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Meet Our Board
TERRY KENNEDY
CHAIR
Terry Kennedy has supported establishing companies and charities through the consulting business he established 25 years ago. He has managed and designed significant Commonwealth and State government projects in employment, education, training, Indigenous business/community development and disability employment and inclusion.
He was the Commonwealth’s lead in transitioning workers from the auto industry across Australia during the closure of auto manufacturing and supply chains 2014-2018, which included developing ongoing transition policies and programs based on learnings from the auto industry closure process. He is currently involved in innovative agribusiness development with First Nations landholders and continues to design innovative ways to improve employment outcomes for disadvantaged job seekers.
MABIOR ATER MORWELL
DEPUTY CHAIR
Mabior is the founder and visionary behind Atervier, a clothing brand and e-commerce store. He has dedicated himself to empowering marginalised communities by fostering creativity and design with a strong background in collaborating with African Australians and new & emerging communities.
Through ongoing work and community links, Mabior has extensive experience working with the African-Australian and CALD communities. As an African born in Australia, Mabior understands the importance of diversity and bridging cultural gaps. Mabior was appointed as a cultural ambassador and Youth liaison at Maribyrnong College.
Mabior holds multiple qualifications in Commerce, property services and leadership and management. Combined with cultural expertise, Mabior adds value to the kowanj board, creates impact and brings outcome-based solutions.
FLORENCE BASANYUKIRA
SECRETARY
Florence holds a degree in Industrial and Fine Arts from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and a diploma in Human Resource Management and Public Administration from institutions in Uganda.
Before migrating to Australia, Florence served as the Academic Registrar at the Makerere Institute for Social Development (MISD), a prestigious tertiary institution in Kampala, and also acted as a community leader.
Florence has over 10 years of experience in the health sector, supporting individuals with both mental and physical disabilities.
She is a co-founder of Meadows Care Services, an agency in Victoria that offers comprehensive support to people with disabilities. Her dedication to serving her community spans both Australia and Africa, with a keen focus on the needs of new and emerging CALD communities. As a migrant woman, Florence is passionate about working with organisations that support migrant communities.
Advisory Board
DR MIMMI WATTS
ADVISOR
Dr Mimmi has a diverse range of skills and interests particularly in International Health; Health of Minority and Disadvantaged Women; Gender inequalities, Advocacy, Health policy; Research and Curriculum Development.
Dr Watts presented at many national and international conferences; has served on and continues to serve on several committees and Boards; is Patron for the Womens Federation for World Peace.
ANDREW SHEA
ADVISOR
Over close to 20 years, Andrew has held Senior Management and Executive level positions across a range of post-secondary education sector providers delivering across diverse cohorts, including domestic students, onshore to international students and offshore to international students.
Andrew has personally delivered Nationally Recognised Qualifications to over 3000 students, and as Chief Executive Officer, the Registered Training Organisation he has led has won at the Victorian Training Awards on 5 occasions, at the Australian Training Awards in 2020, and has been a finalist across Victoria and New South Wales a further 4 times.
Andrew was recognised as the winner of the Professional Services (incl. Education) Executive of the Year category at the CEO awards in both 2020 and 2021, and in 2023 received the lifetime achievement award at the Institute for Learning & Performance Awards. Andrew is a Non-executive Director with the Independent Tertiary Education Council of Australia (ITECA) and Chairs the ITECA Board sub-committee: Governance, Audit and Risk, as well as the National Steering Committee and the Victorian Committee.
Board Members
ANDREW CUNNINGHAM
MEMBER
A consultant specialising in internationalisation and technical support for community and refugee languages. Andrew has a long history of working with digital diversity initiatives, with a focus on working with refugee communities to develop language technology solutions for their languages.
He is a specialist in government digital publishing in community languages and has worked in electronic multicultural library services within public libraries and state libraries.
MORWEL MORWEL
ELDER
Morwel Morwel is a respected South Sudanese community leader and elder across Australia and overseas. He is renowned for teaching the Dinka language and Culture. (Dinka, a language spoken by the majority of South Sudanese). He came to Australia over 20 years ago as a refugee. Morwel is an author, artist and poet. As a community leader, he worked with the Australian government to migrate many South Sudanese to Australia from the refugee camps in Kenya and Egypt.
In the early 2000s, Morwell introduced the Dinka Language into the Australian education system. During the 2010s, while teaching at the South Australian school of languages, he introduced the Dinka language at the secondary school level. Throughout his years in Australia, he has worked with groups from the African, Middle Eastern and Australian communities to promote cultural events, create curriculums and help the youth with information about many aspects of their Culture and traditions. He has played a significant role in mentoring the African community living in Australia. As a community elder, he sets up campaigns to help develop and connect people to their Culture and traditions.
INDI NANRA
MEMBER
Commercial Infrastructure Specialist with over 30 years of experience in infrastructure projects with a current focus on renewable energy projects where he was involved in transacting Commercial and Contract activities. Indi’s experience in these projects encompasses the development of commercial strategies, negotiations, stakeholder management, commercial risk identification and mitigation, and procurement.
He has a passion for assisting rural and underprivileged communities in ensuring improved quality of living and a safe environment through training and education, shelter, clean water, sanitation and electricity, such initiatives being funded by charitable donors. He is constantly looking for low-cost innovative technologies that can serve these communities effectively. He has previously been part of various ‘shelter programs.’ initiatives in South Africa, the Philippines and Pakistan involving funding by multi-lateral agencies such as the World Bank.
ASHOUP ATAR
FOUNDER | CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Ash is a multiple award-winning CEO, Founder, and renowned community leader with more than 15 years of experience across employment, education, youth development, and community-led initiatives in Australia and internationally. As a former refugee, she brings lived experience and deep cultural insight to her work, championing inclusive, culturally responsive approaches that support Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD), refugee, and migrant communities to overcome systemic barriers and achieve long-term social and economic participation. Her leadership spans the design and delivery of employment pathways, justice-informed reintegration programs, workforce development initiatives, and community capacity-building projects, delivered in partnership with government, industry, and community stakeholders.
Ash holds a Bachelor of Community Development and Human Rights, and qualifications in a Training and Assessment, Integral Business Challenge and Information Systems, underpinning her strong capability in program development, curriculum and training package contextualisation, organisational policy and procedures development, and governance. Widely recognised for her impact, Ash is a multiple award recipient, including being named among the Top 100 Women, acknowledging her contribution to social change and the construction sector. She continues to lead as a champion of change, bridging policy, practice, and community voice to create sustainable outcomes for individuals, families, and communities.