Pearls and Irritations guest Zeyi Yang
Zeyi Yang is a journalist and podcaster based in New York City. Currently, Zeyi works as a China-focused reporter for MIT Technology Review.
He’s always keeping an eye out for stories on technology, LGBTIQ issues, immigration, and everything related to China. In his spare time, Zeyi co-founded a Mandarin podcast 无所不JI that tells LGBTIQ stories in China. One of the episodes has been viewed over 300,000 times on Weibo.
Myles McGregor-Lowndes
Emeritus Professor Myles McGregor-Lowndes OAM is the former Director of The Australian Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) at the Queensland University of Technology. He has written extensively about nonprofit tax and regulation, nonprofit legal entities, government grants and standard charts of accounts as a means of reducing the compliance burden. He is a practising lawyer in Queensland.
Amelie Szczecinski
Amelie is in her fourth year of a double degree in Law and Arts (International Relations). She credits her studies and experiences with shaping her passion for the intersection between global governance, international cooperation, and the legal space. Such experiences have included volunteering at the WA Justice Association where she researched and published a report on criminal law reform, interning at the Perth US Consulate, and studying European Union Law at Ghent University in Belgium. She is particularly interested in addressing online radicalisation and extremism both globally and within Australia, with a focus on how internet algorithms facilitate this through filter bubbles and echo chambers, especially as it affects marginalised individuals. She is excited to attend the UN General Assembly Legal to engage with global experts and deepen her understanding of the nuances of global issues and international law, with the aim of making a difference in this space.Amelie is attending the United Nations General Assembly’s Sixth Committee as part of the Global Voices Policy Fellowship. Her Fellowship is made possible by Global Voices’ partner, Curtin University.
Amy Haywood
Amy Haywood is the Deputy Program Director of Grattan Institute’s Education Program. A former secondary English teacher, she brings classroom experience to her education policy research. Prior to Grattan, Amy managed schooling projects at Deloitte Access Economics, focusing on system design, workforce reform, and teaching practice. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Teaching from the University of Melbourne and is a registered teacher.
David McKewan
David McEwen is a Director at Adaptive Capability, providing climate risk and net-zero strategy, program and project management. He works with businesses, community leaders, policy makers, designers and engineers to deliver impactful change. His book, Navigating the Adaptive Economy, was released in 2016.
Thomas Pepinsky
Thomas Pepinsky is Walter F LaFeber Professor of Government and Public Policy at Cornell University and Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution.
Christian Downie
Christian Downie is a Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University, where he is the Director of the Governing Energy Transition (GET) Lab. Christian has worked as an advisor to several Australian Government agencies, most recently as a Principal Advisor on secondment in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, and before that in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Christian holds a PhD in international relations and political science from the Australian National University, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in economics.
Jaron Sutton
Jaron Sutton is an Arabic language scholar and writer with an interest in Australian politics and media, climate change, the Arab world, and history. He recently returned to Australia from Egypt where he was an Arabic language fellow at the American University in Cairo. He has worked for much of his career in the higher education sector in Victoria. He holds a Master of International Relations from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics from La Trobe University. He has lived in both Syria and Egypt.
Azmat Ali
Azmat Ali is a student at the School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Dick Whitaker
Dick Whitaker is a widely published author and lecturer in the fields of meteorology and Australian history.
Farhan Rehman
Farhan Rehman is a business leader and a passionate Australian lawyer. Farhan is the founding member and Principal at the Rehman Sheriff Group. The Rehman Sheriff Group (RSG) is one of Australia’s leading immigration law firms which has a focus on corporate immigration and assisting businesses to bring the right skills to Australia. RSG pioneered the idea of “lawyers who find skills in the best interest for its clients”. Farhan is currently a Director at ARR/Rehman Holdings which is a group that invests in hospitality, technology and aviation and brand names under this group include Habibi Chicken, Prolific and Riv Air. Farhan is currently the Director of Operations at the Salaam Institute and an executive director at the Komigen Inc which is an organisation that supports youth in Regional New South Wales (Riverina). Farhan holds a combined Bachelor of Law and Arts from Victoria University and was recognised by Victoria University as an alumni who is a “law unto himself”. As the Principal of RSG, Farhan supports Victoria University students through internships/clerkships at the firm.www.rsglaw.com.au
Guanie Lim
Guanie Lim is an Assistant Professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Japan.
Adrian Beaumont
Adrian Beaumont Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne
Michael Fox
Michael Fox AM is a Sydney architect and human rights advocate – with over 40 years of experience in Australia and internationally. As RI Global President from 2004 to 2008 he was extensively involved in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and has travelled extensively in the Middle East and other regions.
Harry Armstrong-Thawley
Harry is a PhD candidate at the Australian National University researching optimisation of electricity systems. His focus is on identification and characterisation of near-optimal systems. Near-optimal systems be easier to achieve and more realistic than the mathematically optimal solution.
He graduated from the Australian National University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Engineering, Research and Development and first-class honours majoring in renewable energy systems.
Christopher Tennant
Professor Christopher Tennant Department of Psychological Medicine
MD [UNSW], MPH [Harvard], MRC Psych, FRANZCP
Chandra Muzaffar
Chandra Muzaffar, Former Professor of Global Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang; President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST)
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is a Convenor of Saving Humanity and Planet Earth (SHAPE) and the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST). Chandra was Professor and Director of the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue, University of Malaya (1997-1999) and Professor of Global Studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia (2007-2012).
Tasneem Chopra
As CEO of The Culture Lens, Tasneem Chopra OAM highlights issues of equity and belonging through an intersectional lens within leadership of government, corporate, arts and community sectors.She assists clients communicate, work with and lead across different cultures for greater impact, dissecting the breadth of inclusion. Tasneem has developed diversity, equity and inclusion policies, managed projects, curated exhibitions, facilitated leadership program and engagement strategies for a breadth of clients for two decades.For her efforts she was appointed the inaugural Ambassador for Women of Colour, Australia was an Anti-Racism Champion for the Australian Human Rights Commission and awarded an OAM.
Tiarna Williams
Tiarna is a Awabakal-Dharawal woman from Wollongong, NSW who has a deep commitment to justice, equity and driving positive change, particularly for marginalised First Nations communities. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of International Studies at the University of Wollongong and has international exchange experience in the United Kingdom and Singapore. Tiarna’s commitment to advancing human rights is reflected in her roles with the Evonne Goolagong Foundation, the School of Law and Outreach and Future Students Division at UOW and currently at the National Justice Project. She also serves on advisory groups with Tennis NSW and the U.S. Consulate, where she continues to advocate for the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives. With a future goal of working for the United Nations in human rights law and humanitarian aid, she strives to give voices to the voiceless and promote Indigenous justice both here in Australia and abroad. Tiarna is travelling to the United Nations General Assembly’s Sixth Committee as part of the Global Voices Policy Fellowship. Her Fellowship is supported by the Menzie’s Leadership Foundation.
Steve Posselt
Steve Posselt FIE Aust Immediate past chair of Sustainable Engineering Society, Civil Engineer specialising in Climate Change and how it relates to Engineering Risk, Sustainability Educator, adventurer and author of two books furthering education on climate change.
Madison Cartwright
Madison Cartwright is a Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy and the convenor for the Politics and International Relations undergraduate programme at UNSW. My research interests include the political economy of intellectual property, trade, and the economic-security nexus.
Robert Hinkley
Robert C. Hinkley is a former corporate partner in one of America’s largest law firms and the author of “Time to Change Corporations: Closing the Citizenship Gap.” He was also the principal advisor to the US Department of Justice in its investigation of the fraud in the residential mortgage backed securities that caused the global financial crisis of 2008. He now resides in Berry, NSW.