Victoria - People of Australia Ambassadors
Mr Harry O’Brien
Mr Harry O’Brien plays for Collingwood Football Club and is an Ambassador for the AFL Multicultural Program as well as an Ambassador for the Burnett Institute. Mr O’Brien arrived in Australia from Brazil at the age of three, and uses his personal experiences and role in the AFL Multicultural Program to go the extra mile to build acceptance and promote the unifying message of his sport. Both on and off the field Mr O’Brien embodies the AFL's multicultural theme of many cultures, one game and is an outstanding role model and leader who promotes inclusion and participation.
Mrs Elleni Bereded-Samuel
Mrs Elleni Bereded-Samuel has focused her life’s work strengthening education, training and employment for culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia. Mrs Bereded-Samuel was appointed a Director of the SBS for five years from 2009. She is also a Director of the Western Health and chair of the Cultural Diversity and Community Advisory Committee. Currently, Mrs Bereded-Samuel works for Victoria University as a Community Engagement Advisor and Coordinator.
Mr Deepak Vinayak JP
Mr Deepak Vinayak was born in India and has a strong philosophy of non-violence and respect for other religions. Mr Vinayak studied civil engineering in India before making the move to embrace his new home, Australia, in 1996. Mr Vinayak is passionate about helping communities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and simply feels privileged to serve community and country and hopes to change people's lives to make this world a better place to live.
Ms Melissa Barbieri
As Captain of the Australian Women’s National Soccer Team the ‘Westfield Matildas’ Ms Melissa Barbieri knows what it takes to led a successful team and bring out the best in everyone. Ms Barbieri builds on this knowledge as a member of the Captains Forum, conducted under the auspices of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, to develop national responses to significant issues facing Australian sport and the community more broadly and to create opportunities for the promotion of diversity of gender and ethnicity in the community. Of Italian heritage, Ms Barbieri also understands the challenges many people experience when moving to Australia and sees sports as one way to become a part of the Australian team.
Mrs Jennifer Barrera
Mrs Jennifer Barrera is the CEO of the Wyndham Community & Education Centre, a community-based organisation in Werribee. Mrs Barrera is a co-founder and Chair of the Wyndham Humanitarian Network and Wyndham Interfaith Network. She has worked extensively with migrant and refugee communities for over 30 years. In 2009, she received a Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence and an Above and Beyond Award for services within the local community.
Ms Marion Lau OAM, JP
Ms Marion Lau OAM JP, who arrived in Melbourne from Malaysia in 1969, strongly promotes multiculturalism and social cohesion and advocates for the principles of access and equity, social justice, and their application to migrants, especially women and children, and the aged from non-English speaking backgrounds. Ms Lau participates actively in a number of community and other not-for-profit organisations, both within the Chinese community as well as the Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Victoria. Ms Lau is a Director of her own Management Consultancy company and specialises in human resources management, aged care and small business mentoring.
Mr Chap Chow
Mr Chap Chow is a television producer for Ch31, an ethnic radio presenter as well as a regular contributor to the Chinese printed media. Mr Chow has dedicated his endeavours to serving the CALD community especially those who lack English language capability. His proudest achievement was winning the case for Ms Cui Yu Hu, a 101 year old lady who faced deportation in 2005.
Mr Phong Nguyen
Mr Phong Thaddeus Nguyen arrived in Australia as a young refugee from Vietnam in 1979. He is former Chair of the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria, current Federal President of the Vietnamese Community in Australia and the Australia Day Council of Victoria’s appointed Ambassador in 2007. He is an active and a passionate advocate for a fair, just, humane and multicultural Australian society. Mr Nguyen has been an advisor to the State Government in Victoria in many important areas such as health services, interfaith, multiculturalism and social policies and has been recognised with many distinguished awards for his contribution to Australian society including the Centenary Medal of Australia in 2001.
Mr Ahmed Dini
Mr Ahmed Dini arrived in Australia from Somalia in 1996. Mr Dini was among the young leaders who formed the Australian Somali Football Association in 2010. He is also very involved in the Sustainable Employment and Economic Development (SEED) Project across the Western Region of Melbourne and was chair of the community-based youth network Socially Active Youth Group Organisation (Saygo) to take unemployment and education issues faced by his community. Mr Dini had a troubled youth but he now works as a community Youth Worker helping young kids build successful lives. His contribution to the community has been recognised and he is currently a finalist for the 2012 Local Hero of the Year Award. Mr Dini was named the Moonee Valley Youth Citizen of the Year in 2006, nominated as Youth Muslim of the Year in 2007 and awarded the Victoria Police Community Participation Award in 2008.
Mr David Nyuol Vincent
Mr David Nyuol Vincent fled Sudan when he was about 5 years old and lived in a refugee camp for 18 years. He was one of the thousands of ‘lost’ children who participated in the conflict in the Sudan. He arrived in Australia in 2004 and completed a BA double major in Political Science & Criminology at University of Melbourne. He has extensive experience working with young people in community development and family support and is currently employed as a Community Liaison Officer for the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) in Melbourne.
