2024 AVYLD Speakers

Alex Workman is an epidemiological criminologist and has an interest in the social justice outcomes of marginalised populations, particularly those who are gender and sexuality diverse, and the intersections they have with other parts of their identity, such as people living with a disability, Indigenous people, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people and religious minorities.

Allison has had a diverse career in human capital consulting, Human Resources, and Organisation Development, working with over 35 organisations globally of all sizes and industry on their toughest people challenges. [...]

AVLD Board Director and AVYLD 2019 alumnus Andrew is the Co-Founder and CEO of GuardRails, a leading AppSec platform that empowers security and software development teams to fix vulnerabilities early and release faster.

AVLD Partnerships and Engagement Director

Bec Strating is the Director of La Trobe Asia and a Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University, Melbourne. She has extensive experience working in the academia-policy-public engagement nexus in the fields of international diplomacy and security.

Having worked for a number of years in international education for the Victorian Government, Director of Study Melbourne ms Caroline Hartnett is passionate about supporting education providers and businesses to access global markets and maintaining Victoria’s position as a destination of choice for international students.

Chau is the Executive Director, Legal Transactions for SC Capital Partners Group, a funds manager managing RECAP opportunistic funds investing in real estate.

AVYLD 2023 alumnus Christian is the Co-Founder and CEO of Elucidate Education, a non-profit focused on supporting disadvantaged Australian students.

AVYLD 2023 alumnus Daniel Ginger is an Associate Director in KPMG's consulting division, with a leadership role in the Operations Advisory and Access Asia practices, where he supports Australian businesses to identify and connect with global markets, including Vietnam.

As the Manager, City Resilience and Sustainable Futures of City of Melbourne, David Sweeting is a leader and collaborator in social innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability, ESG, city resilience, technology, strategy, and change management.

Dr Angela Dwyer is a sociologist and Associate Professor in Policing at the School of Social Sciences at University of Tasmania. Her research on how sexuality, gender, and sex diversity influences policing contributed to founding the discipline area of queer criminology and her work on this was awarded the Richard Tewksbury Award by the Western Society of Criminology 2022-2023.

With nearly three decades of expertise in academic research and project management, Dr Cuong La focuses on shaping policy and advocating for sexual and reproductive health, alongside HIV/AIDS prevention and control.

AVLD Board Chair Dr Melissa Jardine is an international policing advisor undertaking research and capacity building activities across the globe, with current projects in the Pacific, Central Asia, South and Southeast Asia and Africa.

Dr. Binh Tran is the Head of Consulting at FPT Australasia. With two decades of experience working with entrepreneurs and startups, he leverages his strong academic background and deep understanding of business strategy and technology to deliver innovative solutions.

Fiona Letos is the Fiona Letos, Executive Director Trade, Global Engagement and International Education in Global Victoria, the Victorian Government's trade facilitation and promotion agency.

As AVLD Program Director, Grace curates this year’s Dialogue, celebrating the bilateral elevation to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the Australia-ASEAN 50th anniversary of Dialogue Partnership.

AVLD's inaugural Executive Director, Huong Dang, is also an alumna from the first Dialogue in 2017. Throughout her career, Huong has focused on creating social impact to elevate underserved communities, including at-risk children, disadvantaged youth, and women, helping them achieve better lives through education and job placements.

Juliet is a distinguished leader and influential figure in environmental advocacy, based in Geelong, Australia. As the founder and leader of numerous local groups, Juliet channels her expertise and passion to inspire and engage her community. She is also a dedicated advocate for under-represented groups, including international students and women in STEM, dedicating her time to support and champion their causes.

As Senior Regional Manager, Southeast Asia, Global Engagement, Global Victoria, Laura Burke is an experienced strategic advisor, lawyer and leader that has worked across the government, corporate and not-for-profit sectors.

Laura Pfiester has been working in the field of urban technology and innovation for four years and is currently serving as the Head of Smart City Incubator at City of Melbourne.

AVYLD 2023 alumnus Liem Nguyen is deeply passionate about culture and its transformative power. As a philanthropic grant maker for the Bennelong Foundation, he funds projects that break down barriers in education, employment, and cultural connections for First Australians and new Australians.

Nicholas Reece was elected Deputy Lord Mayor in November 2020, after having previously been elected Councillor in the City of Melbourne in 2016.

Louise is Aurecon’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for driving all areas of the business to achieve the Group’s strategic goals overseeing performance across each of Aurecon’s Australian, New Zealand and Asian business groups.

Ms Louise Poh is the Head of Marketing for De Bortoli Wines. She is a passionate international growth Strategist, innovative and action-oriented Marketing, Sales, Commercial and Business Development Executive, with extensive international experience in building multinational leading brands in the Asia Pacific region.

Inspired by OzHarvest's mission and model, AVYLD 2019 alumna Louise Tran co-created VietHarvest to create more goodness in Vietnam, saving good food from ending up as waste and feeding the underserved communities in Vietnam.

Nathaniel is the founder & CEO of Future Minds Network, a social enterprise that is transforming the lives of low-SES and regional young Australians. It empowers them to develop essential employability skills, crucial social networks, and shape their own career pathways amidst an uncertain future.

Mr. Nghiem Xuan Hoa joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam in 2000. He has been working for the Office of the Ministry, the department of Policy Planning and the department of Personnel. In 2021, he was appointed as Deputy Director General of the Personnel department.

Nhat Thai Nguyen is an accomplished technology and business leader, currently serving as the Mission Manager for Space MAITRI at Space Machines Company.

Nornie Bero is the founder and CEO of Mabu Mabu. Originally from the Komet Tribe of the Meriam people in the Torres Strait, she has been a professional chef for over 25 years.

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Professor Carl Thayer is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Visiting Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy.

Professor Kyllie Cripps is a Palawa woman and Director of Monash’s Indigenous Studies Centre. She is one of Australia’s leading researchers on Indigenous family violence, sexual assault and child abuse.

Ly Tran is a Professor in the School of Education, Deakin University. She was named as one of Vietnam’s 50 Most Influential Women 2019 by Forbes Vietnam (Research-Education Category) and one of 50 top voices in international education in Australia-ASEAN 2023 by the PIE. Ly was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow 2017-2022.

Raphael founded Strategic Cyber LLC in 2012 and created software for red team security tests. Strategic Cyber LLC was acquired by Fortra in 2020. Raphael also created After the Deadline, a SaaS spelling and grammar checking technology acquired by Automattic in 2009.

Sam is AVLD People and Culture Director. She is committed to help build a sustainable organisation, driving initiatives and culture that promotes collaboration and fosters and builds upon the strong Australia-Vietnam bilateral relationship.

AVYLD 2023 alumna Sen Nguyen is an award-winning journalist, podcast and documentary producer from Vietnam with experience in cross-border reporting, investigative and multimedia journalism.

Shane Chanel is the CEO & Co-founder of Fincraft Group, a leading fintech company encompassing Yondr Money, Shouta, and Kobble. Fincraft Group is revolutionising the financial industry with innovative solutions including digital banking, rewards platforms, and modular banking SaaS technology.

Shiraz has over 20 years of industry and consulting experience assisting clients with their business transformations and growth strategies. He personally embodies Australian-Asian culture and understands cultural and commercial challenges and successful strategies.

Simon Hammer is the Delivery Lead at Alluvium Group. He is committed to deliver high-impact integrated water solutions that make a real difference. He has been involved in several award-winning projects and was recognised as the National Young Water Professional of the Year in 2021 by the Australian Water Association for his work inspiring and driving a sustainable water future.

As AVLD Patron in Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove, General the Honourable, AK AC(Mil) CVO MC (RETD) is an Australian retired senior Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019.

Stephanie has championed gender equality and social inclusion over her 30-year career, spanning community, academia, NGO, private, philanthropic and government sectors. As the Australian Ambassador for Gender Equality, she is the lead advocate for Australia’s work on gender equality across all aspects of foreign policy.

Associate Professor Tam Nguyen has close to 25 years of working in clinical trials, health and medical research and research management sector including tertiary teaching hospitals, medical research institutes and universities across Australia.

In 2021, Thao began working for Meta as the Head of Public Policy for Vietnam. She leads a country policy team that is dealing with some of the most interesting public policy challenges of our times including privacy, safety, freedom of expression, & the intersection with technology.

Tim Watts is the Federal Member for Gellibrand and has served as the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Albanese Government since 2022.

Tom Bentley is the Executive Director for Policy, Strategy and Impact, and Vice-Chancellor's Innovation Professor at RMIT University.

Trang Nguyen is the Southeast Asia Lead at Climateworks Centre, an independent and non-profit centre under Monash University with a mission to catalyse actions towards net zero in Australia and Southeast Asia.

Troy joined Killara Foundation as Chief Executive Officer in July 2024. He comes to Killara with a wealth of experience in social enterprise and social justice. His work with Charcoal Lane and Synergy Auto Repairs has helped advance government policy and has seen him attend inquiries into housing and employment.

Ben leads Climateworks’ policy engagement with Vietnamese stakeholders, including initiatives to support Vietnam to achieve net zero targets and to increase collaboration between Australia and Vietnam on decarbonisation and the green economy.

William is Co-founder and Director of Beanstalk whose mission is to influence and build resilient, ethical, and responsible food production systems that feed our people nutritiously and regenerate our planet.