Matt Kean MP/

Treasurer

Minister for Energy 

Matt Kean entered Parliament in 2011 and spent his early years advocating for stronger mental health policy. 

Elevated to the NSW Cabinet in 2017, he was appointed Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation in 2017. 

Following the 2019 NSW election, he was appointed Minister for Energy and Environment.

Since this appointment, Kean has added substantial expanses of land to the NSW National Parks’ Estate, beating and then doubling acquisition targets which will mean an extra 400,000 hectares (over five per cent) will be added by the end of 2022. 

An outspoken critic of “climate denialism” he has campaigned for greater and national action on climate change, particularly in the wake of the 2019-20 bushfires. 

Championing a more progressive set of energy and climate policies in the Liberal Party, he has argued that the centre of Australian politics needs to reclaim its voice in the political debate.

In 2020, he delivered the biggest renewable energy policy in Australia’s history. 

The Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap: a 20-year plan for NSW’s energy infrastructure that incentivises private investment in renewable energy while simultaneously reducing emissions and lowering electricity bills for the families and businesses of NSW.

He has shown that when politicians make a concerted effort to find common ground and put aside tribal and ideological differences, real and lasting reform can be achieved. 

In 2021, he was appointed Treasurer. 

He is focused on safely re-opening the economy and getting people back to work, and intends to invest in our economy and our people today to deliver a stronger, more prosperous, more sustainable future. tomorrow.

Guy Brent/

MD of The Woolworths Food Company and Metro

Guy Brent was appointed Managing Director, The Woolworths Food Company and Metro in August 2019. Prior to this, Guy was the Director of BWS since August 2014, and before that, was the General Manager of Pinnacle Drinks which he was responsible for setting up in July 2012.
 

Guy joined Woolworths Group in April 2011 after the acquisition of the Cellarmasters Group, where he was Chief Financial Officer from 2007 to 2011. Before that, Guy was a Commercial Director at Optus for two years after emigrating from the UK to Australia in 2005. Guy is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has a BSC from the University of Bristol in the UK.

video 

video 

Shane Fitzsimmons AFSM AO/

COMMISSIONER OF RESILIENCE NSW

Shane Fitzsimmons was appointed as the inaugural Commissioner for Resilience NSW and Deputy Secretary, Emergency Management with the Department of Premier and Cabinet from

1 May 2020.

​

He is currently the chair of the State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC), the State Recovery Committee (SRC), Board of Commissioners (BOC) and the National Emergency Medal Committee (NEMC). This appointment followed a distinguished career with the NSW Rural Fire Service of over 35 years, serving as both a volunteer and salaried member.

Professor Veena Sahajwalla/

2022 Australian of the Year Awards for New South Wales.

Professor Veena Sahajwalla is an internationally recognised materials scientist, engineer, and inventor revolutionising recycling science. She is renowned for pioneering the high temperature transformation of waste in the production of a new generation of ‘green materials’ at the UNSW Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT) Centre, where she is Founding Director. Professor Veena is the inventor of polymer injection technology, known as green steel, an eco-friendly process for using recycled tyres in steel production.

In 2018, Veena launched the world's first e-waste MICROfactorieTM and in 2019 she launched her plastics and Green Ceramics MICROfactoriesTM, a recycling technology breakthrough. Veena is the director of the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for ‘microrecycling’, a leading national research centre that works in collaboration with industry to ensure new recycling science is translated into real world environmental and economic benefits.

Professor Veena has also been appointed hub leader of the national NESP Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub. In 2021, Professor Veena featured in the ABC’s Australian Story and named the 

2022 NSW Australian of the Year.

video 

video 

Nasir Sobhani/

THE STREETS BARBER

Nasir Sobhani, also known as ‘The Streets’ Barber,’ has earned his affectionate title spending his time taking to Melbourne’s streets offering free haircuts and shaves to the homeless and less fortunate.

His inspirational story of compassion and generosity has received significant attention globally. Nasir was also one of the five people to be profiled as part of the Kenneth Cole Courageous Class Campaign in New York, celebrating individuals who have overcome obstacles in life to become inspiring

role models.

Simon Moss/

Co Founder Global Citizen

Simon Moss is a Co-Founder of Global Citizen, and is currently the Managing Director of Campaigns.

​

He's another Australian living in New York, has been campaigning on global issues for more than a decade, and writes and speaks regularly on the role of global citizens in ending extreme poverty.

video 

Manal al-Sharif/

Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech

In May 2011, the secret police arrested Manal at

two o’clock in the morning from her home and imprisoned her for the crime of “driving while female”. After international outcry, the king of Saudi Arabia issued her a pardon on the conditions of remaining silent. 

Manal continued campaigning against the ban on women driving and male guardianship in her country.  

The ban was lifted 3 months after publishing her best selling memoir “Daring to Drive”, making Saudi Arabia the last country on earth where women won this right.

For her activism, she was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world. 

Manal is a cyber security expert and the founder of the Ethical Technologists Society and the host of Tech for Evil podcast (Tech4Evil.com) that discusses the intersection between tech and human rights.

Named by Newsweek one of the world’s top ten digital revolutionaries and Forbe’s top 50 women

in tech.

Today, Manal is living under self-imposed exile

in Australia and calls Sydney her “little piece of heaven”. 

Manal tells a story of bravery on how to win women rights even when living in the most masculine society on earth.

Jack Berne/

A Fiver for a Farmer

Jack Berne isn’t your typical 13-year-old. He is the Founder of the charity A Fiver for a Farmer that he started when he was only 10 years old.  Jack's intent was to raise a whopping $20,000 to help farmers through the worst drought Australia's seen in centuries but his project went gangbusters and has already raised $1.8 million.  Now he's putting his "endless" energy towards a new project.  Most recently he has begun hosting a podcast called One Small Act. The podcast celebrates children from across the world who have started a movement with just 'one small act'.

Marcello Bonatto/

Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Re:Coded

Marcello is Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Re:Coded, where he leads strategy, impact and growth. Marcello’s deep curiosity about leadership and innovation in the social sector have led him to work with a variety of organizations, from government to social enterprises, with a focus on education.

He has also previously co-founded two social businesses working at the intersection of education, conflict, and technology.

Prior to Re:Coded, Marcello worked on human rights and peacebuilding programs in Myanmar, Bosnia, Colombia, and West Africa. Marcello is a 2021 eLab Workforce Fellow at Columbia University, where he received his Masters in International Affairs in 2015.

Stephen Johnston/

Rox De Luca/

Artist in Residence

Rox De Luca is an artist based in Bondi Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, working on unceded Gadigal land.

Her art practice converts found marine and industrial single-use plastics via jewellery-like processes in order to explore ideas of consumption and waste and our neglect of the environments around us.