Many large corporations, not-for-profits and startups have been making a positive social impact. Whilst many are getting it right, others need some help - which is why we are bringing in the experts to tell us how they do it. The objective of this panel discussion is to inform anyone interested in social impact about what works, and what doesn’t, when achieving the Sustainable Development Goals laid out by the United Nations.

On Thursday the 24th October at 5.30pm, join Fishburners, Peepsride and our talented panel:

Steve King - Product Manager at Atlassian and Co-Founder of abil.io
Naomi Steer - the Founding National Director of Australia for UNHCR
Rosemary Kayess - Accomplished Human Rights Lawyer, Researcher, Academic and Australia's Representative at the United Nations for Disability Rights
Lee Cooper - Head of Innovation, Strategy & Social Impact at Wayside Chapel
Raja Yassine - Humanities Teacher, Peacemaker & Crescent Foundation Ambassador

Schedule

5:30 pm - Networking drinks and snacks
6:00 pm - 7.30pm - Panel Discussion and Q&A
7:30 pm – 8pm - Networking drinks

About the Panellists

Steve King - Product Manager at Atlassian and Co-Founder of abil.io

Steve King is responsible for Accessibility at Atlassian and is a co-founder of accessible technology startup abilio which has a social purpose to make life accessible. Steve is passionate about understanding, describing and improving the patient experience in healthcare using technology to enable people with ideas to connect and build with people who have the skill to deliver those ideas, particularly when they solve problems for people seeking out a more inclusive and impactful life.

Naomi Steer - Founding National Director of Australia for UNHCR

A passionate advocate for refugees, with a deep understanding of the issues affecting displaced people, she has worked in human rights and refugee issues since she began her career as a diplomat with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with postings at the United Nations in New York and in India. Under Naomi’s leadership, Australia for UNHCR has become a top 10 private-sector contributor to UNHCR’s budget, ahead of many governments and international foundations. It is the only international agency in Australia solely focused on refugees and raises tens of millions of dollars annually to support UNHCR’s global humanitarian work.

Naomi is also a Trustee of First State Super in Australia and a Director of the Sydney Financial Forum. She has served on a number of previous boards specializing in governance, finance and risk management. In 2017 she was nominated by her peers as the Co-Chair of UNHCR’s Partnership Council. Naomi presents regularly and is widely published on global humanitarian issues, and in particular the impact of conflict and displacement on women and girls. She has an MSc (Distinction - Security, Conflict and International Development) from Leicester University, and a LLB/BA (Hons - Political Science) from the UNSW. Naomi is also a graduate of the Harvard University Executive program.

Rosemary Kayess - Accomplished Human Rights Lawyer, Researcher, Academic and UN Representative

Rosemary is the first Australian woman to be elected to the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Committee monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She was formerly the Chair of the Australian Centre for Disability Law and Director of the Disability Innovation Institute at the University of New South Wales.

Lee Cooper - Head of Innovation, Strategy & Social Impact at Wayside Chapel

Lee has been working in the not-for-profit sector since 1997, starting out in small grassroots community organisations in direct service delivery in regional Victoria through to executive roles in marketing, communications fundraising and strategy. Lee began his career working as a drug and alcohol youth outreach worker in country Victoria for 7 years. From there, he moved into the charity sector, starting at CanTeen, before moving to Cancer Council NSW where he rose to the position of Head of the Event Marketing Unit.

He moved to Wayside Chapel in 2017 to cover a maternity role as Head of Marketing and Fundraising and now focuses on applying his knowledge to help Wayside identify future opportunities to scale its mission and measure and value the impact Wayside makes. Having worked within service delivery, communications and fundraising, Lee understands that the impact of the mission is what matters the most. Lee completed a Masters in Management at UTS specialising in the not-for-profit and social sector.

Raja Yassine - Humanities Teacher, Peacemaker & Crescent Foundation Ambassador

Raja is a community engagement specialist with a demonstrated ability to connect communities through sport, community forums, cross-cultural meet & greets and youth programs. Being the first girl in her family to study at University, Raja learnt very quickly the value of Education and the transformational impact it has on people’s lives. As a targeted graduate from Sydney University, she embarked on a career of giving and empowering through education.

For over 20 years, Raja has had the privilege of working in diverse communities, including Boorangan Aboriginal College, Granville TAFE and schools in the private and public sector. In 2018, she won the NSW Education Secretary’s Award for Outstanding new School Initiative, for her work in developing the Positive Parent Engagement Program. She has also served as the Secretary of Newcastle Mosque and has been a guest on panels for Rugby Australia, Gonski Institute for Education, Cumberland Council and the International Metropolis Conference.

More recently, her greatest passion has been serving as an ambassador for Crescent Foundation, which is geared to helping refugees and migrants with scholarships and future tertiary directions. This was developed in partnership with the University of Western Sydney. The daughter of Lebanese migrants and a mum of 4, Raja is determined to make a difference to the public narrative by engaging disengaged CALD communities in the discussions that count when it comes to living, serving and giving back to this great nation.

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About Fishburners

Fishburners is much more than a coworking space. We are a not for profit, passionate community of 300+ scalable tech startups that only exists thanks to our amazing sponsors - Google for Startups, UTS, Chartered Accountants, and Jobs for NSW. We are dedicated to inspiring and helping startups get started, grow and succeed. Our goal is to make the hardest thing you’ve ever done easier!

We do this through our different memberships which provide the facilities, resources, learning and development, mentoring, and connections that you need for your idea to come to life and flourish. We also open our doors and host some of the largest, regular events in the Australian startup ecosystem, including our bi-weekly lunch & learn workshops, and Shark Tank-style, Friday night pitches. Member or not, you're welcome to attend and/or get involved! Any questions about memberships or events, please feel free to email events@fishburners.org.

About Peespride

PeepsRide is a digital platform for care and transport providers to manage and track day trips and transport services for people with a disability and the elderly. Their vision is to provide an on-demand transport service to the most vulnerable people in our community. Currently, due to the high cost of ride share and taxis, the elderly and those with a disability resort to staying indoors. Where low-cost community transport is available, they have to wait for hours before securing a ride to critical medical appointments or for essential day-to-day activities like shopping. Using PeepsRide, care and transport providers will be able to offer more transport services and their customers will be able to access a ride when they need it. Visit their website for more information www.peepsride.com