SPEAKERS 

Jo Wood 

Jo Wood joined the ACT Public Service in 2016, after significant experience in the Australian Public Service across employment, economic strategy, and Indigenous policy and program delivery areas and participation in the 2012 ANZSOG Executive Fellows Program.

In her last role in the Commonwealth as Group Manager at the Department of Employment, Jo had lead policy responsibility for jobs growth, women’s workforce participation, and social impact investment, while also leading the Department’s innovation framework and behavioural economics capability. Jo has also shown a career strength in building relationships and partnerships in sensitive environments across the private sector, all levels of governments, service providers, the academic sector and communities.

This experience is invaluable in her role as Coordinator-General, Family Safety with the Act Government. As Coordinator-General Jo leads the whole of government effort to improve the ACT's response to family and domestic violence and sexual assault in partnership with the community. Jo works closely with colleagues across government and the community sector in the ACT to ensure reforms are grounded in the direct experience of people with lived experience of domestic and family violence and sexual assault and the frontline services working to support them.

Saba Awan

Saba is a Canberra-based community advocate primarily focused on women of colour's equality, safety and representation. Born in Pakistan and raised in Darwin, Saba graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of International Relations (Honours) and is currently undertaking a Master of Islamic Studies. Saba has worked closely with Canberra's Muslim and multicultural communities for nearly 15 years in a number of volunteer capacities. She is currently the Secretary of the Canberra Multicultural Women’s Forum and an alumna of the Australia-Indonesia Muslim Exchange Program.

Fahmida Suma  

Fahmida Suma is a public servant, a volunteer, an activist, an artist, and a survivor. She is a passionate humanitarian and devotes a significant portion of her time working with and for people who are vulnerable or disadvantaged. Fahmida has spent her career, thus far, in roles across Federal and Territory Government agencies, with a significant amount of time spent in agencies that support Australians in disadvantaged socio-economic circumstances.

Fahmida has always been driven to help those who are in need and has worked with a lot of charitable and not-for-profit organisations that support some of the most vulnerable people of our community. She avidly volunteers for the Domestic Violence Crisis Service, helping with events aimed at raising awareness for domestic and family violence. She has also worked with, Banchte Shekha, a not-for-profit in Bangladesh working with disadvantaged women and children where she undertook a current-state analysis and assisted in the development of a 3-year strategic plan. Fahmida is currently intermittently working in Bangladesh to set up a charitable organisation for supporting vulnerable youth and elderly people.

Fahmida has been a victim of domestic violence for many years and has survived ordeals many women from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds experience yet seldom speak about. She feels strongly about the need to start a dialogue within and outside the CALD communities to raise awareness of what is a multifaceted and tremendously complex problem. Fahmida has shared her story in many forums and with other victims and survivors to pave a path towards change.

This event is held by the Unveiled Institute in collaboration with the ANU Gender Institute.