Achol Madong
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Achol brings deep expertise in community engagement and development, built through years of working across metropolitan and regional WA with Indigenous communities, multicultural groups, and newly arrived migrants and refugees. She is recognised as a strategic connector who brings people, organisations, and systems together to co‑design programs that are culturally responsive, inclusive, and impactful. She excels at translating community needs into evidence‑informed programs, managing end‑to‑end delivery, and ensuring resources, partnerships, and governance structures are aligned to achieve measurable outcomes.

She also brings practical experience in policy development, contributing to frameworks and guidelines that strengthen service delivery, embed inclusive practice, and support long‑term community wellbeing. Her ability to analyse complex issues, engage diverse stakeholders, and shape policy positions ensures that community voices are reflected in organisational and sector‑wide decision‑making. Her commitment to collaboration, equity, and community‑led approaches continues to drive her success in building stronger, more connected communities.

Amrita Jathar
Location: Melbourne, Victoria

Amrita is the Co-founder and Lead and representative of Victoria Region pf the Hemant Govekar Foundation, named after her brother who drowned in Victoria in December 2017. The Foundation actively raises awareness of water safety through community awareness raising events and offer learn to swim sponsorship for adults who want to learn to swim. Through the Foundation, Amrita wants to ensure there the drowning number go down each year and make sure every immigrant coming to Australia is aware of Water Safety, Rip currents when around Australian waterways.

Edwin Lubari
Location: Brisbane, Queensland

Edwin is actively connected to multicultural, refugee, and migrant communities across southeast Queensland through his role with the Queensland African Communities Council, professional public health role overseeing community health promotion initiatives and actively involved in multicultural leaders’ forums, and engagement.

As a father of two children who did not grow up with swimming skills, Edwin understands social and mental wellbeing participation for his community as well as fear and risks associated with water. Experiences within his community, including drowning incidents, have reinforced his commitment to raising awareness, improving water safety knowledge, and preventing avoidable tragedies. Edwin is a former Executive Member of the Queensland African Communities Council; Current Director, Village Support Limited Board; Advanced Health Equity Officer, Metro South Health.

Ennia Jones
Location: Newcastle, New South Wales

Ennia Jones is the Founder and Executive Director of A Splash of Colour Swimming, a not-for-profit organisation supporting adults from multicultural, migrant and refugee backgrounds to access culturally safe swimming and water safety programs. Through her work, she collaborates with community organisations, aquatic providers, local councils and settlement services across Australia to reduce barriers to participation and promote inclusion in aquatic environments.

Ennia has seen firsthand how barriers such as cost, confidence, language, culture and previous experiences can prevent people from accessing swimming and water safety opportunities. She believes water safety is not only a life-saving skill, but also a pathway to health, confidence, belonging and participation in Australian community life. Ennia is a passionate advocate for inclusion and drowning prevention and regularly contributes to national discussions on equity, participation and community engagement in aquatic environments. Her work has been recognised through several community leadership awards, and she is committed to ensuring that all Australians have the opportunity to develop lifelong water safety skills.

Feroz Sattar
Location: Sydney, New South Wales

Feroz Sattar is an aquatic safety leader with extensive experience designing and delivering inclusive swimming and water safety initiatives across New South Wales.

As co-founder of Swim Brothers, Her Swim School, he has led award-winning programs that improve access to swimming and water safety for culturally and linguistically diverse communities, women, people with disability, refugees, and other underrepresented groups. He is recognised for building strong partnerships between  the aquatic industry, Surf Life Saving, and community organisations to remove barriers to participation and create sustainable pathways into lifelong aquatic participation and water safety. Alongside his community leadership, Feroz has significant experience in policy, strategy, and program development. He has worked across complex social policy, regulation, stakeholder engagement, and service design, providing evidence-informed advice that improve access, equity, and community outcomes.

Harpreet S Kandra
Location: Melbourne, Victoria

Dr Harpreet Singh Kandra combines personal insight, academic expertise, community leadership, and collaborative partnerships to prevent drownings by empowering adult migrants with swimming skills and fostering community-led water safety cultures.

Harpreet is the founder of the “Safely Engaging With Water” swimming and water‑safety initiative – developed in partnership with Aligned Leisure and supported by Life Saving Victoria. The program aims at teaching adult migrants essential swimming skills and safety knowledge.

As a Senior Lecturer in Water at Federation University, he not only developed this program but also led by example—actively participating and completing it himself—to demonstrate personal commitment and resilience, particularly in light of a near-drowning experience he had as a child. He has encouraged participants to become community water-safety role models, reinforcing the program’s impact.

Hsuan-Wen Chen (Shen)
Location: Orange, New South Wales

Shen arrived in Australia from Taiwan in late 2019 and began building a new life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through support from Orange City Council’s multicultural and migrant services, she became more connected to her local community and eventually progressed from a learn-to-swim student to a qualified Learn to Swim Instructor. Through her own journey, Shen learned that knowing how to swim and understanding water safety are not the same. As both a former student and now an instructor, she has seen how a lack of information can lead multicultural families to feel uncertain around water, rather than confident enjoying it safely. Today, Shen works as a Learn to Swim Instructor at Orange Aquatic Centre and volunteers with multicultural community programs. She enjoys sharing what she has learned and supporting newcomers as they build confidence, connection and a sense of belonging in their new community.

Jeni Scott
Location: Brisbane, Queensland

Jeni is the Program manager, Hurricane Stars Club Inc in Brisbane.  Jeni has taught adults from the multicultural community to swim and exercise in water for the past 10 years and has been active in running programs for the multicultural community for the past 30 years. Jeni developed a passion for teaching people from multicultural backgrounds to swim after seeing through her community work, how many people wanted to learn but had never had the opportunity. Many people I worked with felt there were significant barriers preventing them from learning, and she wanted to help them overcome those challenges so they could gain this important life skill.

Lian Low
Location: Melbourne, Victoria

Lian Low (they/she) is an educator, writer and emerging researcher in drowning prevention. They have worked across multicultural and LGBTIQ+ communities, community health, the arts and higher education. After learning to swim as an adult, they developed confidence in open water through swimming with marine care snorkelling groups. In their 40s, they gained a swim teacher license and pursued studies in drowning prevention research. They are interested in how intersectional discrimination shapes water safety barriers, drawing on their experiences as a first-generation migrant from a culturally and racially marginalised background and identifies as LGBTIQ+. They find joy in water and marine life, and advocates for lifelong learning. They are a member of Jawbone Marine Sanctuary Care Group and the Australian GLBTIQ+ Multicultural Council (AGMC).

Rahima Rizai
Location: Melbourne, Victoria

Rahima is a Community Leader/advocate and former candidate for her local council supporting diverse communities and strengthening social inclusion. Having arrived in Australia as a refugee, she brings lived experience and a deep understanding of the challenges faced by migrants and refugees building a new life in Australia. Through her journey, she has turned her experiences into a commitment to serve others. She has actively volunteered with SMRC, VAAN, SECL and the Dandenong Evening View Club, working closely with families, women, and community members from multicultural backgrounds to help them access support services and feel connected within the community.

Samira Abdullahi
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Samira Abdullahi arrived in Australia in 2022 from Somalia and is based in Melbourne. She works at Ascot Vale Leisure Centre. Through her role, she engages closely with families, women, and young people from multicultural and migrant backgrounds.

Water safety matters to Samira because she has seen how newly arrived communities often face barriers such as cost, limited information, and unfamiliarity with Australian water environments. She is passionate about supporting culturally safe, inclusive programs that help communities build confidence, skills, and safety around water.

Sian Edwards
Location: Kimberley region, Northern Western Australia

Sian has worked in the aquatic and recreation industry for more than 20 years. Through her role with a local government in the Kimberley region, she works closely with Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities, delivering water safety, swimming and recreation programs for people of all ages and abilities. As an emerging Aboriginal elder within her community, Sian is passionate about creating opportunities that bring people together and improve community wellbeing. She joined the National Advisory Committee because she believes everyone, regardless of where they live or their background, should have the opportunity to be safe and confident around water.

Sunny Fung
Location: Sydney, New South Wales

Sunny has worked extensively in the aquatic, sport and recreation sector and is passionate about creating inclusive opportunities for people from diverse cultural backgrounds to participate safely and confidently in aquatic environments. Through his leadership roles in aquatics education and community programs, he has supported engagement with multicultural communities and helped promote access to swimming and water safety education.

Water safety is more than teaching people how to swim - it is about saving lives and creating equitable access to essential life skills. Through his work with Royal Life Saving and across the aquatic industry, he has gained a deep understanding of the advocacy, research, education, and community engagement that underpin drowning prevention efforts. Sunny is passionate about ensuring multicultural, migrant, refugee, and international student communities have the knowledge, opportunities, and support they need to stay safe around water.

Sunny works as the Aquatic Programs Manager at Macquarie University Sport and Aquatic Centre and has one child.

Sunaina Jaswal
Location: Gold Coast, Queensland

Sunaina has spent over a decade leading community-focused initiatives across state and national sporting and community organisations. Her expertise spans enterprise-wide strategy, operational planning and stakeholder engagement, with a focus on strengthening participation, equitable access and good governance. She currently works at Surf Life Saving Queensland as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager, collaborating closely with key stakeholders to identify opportunities to strengthen partnerships, improve the cultural accessibility of water safety messaging and increase visibility through co-design with multicultural communities.

An experienced strategic leader, Sunaina was awarded the 2025 Deakin University Young Alumni of the Year Award for her contributions to community inclusion and social impact. Having completed her Bronze Medallion Award herself, she brings lived experience of the importance of ensuring communities have access to information, opportunities and support to engage confidently in water safety and lifesaving. Sunaina is seeking to contribute to the National Advisory Group because she values diverse perspectives and believes effective advice is strengthened by lived experience, collaboration, inclusive leadership and evidence-informed decision-making.

Yusra Metwally
Location: Sydney, New South Wales

Yusra Metwally is a solicitor who is passionate about creatively designing programs and policy that achieves social impact while bridging the gap between policy and practice. She is the founder of Swim Sisters, a not-for-profit grassroots initiative which aims to improve water safety skills in culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Western Sydney, with a focus on developing ocean swim skills. With a policy background, Yusra is dedicated to amplifying marginalised voices and bridging the gap between policy and practice. As a writer and presenter, Yusra writes about the obstacles overcome in her own swimming journey and lessons to be applied for multicultural communities. Yusra has been featured in Saltwater Cure, The Memory Pool and The Women’s Pool.