improve businesses through non-for-profit advisory services in developing countries. When not advising corporations or government entities, you can find Ben dining with friends, escaping to the countryside, or on Duolingo trying to master French.

Studied: Bachelor in International Business and Major Project Administration from Said Business School, Oxford

Passionate about: SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities; SDG 5 Gender equality; SDG 7 Affordable and clean energy; SDG 17 Partnerships for the goals

Florencia Quinteros

Born in Uruguay and raised in Australia, Flo is our op shopping, beach loving, trilingual nomad who brings vivacity like no other. This bookworm completed university in Montevideo, calling it home for close to six years, while also undertaking a scholarship at the University of the Andes in Santiago. With an extreme eye for detail, and slight OCD, she is an organizational mastermind. Catch her if you can: when she’s not travelling, she’s running, or on the hunt for the perfect coffee, or, most likely doing it all, and at the same time, because… #norestdays.

Studied: Bachelor of Social Science in Security and Counter Terorrism

Passionate about: SDG 4 Quality education; SDG 10 Reduced inequalities; SDG 5 Gender equality; SDG 16 Peace, justice and strong institutions

Carla Ianni

Carla may or may not have been school captain in primary and high school, skipped a grade and become admitted as a lawyer at age 21 but don’t let that cloud your judgement of her. Carla has been repeating the same three vegetarian recipes for the past 10 years; lives at the behest of her two puppies, and has a tendency to buy books at a greater speed than what is humanely conceivable to read. In addition to her day job as a consumer advocate, Carla is a regular at human rights talks, provides pro bono legal advice at Redfern Legal Centre and is on the Committee for Women and Girls’ Rights with the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights.

Studied: Bachelor of Laws (Social Inquiry) and Masters in International Law Public Policy

Passionate about: SDG 16 Peace, justice and strong institutions; SDG 10 Reduced inequalities; SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production; SDG 5 Gender equality

Tamarin Schafer

When she’s not driving corporate responsibility, Tam is likely to be discovering new places by foot, listening to Triple J’s Hack or decorating walls with a rainbow of post-its in an attempt to launch a social enterprise. At the tender age of 19, and having never left the shores of Sydney, Tam decided to go on a little adventure. What started as a one-off exchange program at Boston University, led to a subsequent exchange at Copenhagen Business School; a work secondment to Singapore; a new gig in London, and an expedition to more than 30 countries. Nonetheless, Tam still calls Australia home and once travelled 72 hours, via 5 airports, to get back in time for Christmas lunch.

Studied: Bachelor of Commerce (Liberal Studies) and Masters of Teaching (Secondary)

Passionate about: SDG 9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure; SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production; SDG 4 Quality education; SDG 2 Zero hunger

Miranda Walker

Not many can say they’ve worked as a journo in Ghana; cooked meatballs ‘n’ mash at a gaming lounge in Sweden; or organised energy summits in Bangkok and Yangon. Our Miranda can. Born and raised in the City of Churches, it’s no coincidence that Miranda is a lover of horror films and all things Nordic Noir. Yet when the pace of Adelaide got all too much, Miranda decided she would move to Spain for six months. Miranda’s intention was to become fluent in Spanish. She has excellent broken English to show for it.

Studied: Bachelor of Commerce and Media, with an exchange program at the University of Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) and Uppsala University

Passionate about: SDG 13 Climate action; SDG 7 Affordable and clean energy

Jane Aslanidis

Jane is a business strategist, facilitator and writer who is a strong believer in the power of collaboration and social design, and is passionate about helping teams solve complex problems. She believes there is no organisation too big, or start up too small, that can’t benefit from the challenge of thinking differently. When she’s not helping organisations, Jane is committed to contributing to causes in the areas of education and sustainability. She speaks English, Greek and Spanish; has a karate black belt and reminisces of her golden days in a jazz band.

Studied: Master of International Relations, Bachelor of Commerce (Economics and International Business), Fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs

Passionate about: SDG 4 Quality education; SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production; SDG 5 Gender equality

Josephine Agu

Jo is a Public Health research assistant and an influencer on health equity in diverse populations. Jo is completing her PhD in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) relating to people living with dementia from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Jo’s thesis explores the use of CAM either exclusively or integrated with allopathic health care among undeserved populations, evaluating the impact of culture and beliefs on healthcare choice and help seeking behaviors. Jo loves cooking and music; has ever-changing hairstyles; is a noble fan of The Mindy Project, and loves the African delicacy of plantaiin.

Studied: Bachelor of Science (Biomedical); Graduate Diploma in Public Health; Master of Public Health (Epidemiology and Biosttistcis) and currently completing PhD in the field of Public Health

Passionate about: SDG 3 Good health and well-being; SDG 2 Zero hunger; SDG 10 Reduced inequalities; SDG 17 Partnerships for the goals

Sophie Fletcher Watson

Sophie is most proud of her humanitarian work as a young project manager in Ecuador, Cuba and Colombia. Struggling with the decision to complete a law degree or pursue a career in international relations, Sophie did what any ordinary person would do and went to live in New York. This landed her a fireside chat about Australian human rights issues with the current UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, and fuelled her passion for international affairs. Combining all these experiences, Sophie now studies law school with an international law focus, volunteers with 180 Degrees Consulting’s Global Legal Team and… coaches Latin dancing.

Studied: Bachelor of Arts (Government and Spanish) and currently completing a Juris Doctor

Passionate about: SDG 1 No poverty; SDG 4 Quality education; SDG 5 Gender equality; SDG 16 Peace, justice and strong institutions