Our Team and Executive Council
DIRECTOR
Ms Melanie Morrison is a human rights advocate who leads the Foundation’s governance, strategic, stakeholder outreach and communications programs. With a Master’s Degree from the University of Sydney, she has led communications and research programs across the corporate, non-profit, government and university sectors. She is an award-winning journalist, researcher and producer for her work in Australia and overseas.
Executive Council
CO-CHAIRS
Ms Joy Kyriacou has served on the Sydney Peace Foundation Council since 2019 and was appointed Co-Chair in May 2023. She is a Director at the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW, running social justice & anti-poverty programs across the state. Prior to this she has worked for Oxfam Australia, the Australian Council for International Development, and as a policy advisor to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Mr Felix Eldridge joined the Sydney Peace Foundation Council in 2021 and was appointed co-chair in 2023. He has expertise in strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and risk management. Committed to social justice and internationalism, he has worked as an adviser to leaders in the public and private sector, not-for-profits, and at the United Nations.
DEPUTY CHAIR
Mr Stephen Lancken is a globally respected mediator, trainer, coach, and dispute resolution commentator and holds a Master’s in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Sydney. He’s also a practicing lawyer, having served on numerous tribunals in NSW and the ACT. His international experience includes work with Mediators Beyond Borders in Liberia and Nepal, as well as volunteering for AusAID and Community First Development.
COUNCIL MEMBERS – Ex-Officio
Professor Lisa Adkins is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at The University of Sydney. Her home discipline is Sociology.
Ms Alexia Nicholson is the manager of Philanthropy Acceptance and Internal Foundations at The University of Sydney. A committed and thoughtful Customer Focused Manager with significant experience managing projects, processes, people and systems within the higher education sector.
Professor Matt McGuire is Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at The University of Sydney. He is a Literary Studies scholar and an internationally published novelist.
Executive Council
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Dr Susan Banki leads the Master of Social Justice program at the University of Sydney. She studies the political, institutional, and social contexts that explain the roots of and solutions to human rights violations and social justice abuses. She is interested in the ways that questions of sovereignty, transnationalism, and citizenship have shaped our responses to conflict and injustice.
Ms Susan Biggs has dedicated her career to work and gender issues since 1986, co-founding and leading Families At Work for 12 years. Since then, she has held leadership roles across a range of organisations, including Australia’s Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency, NSW Premiers Council for Women, and Adara. She served as Director of the Sydney Peace Foundation from 2019 to 2023 and remains on its Council since 2023.
Ms Bridget Cama is a Wiradjuri and Indigenous Fijian woman and Co-Chair of the Uluru Youth Dialogue, who led the youth movement in support of the Voice referendum and continue to advocate for the reforms of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – Voice, Treaty and Truth. She has been working with the Uluru Dialogue under Professor Megan Davis and Pat Anderson AO since March 2019, is an Associate of the Indigenous Law Centre based at UNSW Law and Justice and Legal Research Officer to the Pro Vice Chancellor Society at UNSW.
Mr Mohamed Duar is a fundraiser, campaigner and government relations advisor with over 20 years’ experience and is currently head of philanthropy and a spokesperson at Amnesty International Australia. With a Master’s Degree from the University of Sydney, his human rights work spans roles at the Asylum Seekers’ Centre, GetUp!, and Grata Fund. He has extensive experience in managing multinational human rights and social justice programs.
Dr Jane Fulton, our Philanthropy Director at the Sydney Peace Foundation, spearheads our fundraising efforts. Following the completion of her PhD on environmental conflict at Sydney University, she worked with the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, the Foundation’s birthplace, before joining the UNDP in New York. She is dedicated to fostering resilient and inclusive communities, with a keen focus on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ms Patricia Garcia AO is a respected humanitarian, having lived and worked in war zones for over 20 years. She has managed and coordinated humanitarian relief and recovery programs to assist refugees and IDPs in the world’s longest running conflicts, including Afghanistan, Sudan and Burma. Patricia continues to be actively engaged in humanitarian advocacy, peacebuilding and human rights with a focus on women’s peace and security, conflict prevention and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda.
Alistair Gee is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Armed Violence Reduction. He has held leadership roles in a range of peace and justice organisations, including Act for Peace, the Institute for Economics and Peace and the Make Poverty History coalition. He has also served as Chair of the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, The Border Consortium (assisting over 100,000 refugees from Myanmar) and several other international justice organisations.
Mr Ahmet Orhan Polat is the current Executive Director of the Affinity Intercultural Foundation. Affinity strives to create and sustain enduring relationships with different groups of people through engaging in intercultural and interfaith dialogue. In addition to serving as a Council Member for the Sydney Peace Foundation, he is also an Advisory Board Member for the Study of the Economic Impact of Religion on Society (SEIROS).
Mr Ken Woo was a financial services partner at PwC Australia for 35 years. He is a dedicated member of the Sydney Peace Foundation and has served on the NSW Police Commissioner’s Multicultural Advisory Council. Additionally, Ken sat on the Board of Directors for the Diplomacy Training Program, an independent NGO enhancing the capabilities of human rights defenders and community advocates in the Asia-Pacific region.
