Asia Society Australia Team

Previously, Thomas was the Head of International Research and Development at the University of Sydney. In this role, he managed international research and development projects for the University in Asia and gave strategic advice on international growth, funding opportunities and global partnerships, including in China, Vietnam and India. He secured funding for over 100 projects for the University from national and international agencies, including the Australian Government, the United Nations, the European Commission, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. He drafted University’s submissions to major government consultations including the Asian Century White Paper, and had representative roles with Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and the Australia-Indonesia Centre. Prior to that, Thomas was International Programs Manager at the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific, leading the institute’s executive education program with China.

Thomas is a graduate from the University of Oslo, Norway and the University of Sydney where he studied political science and languages with particular focus on multilateral cooperation and regional integration in Asia.

Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn.

From 2018 to 2019, Mr Maude was Deputy Secretary, Indo-Pacific Group, in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australia’s senior official to the East Asia Summit.

In 2017, Mr Maude was head of the whole-of-government taskforce which supported the preparation of the Australian Government’s 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper.

Mr Maude was Director-General of the Office of National Assessments from May 2013 until November 2016.  Before taking up this position, Mr Maude was the senior adviser on foreign policy and national security issues to Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

He has served overseas in Malaysia, where he was Deputy High Commissioner, Singapore and as the Liaison Officer for the Office of National Assessments in the Australian Embassy in Washington DC.

Nadia is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has held senior finance roles within the Health, Allied Health and NFP sectors where she has managed multi-disciplinary teams across Finance, HR, IT, Customer Service and Property. She has expertise in developing robust systems to protect the organisation from financial and non-financial risks and has driven performance improvements from both a commercial and compliance perspective.

Starting her career in smaller private sector health organisations and moving into the larger corporate sphere, her career development has enabled a practical, hands-on approach as well as broader strategic capabilities.

Her achievements include delivering major capital works projects across multiple states within budget and successfully implementing IT system upgrades and integrations.

With a commitment to providing operational excellence, Nadia supports her colleagues to achieve ASA’s goals and can bring about positive change through an inclusive and humanistic management style.

Guided by a passion for the environment, social justice and animal welfare, Nadia contributes to these regularly and volunteers as a committee member for a local homeless youth charity.

Prior to Asia Society, James was National Project Manager for the Australia China Business Council (ACBC). In this role, James developed and managed a multitude of projects, working with ACBC’s business membership and Federal and State Governments to foster greater understanding and business engagement with China. His project portfolio included high-level national China policy briefings, China-Australia Free Trade Agreement advocacy across regional Australia, market entry delegations to China, an Australia-China business podcast, and online business support camps.

James has also worked with trade and investment advisory firm TradeWorthy on Asia Development Bank research on Belt and Road integration in ASEAN countries. Previously, James lived and worked in Beijing as an environmental consultant on European Commission climate change and development projects. He also worked as a tour leader to North Korea and in 2020 self-published the photography book Hotels of Pyongyang.

James is a graduate of the University of Melbourne where he holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Environmental Policy. He speaks Chinese and German.

Beginning her career working in State politics as an Office Manager/Electorate Officer for a State Member of Parliament, Sarah then moved into the position of Communications, Media, and Policy Advisor for the Federal Speaker of the House from 2016-2018.

After leaving politics, she worked as a media and communications expert, in the healthcare sector, specifically aged care and mental health, applying her skills and political knowledge to support both organisations through several respective industry-related royal commissions. Sarah has most recently worked as the first Communications Manager for Harcourts Australia Group, leading the national communications and content production for the real estate company.

Sarah graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Arts (International Relations), in 2014, majoring in Political Science and History, with a minor in Bahasa Indonesia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, studied and completed a Graduate Diploma in Public Relations with Deakin University to further expand her knowledge and skillset, graduating at the beginning of April 2021.

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Prior to this role (2016-2022), he worked at the University of Technology Sydney, where he was actively engaged in teaching, research, and consulting on a wide range of policy themes including, electricity market reform, renewable uptake, coal power phase-down, transport electrification, energy governance, and political economy. His work mainly focuses on China, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Between 2020 and 2023, he also worked at Ember, a global energy and climate think tanks dedicated to promoting the transition from coal to clean power.  

Muyi holds a PhD and a Master's degree in energy policy, as well as a bachelor's degree in applied science.

Jaimie coordinates process automation and is part of the team responsible for transforming the organisation’s technology and transformation capabilities. Jaimie brings a strong background in office and financial administration management to Asia Society Australia and has worked across the private and not-for-profit sectors. She has an aptitude for leaning new applications and is an advocate of technology automation and strategic change.

Jaimie holds a Master in Professional Accounting. She is inspired daily by her husband and their daughter and is an aspiring yoga and pilates instructor in her free time.

She has published extensively in Nikkei Asia, The Straits Times, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), The Diplomat, and elsewhere.

Prior to joining ASPI, Dominique worked in the field of atrocity prevention in Geneva, where she lobbied governments to incorporate an atrocity prevention lens into their human rights work and undertook research into risk factors for atrocity crimes.

Dominique completed a Master in International Affairs at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, following a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in International Relations, from which she graduated as Valedictorian of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Queensland.

In 2022, she was named a Young Woman to Watch by Young Australians in International Affairs.

Julie started her career as an International Communications Officer for the CMA CGM Group where she was becoming a communications expert, mainly focusing on Africa and Asia.

Passionate about Human Rights and International relations, Julie then moved to the position of Parliamentary Attache for a former Minister and Member of the French Parliament. In this role, Julie was able to manage projects regarding international relations and foreign affairs. She was specifically involved with aid development funding and projects across the world, especially in Asia and Africa. Her work also included communications and public relations management. In this position, Julie dedicated her time to work on Human rights, women's empowerment in Africa, and migrants' rights.

Julie graduated from Sciences Po Aix-en-Provence with a master’s degree in communications and lobbying and with a master’s degree in international marketing and business Development from Skema Business School in Paris. During her studies, Julie was an intern at the French Embassy in Israel.

With an international background and a career working in multicultural environments, Julie also speaks native French and fluent Spanish, and she aims at learning other languages.

As a French, she is proudly sharing her passion for French gastronomy and wines.

Jafrin has completed a Bachelor’s in Psychology with a minor in International Relations and Politics from ACU Melbourne. She has experience working in various leadership and project management roles including organising the Asia-Pacific Model United Nations Conference 2022 leading a team of 11 as the Co-Secretary General to bring the conference back to in-person since 2018. Being part of the university Academic Board and other advisory and governance committees, she was nominated by the ACU Vice Chancellor for the National Leadership Forum (organised at National Parliament House and Hyatt Hotel, Canberra), where she participated as a delegate. Jafrin was also selected to undertake a placement at the Embassy of Ireland, Canberra through the Girls Run the World Program 2022.

Jafrin has pursued her education across three countries and two continents; originally coming from Bangladesh, having lived in Pakistan briefly and finishing her undergraduate in Australia.

She speaks fluent Bengali, Hindi and Urdu, and is interested in learning more languages.

As a digital designer specialised in flat and motion design, she has previously worked with the Australian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) to assist in producing and editing video content for the ‘Stop Beating Around The Bush’ project that aims to represent and inform minority groups about health in the rural health space. Additionally, she was involved in a government-funded project endorsed by RMIT, 'Angels of War: Remembering Australian Army Nurses' aimed to commemorate Australian army nurses' historical contributions, sacrifices, and stories that was displayed in Federation Square in July 2022.

Majdina is undertaking a Bachelor of Design (Digital Media) at RMIT and is a New Colombo Plan Alumna where she spent a semester studying Entertainment Design at Kookmin University in Seoul, South Korea.

Aster graduated from RMIT University with a Bachelor of Arts (International Studies). During her studies, she was awarded a New Colombo Plan scholarship by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and undertook 18 months of study in Indonesia focused on regional security in Southeast Asia and international development. Aster is passionate about migration issues, having worked with Migrant CARE in Jakarta and written a thesis on the rights of labour migrants in Singapore.

Prior to working with Asia Society Australia, Aster was a Program and Engagement Manager for the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – Victoria, expanding the reach of the world’s leading youth development program.

She is currently undertaking a Master of Development Studies at the University of Melbourne. Aster speaks fluent Indonesian, and intermediate Malay.

He spent more than a decade as a reporter based in Tokyo, Jakarta, and New York. He is now an independent writer, editor and consultant; is researching a book about Australia and Asia; and writes a column on economic diplomacy for The Lowy Institute’s The Interpreter. He is a member of the Australia-ASEAN Council board (AAC); and a former member of the Australian National University Indonesia Project advisory board; the Australia Japan Foundation board; and the steering committee for the Australia-Indonesia Dialogue.

His connection with the region began as a high school Indonesian language student and then as an exchange student in the Philippines. This year he has been a member of an international observer group during the Indian election; attended the Australia-Vietnam Young Leadership Dialogue in Ho Chi Minh City; and served on the selection panel for an AAC Muslim Exchange Program in South East Asia.

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn and Twitter.