I am Sophie Arnold

President

Sophie Arnold was Executive Manager of the UNAA’s Victorian Division from 2016 to 2022. A former metropolitan newspaper journalist, Sophie worked as a media adviser to Victorian Government Ministers and then Premier, Joan Kirner, before successfully running a successful media and communications practice for more than two decades. Sophie has been a member of the Committees of Management of several Victorian community sector organisations, including WIRE: Women’s Information; the Thornbury Women’s Neighbourhood House and the Melbourne Athenaeum Incorporated.

I am Andrew Hewett

Vice President

Andrew is a Sessional Lecturer in the La Trobe University Masters of International Development and Masters of International Relations and the Victoria University Masters in International Community Development. Andrew worked for Oxfam Australia for nearly 22 years, including over 11 years as Executive Director. He has extensive international advocacy experience, was a member of the World Bank NGO Committee for four years and has participated in and observed numerous international conferences, including those of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation. Andrew was formerly Deputy Chair of Diaspora Action Australia; a Vice-President of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and Chair of the Moreland Energy Foundation. He is now Chair of CERES.

I am Tony Dobson

Treasurer

Tony is a CPA qualified accountant and Registered Tax Agent who has a wealth of experience and expertise working in both the commercial and not for profit sectors, assisting a wide variety of small to medium sized organisations. Skilled in compliance, reporting and business strategy, Tony has a proven track record dealing with a diverse range of people and business situations. Tony has a strong desire to share his knowledge and experience to organisations and people and contribute to their growth and prosperity. Tony's qualifications include Master of Business Administration, CPA Professional Status and Bachelor of Business in Finance & Accounting.

I am Ian Howie

Former President

Ian is currently Adjunct Professor in International Studies at RMIT University, Melbourne. Ian has spent more than 30 years working in the field of international development. The main of this time was spent with the United Nations as a career official and included multi-year assignments as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) representative in China (with responsibilities also for Mongolia and North Korea), Viet Nam, Ghana, Rwanda and Papua New Guinea. He also spent seven years at UN Headquarters, New York, following his appointment as Director, Division of Human Resources. Earlier, he served as a Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) managing primary health care projects in rural Bangladesh, in the plantation sector in Sri Lanka and in the industrial estates of Kenya and the slums of Nairobi. Prior to joining the UN, Ian spent a number of years in the South Pacific working as a university lecturer, a trade union official and as a ministerial adviser. Ian has also been the recipient of a number of national awards including Distinguished Service medals from Viet Nam, China and Mongolia and a presidential citation from Ghana. Currently, Ian is on the boards of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, the Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, and the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance, and is a patron of Marie Stopes International.

I am Carlisle Richardson

Carlisle Richardson is a former Ambassador of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations, and a former Economic Affairs Officer of the United Nations. As Ambassador, he worked on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the preparations for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. As Economic Affairs Officer at the United Nations, he was one of the organisers of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States, and the negotiating process for the SDGs. He is currently Special Advisor to ICLEI Oceania on Small Island Developing States. He is also author of the Book, “Island Journeys: The Impact of the Island Way of Life at Home and Abroad” www.islandjourneysbook.com

I am Lynette Phuong

Lynette Phuong currently works as a universal health coverage (UHC) consultant at the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific Region. During her duty travel to Manila, Philippines, she supported the unit with the technical and administrative preparation and delivery of key regional meetings on UHC representing 21 Member States in the Region. Lynette is a public health practitioner with experiences spanning health promotion and advocacy, and digital health across Australia, Mongolia and Switzerland. Prior to enrolling into her master’s degree in public health, Lynette interned at the United Nations Association of Australia - Victorian Division from 2010 - 2011, where she executed the publicity campaigns for the 2010 UNAA Media Peace Awards, the monthly e-Newsletter for UNAA Victorian members and supported the delivery of three Model UN Conferences in secondary and tertiary institutions across the state.  In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Lynette worked on non-communicable disease prevention and control with the Mongolian Public Health Professionals’ Association and as part of COVID-19 response, she relocated to Geneva, Switzerland to work as a Technical Officer with WHO Headquarters to advance infodemic management worldwide. Upon her return, she worked on a more local COVID-19 response with the Victorian Department of Health. Her passion to empower communities to progress in health and education stems from her parents’ refugee background. Lynette has ten years’ volunteer experience with the Australian Red Cross as a member of the Victorian Youth Advisory Committee, where she advocated for broad youth engagement and acted as a sounding board for management and the Board. She also represented the National Society as a delegate at the 2009 World Red Cross Red Crescent "Youth on the Move" conference in Solferino, Italy. As an Alumni of Monash University and the University of Melbourne, Lynette has also launched two mentoring programs and mentored numerous graduate students.

I am Rosie Dalheim

Rosie began her association with UNAAV as an intern and later returned to work with the organisation in both the Education Program and coordinating the 2018 UN Day Media Awards. Leaving UNAAV to pursue an internship at UN HQ in NYC, Rosie went on to work for UN Women as a consultant. In her nearly three years with UN Women, Rosie worked with both the Civil Society Division, focussing on advancing meaningful youth engagement in UN Women’s policy and programmes, and the Strategic Partnerships Division, working to improve the organisation’s partnership intelligence, visibility and analysis practices, particularly with major government donors. She was also a focal point of the UN Women’s youth council, advocating for stronger and more consistent rights for young staff. Passionate about the peace and security agenda, Rosie completed a Master's degree in Conflict Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where her thesis considered local transitional justice mechanisms in post-conflict Bougainville. Rosie is now back in Melbourne working as a sustainability associate with L.E.K. Consulting.

I am Alicia Mathews

Alicia has 15 years of experience managing corporate diversity and inclusion, employee engagement, well-being, recruitment and change management programs globally. Alicia is a thoughtful, tenacious, results driven leader, with vast experience in managing complex projects with multiple stakeholders and developing people strategies that achieve business results. Alicia has worked in numerous industries - finance, banking, automotive, NFP, telecommunications and recently worked for the International Labour Organisation in Geneva in the Gender Equality and Diversity Unit.

I am Pauline Van

Pauline Van is a Senior Consultant in public policy and regulatory, particularly in the health, social and justice sections. She has a particular interest in sports, health, and education policies. Her experience in governance, culture development, project management, business development, and stakeholder engagement and consultations lead her to be curious, innovative and caring when delivering real outcomes for clients. She has had experience across various sectors in the Australian, New Zealand and Asia-Pacific regions: including in health, social, community services and development, banking and finance, research, tertiary education, and the charitable sector. She is motivated to challenge the norms, to identify and realise opportunities and has a collaborative and practical approach.

I am Warwick Peel

Warwick is Regional Director, AU/NZ, for IdeaScale. A longstanding entrepreneur, Warwick is an advisor to startups, mentor to FYA Young Social Pioneers, innovation Co-Lab for UN SDGs, a.i for Good community, as well as Co-Founder of Entrepreneurs&Co. Warwick holds an international Masters of Business from Swinburne University, and Northeastern University, Boston, USA. Warwick is a Climate Reality Leader trained by Al Gore and he is passionate about social enterprise and enacting entrepreneurship towards the SDGs.