Creating Safe Spaces for Staff in Troubling Times

With 25 years’ experience in community services, governance and social justice, Ro Allen has a deep commitment to equality and a broad experience in strategic advocacy. As Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner, Ro works to uphold Victorians’ rights, promote accountability and to build a fairer, safer and more inclusive community. Prior to joining the Commission, Ro served as the inaugural Victorian Commissioner for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Gender Diverse, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) Communities. Ro has held a wide range of leadership roles, including chairing the Victorian Adult, Community and Further Education Board and the Youth Affairs Council Victoria, and serving as a Commissioner on the Victorian Skills Commission. As founding CEO of UnitingCare in Shepparton, Ro worked at the grassroots level to develop and support Aboriginal self-determination, refugee settlement, and family violence and mental health initiatives, as well as emergency disaster responses. Ro previously sat on the Hume Regional Development Australia Committee and chaired Communities for Children in Shepparton. Most recently, they served as a Director on the GOTAFE Board for North East Victoria.

Maggie identifies as having a lived experience and as being indigenous to Aotearoa and comes from Ngati Whatua and Ngapuhi tribes.  Maggie is currently the Commissioner, Consumers at Victoria’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. Maggie has worked in homelessness, youth, sexual assault and young women’s services as well as mental health most recently having been the CEO of VMIAC – Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council and the Peak Consumer organisation in Victoria.  Maggie is a staunch believer in Human Rights and has a commitment to raise the voice of Mental Health Consumers and Carers in the mental health system.  Maggie believes that the voice of first nations and multicultural communities should be championed as much as possible and has recently been involved in a project that addresses shared information in a variety of community languages.  Working in codesign the Mental Health Complaints Commission worked with Polaron to hear the voice of communities in what they want to know about the complaints processes in languages that are accessible and clear.

Rana Hussain, a pioneer in the realms of inclusion and belonging, has charted an extraordinary journey through the landscape of sports administration, community engagement, Social Work and the media. With a career marked by a relentless pursuit of positive change and a deep commitment to fostering inclusivity, Rana stands as a powerful advocate for social integration and reduction of discrimination.

As a Social Worker and in her various Inclusion & Diversity roles across the sports sector (Richmond FC, Cricket Australia, Collingwood FC, Champions of Change to name a few) Rana spearheaded groundbreaking programs, advocating for marginalised and vulnerable communities. Her pioneering initiatives shaped inclusive policies, educational programs, and effective storytelling approaches.

Rana’s experience in high-performance and elite sports revealed a vital truth: good team culture and inclusive leadership are the cornerstones of achieving excellence, whether on the field or in the boardroom. She firmly believes that cohesive and inclusive teams, guided by leaders valuing diversity and fostering a sense of belonging, are the ones that ultimately deliver peak performance.