My family were refugees who settled in Bell Post Hill, Geelong, seeking the opportunities and security that Australia promised. I was raised in rural Australia very much an outdoor free range child, and educated in a public school. I know what it is like to grow up outside the major cities, where opportunities can feel further away and services harder to access. I made my way through public education, TAFE and university because people invested in the idea that every child deserves a fair chance.

For more than twenty years, I have worked to create opportunities for people whose voices are too often overlooked. I have worked across more than twenty countries in humanitarian emergencies, development programs fighting poverty and conflict-affected regions. I have held senior leadership roles with the United Nations, the World Bank and the private sector. I have led major organisations, including the Centre for Sustainability, the Cotton On Group's sustainability department, and the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival, one of Victoria's largest arts events.

Today, I serve as CEO of the Centre for Sustainability, sit on the International Council for the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures, and lead work recognised by CSIRO and Google through the Top 30 National AI Innovators program.

I have written eight books, contributed to leading academic and international publications including The Lancet, and regularly write on issues of public interest and accountability. I hold a Master's degree in International Relations from the University of Cambridge and am completing a PhD at the University of Melbourne focused on improving employment opportunities for young autistic Australians.

Along the way, I have been honoured with peace, leadership and community awards. But the recognition I value most is knowing that the work has improved people's lives.

I am not running because I want a political career.

I am running because I believe Western Victoria deserves representatives who understand our communities, who are prepared to listen, and who will put people ahead of parties, lobbyists and political games.

For too long, decisions have been made for communities like ours, not with them. Too many people feel unheard, overlooked and taken for granted.

Politics can be honest. It can be evidence-based. It can be compassionate. It can put communities before vested interests and future generations before short-term politics.

I have spent my career fighting for fairness, opportunity and human dignity. Now I want to bring that experience home and put it to work for the people of Western Victoria.