Melbourne Asia Game Changer Awards 2022

She’s also an experienced and engaging moderator, speaker and trainer who has appeared at events for The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne Writers Festival, Antidote at the Sydney Opera House, Emerging Writers Festival, Audiocraft Podcasting festival and Express Media’s National Editors and Writers Conference.

Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Beverley earned her MA in journalism at NYU, and is a former journalist for The Associated Press. Since arriving in Australia in 2009, Beverley has made national and international programs for many ABC radio networks, serving as executive producer of RN Drive from 2012 to 2017. She’s the creator and host of It’s Not A Race, a popular ABC podcast about race, racism and identity in Australia, which led to profiles in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Liminal and Peril. Beverley is a strong advocate for representation in the media, and was named ABC Radio’s 2017 diversity champion.

She has appeared on ABC TV news programs Matter of Fact with Stan Grant and National Wrap, talking about culture, media and politics.

These days you can hear Beverley regularly presenting Stop Everything! ABC RN’s weekly pop culture show.

In 2017, she was one of the lead supporters in resurrecting The Capitol Theatre. Ling is a major supporter of Melbourne International Film Festival, helping to develop their first ever XR (extended reality) platform that encompasses Virtual and Augmented reality. Exploring the future of storytelling through education, emerging technology and the platforms to experience them. 

Having worked as an international academic in Sri Lanka, the UK, and Australia and a consultant for top-tier companies internationally, she is now a changemaker for Women of colour in STEM and advocating for an intersectional approach to diversity and inclusion in the Australian STEM sector.

Dr Fernando completed her PhD at Victoria University in collaboration with Data61, CSIRO and the Department of Transport in Victoria. She has received many accolades for her research, including the winner of Three Minute Thesis and Visualising Thesis, which focused on how computer algorithms can predict and plan for traffic disruptions caused by major events, such as football games or concerts. She received the 2021 VU Postgraduate Student Spirit Award and was shortlisted as a finalist for the Victorian International Research Student of the Year 2021 award and 2022 VU Alumni Awards Professional Achievement Award Finalists for her exceptional leadership skills.

Dr Fernando founded STEM Sisters, the first organisation dedicated to empowering women of Colour in STEM, delivering seven award-winning structured programs, events, workshops and advocacy campaigns. She was recognised for her efforts and awarded STEM Women Changemaker by the Australian Academy of Science, Victorian Lead Scientist, Pro Bono Australia and Women's Agenda. Under her leadership, STEM Sisters won many awards, including the 2022 Techdiversity Business award, Victorian International excellence award 2022, and multicultural excellence award 2022 and recognitions from Hon Minister Pulford and Victorian Chief Scientist Dr Amanda Caples.   Since March 2022, Dr Fernando is also the co-founder of iSTEM Co. research, consulting and talent-sourcing company whose core objective is to enable the employment of women of colour and women from CALD backgrounds in Australia’s STEM organisations. To date, iSTEM Co. won BETA Pre-Accelerator Award and the Impact Award by Lift Women and is a finalist for the Women in Digital awards in November 2022.

Dr Fernando is a born leader, academic, researcher, consultant, entrepreneur, AI specialist, and speaker. She is devoted to advocating for diversity and inclusion in STEM and the importance of intersectionality.

Cr Le Liu is regularly asked to speak on key issues in the media, especially around Australia’s engagement with Asia. He is a champion of diversity, promoting and mentoring Asian-Australian talents, and a respected leader within the Chinese-Australian community.

For his achievements, Philip was recognized in 2019 as the ‘Most Influential Asian-Australian’ in the Public Sector / Government category under 40.

She is also a member of the International Advisory Committee of the only Master in International Arts Management (MMIAM), a program offered by Southern Methodist University (Dallas), SDA Bocconi (Milan) and HEC (Montreal). This unique program trains the next generation of managers and prepares them to work abroad or with foreign organisations.

Two-time winner, in 2019 of the Australian Financial Review and Qantas and in 2015 of the Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards, she is renowned for her extensive experience working with orchestras, not only at the executive level, but also as a professional musician and musicologist.

In 2019, she was invited to participate in the 2019 Perpetual Stanford CEO Study Tour in San Francisco. Along with other leaders from Australia, North America and Europe, she took part in a week of activities and learning with Stanford’s Centre on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS) exploring the theme, Transforming Anxiety into Active Leadership.

Prior to her appointment to the MSO, Sophie was Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Previous roles include Executive Director of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, Executive and Artistic Director of the Orford Arts Centre and Music Coordinator for the Quebec Arts Council.

Starting her career as a flautist in Germany, she also worked in Switzerland and France with Pierre Boulez.

Native from Quebec, Canada, Sophie has a PhD in Musicology from the University of Montreal and an Executive MBA from McGill University/HEC Montreal.