Tilé and Olly Meets

In this episode, we sit down with powerful and passionate advocate, Sarah Ibrahim. Sarah is a commercial and human rights lawyer, and humanitarian of Egyptian descent. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Economics and a Bachelor of Laws. She has over 15 years of civil and human rights law experience resolving legal issues for clients through advice and litigation.

Sarah is the founder and principal of Central Lawyers Pty Ltd. Central Lawyers’ focus is commercial law for all small to medium businesses based in Sydney. Transforming her personal experience of racism and discrimination in the workplace, Sarah founded the Racial Justice Centre with other like-minded individuals. The Racial Justice Centre is an incorporated community legal service that offers pro-bono and low bono legal help with the aim of reducing systemic injustices. It is the first community legal centre of its kind dedicated to racial justice.

Sarah is passionate about social justice, human rights, equality, and advocating for the marginalised, particularly women from culturally and racially marginalised backgrounds. Sarah discusses anti-racism, and she shares candidly about her lived experiences growing up in Sydney and the ways her critical consciousness was raised throughout her life. A highlight for us is when she flips the script on what 'belonging' means to her that we found really insightful.

SEASON 2 IS HERE! Welcome to Season 2 of Tilé & Olly Meets – Traversing Inclusion and belonging.

In this premiere episode of our second season, we had the absolute privilege of inviting the sensational Sarah-Elke Kraal to help us kick off our new season. In this episode, we reflect on Season 1 with lots of laughs and gratitude, but also look forward with hope and anticipation for this brand new season. When we recorded this episode, we hadn’t quite landed on our season sub-title, but we knew it would be about inclusion and belonging. Sarah is a joy to work with, and she certainly kept us on our toes in this episode. Her energy and effervescence was just the perfect breath of fresh air we needed to set our intentions and open the chapter for this new season.

If you haven’t come across her before (then where have you been?), Sarah-Elke Kraal is a lawyer, writer, and professional development disruptor. She is a prolific podcaster, having created and produced two legally-focused shows so far (“The Brief Case” and “Sh!t They Don’t Teach You at Law School” – both available on Apple and Spotify); and the go-to authority on all things CPD and CLE in Australia. Find her, follow her, admire her and shower her with love on IG @sarahelke, LinkedIn or visit sarahelke.com.

It is our season finale! Can you believe? Thank you for joining us once again. We were so excited to have the opportunity to speak with the self-professed iced latte afficionado and fantastic human, Trent Wallace. Trent is a Wongaibon person raised on Darkinjung Country, and has a background working in the community legal sector, government and education.

Combining both legal and First Nations lived experience, Trent drives First Nations initiatives across the firm and provides thought leadership and education around cultural safety and awareness. Working across the social justice sector and corporate Australia, Trent seeks to embed key cultural considerations to create meaningful change for First Nations Peoples. In this work, Trent collaborates with a wide variety of clients to develop and execute First Nations initiatives.

Trent offers cultural awareness education and advice on how to work effectively with clients and also collaborates with People & Culture on programmes of attraction and retention to First Nations employees. As a lawyer, Trent is able to identify and mitigate risks to reputation through building a strong foundation of strategies to support cultural awareness.

Trent is Co-Chair of the Legal Profession Reconciliation Network and is on the Executive Committee of Just Reinvest NSW. In addition to these roles, Trent is also a Director of Metro Arts (QLD), Editorial Board Member for LexisNexis, Advisor to the Starlight Children's Foundation, Advisor to the Board of ActionAid Australia and is a lecturer in law and First Nations Peoples.

In this episode, we sit down with the indelible Rachel G. Barnard - our first non-lawyer guest, but a beautiful human with a heart for justice and equity. Rachel is a speaker and facilitator who has designed 100s of sessions for 1,000s of people to step into their greatness and contribute powerfully to the world around them. 

As the founder of Young New Yorkers (YNY) she created the first arts-based Alternative-To-Incarceration program in NYC and assisted over 1,400 young people to exit the criminal legal system without an adult criminal record. In this role she partnered with—and created programs for—multiple criminal legal agencies including the Center of Court Innovation, Kings County DA's Office, NYC Department of Probation, and the New York Police Department. Over the decade Rachel led YNY she took it from a one-off project, to building it to be a go-to restorative sentencing option in NYC with a $1 million annual budget.

Rachel has been acknowledged in the media and received awards and fellowships. She holds a Master of Science in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University.

Digressions in this episode include the role of public art as a dialogue, ego, Rachel's favourite kind of jokes, and many insights into the power of partnership and collaboration with diverse communities to make social justice a reality. We are so grateful for the opportunity to meet with Rachel and to have the opportunity to hear from her practice wisdom and heart.

In this episode, we meet with emerging leader, and lawyer, Elizabeth Aisi (Liz). Liz was admitted as a lawyer in December 2022 after completing her Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts at the University of Queensland. In this episode, she shares about how she has worked towards building a career focussed on human rights. She was a co-founder of the ⁠University of Queensland's Human Rights Case Law Project⁠, a resource that collates 'case notes' for case law that mention Queensland's Human Rights Act. She has then paved a career for herself at Caxton Legal Centre, initially as a paralegal within Caxton's Bail Service, and later the family law service, to eventually being promoted to a solicitor within Caxton's Seniors Legal and Support Service.

Digressions in this episode include Liz's impersonation of a line from her favourite movie, Liz's open-mindedness framework, what it was like growing up in New York, and the impact of "micro-aggressions".

With nearly one year post admission experience under her belt, the sky is the limit for Liz, and we think she is a lawyer to keep an eye on! We definitely left this meeting feeling energised, and we know you will too!

We laugh out loud and get deep with Hsuan An (Shannon) Chen, a criminal lawyer based in Brisbane. She has been in practice for nine years and in that time has worked in private practice, at Legal Aid Queensland and is presently a director of a boutique law firm, Hodgson Lawyers. Shannon has worked predominately in criminal law and has experience working on serious crimes such as murder, grievous bodily harm, and serious sex offenses.

As a solicitor advocate who appears in court almost daily, Shannon considers herself to offer and be something different from who you may consider typically seen advocating in court. She is Asian, queer, and may come across as non-binary but identifies as a female. These qualities she believes can be a blessing and a curse.

She was born and raised in Taiwan before moving to Australia with her mother when she turned 18 to study at the University of Queensland. Coming into law, Shannon has encountered lawyers and mentors who have inspired her and helped shape who she is as a lawyer. She is a client-oriented lawyer and does not shy away from having frank and honest conversation with her clients. She believes this is important to determine the best strategy for her clients.

Shannon was vulnerable and spoke candidly with us about many things. Some highlights for us were hearing about her struggles adjusting to the English language, her early exposure to seeing how people of diverse backgrounds shared space at her grandpa's shop, being misgendered in court, and having the courage to be who you are as a form of empowering others, and being the change you want to see.

In this episode, we sit down with Daniel Ajak. Daniel believes in using his law degree to impact positive change in society, be it in representing his clients or mentoring and creating opportunities for aspiring law students in his community and beyond. Daniel is a criminal lawyer based in Melbourne. He founded his firm Ajak & Associates which now boasts offices in Melbourne and now in Adelaide with dreams to expand nationally.

After graduating from Flinders university with a Bachelor of Laws, Daniel was admitted as a solicitor and a day later began working as a lawyer at Thomson Geer in Adelaide. However, in 2017 after seeing regular media coverage on African youth crime in Melbourne, he felt called to move to Victoria to be a role model for the younger people in his South Sudanese community.

He has largely worked as a criminal lawyer working with Papa Hughes Lawyers, Victoria Legal Aid, Salvos Legal before becoming a Director at Ajak, Wolan and Tut Lawyers which later became Ajak & Associates.

He credits one of his greatest achievements to be the co-founding of the African Australian Legal Network (AALN). The AALN seeks to is creating opportunities for aspiring law students and graduates from his community to get a foot in the door. The AALN was first convened in July 2018, and is now an incorporated association, the AALN is focused on the skills development, recruitment and retention of people of African descent in the Australian legal community.

The group has enjoyed success and support from oragnisations such as Victoria Legal Aid and the Office of the General Counsel, Department of Premier and Cabinet (Victoria), Castan Chambers and the Leo Cussen Centre for Law to name a few.

Daniel was awarded a 2020 Early Career Alumni Award by Flinders University for his significant contribution to the African-Australian community in Australia, including the development of professional networks and advocacy for African-Australian legal students.

In this episode, we sit down with Rose Inglis. Eight years ago, Rose left her "sensible" solicitor job and moved to London with her best friend, one suitcase, and a legal career she doubted she was cut out for. Almost five years later, she returned to Australia with an LLM from UCL, a husband, a global friendship network – and a whole new career.

In 2021, she founded Rose Tinted Law, a consultancy where she curates ‘alternative’ professional development content and sessions for confused, doubtful, jaded (or just plain curious) early-career legal professionals. Her aim is to inspire confidence and purpose in the next generation of legal leaders.If you’re an early career legal professional asking yourself ‘what next?’ or 'what's my why?' then Rose is someone you can turn to for unlocking your potential.

As a lawyer, Rose has worked in litigation and dispute resolution across multiple jurisdictions and has held multiple roles in legal education, where she created leadership and professional development programs for early career legal professionals. Her work has been recognised as innovative and trailblazing by the legal profession. The program, “Physically different: Professionally close - How to stay connected in a virtual working world” led the Law Institute of Victoria Young Lawyers to be awarded Young Lawyer Organisation of the Year by the Law Council of Australia in 2020. In 2021, she was shortlisted as a Thought Leader of the Year finalist at The Australian Women in Law Awards in 2021.

Digressions in this episode include a random connection to Sarah Davidson of 'Spoonful of Sarah' fame and Rose gets really real about her mental health journey so if you're on your own healing journey at the moment and have limited bandwidth to hear about that, then please consider this our trigger warning for you or gentle note to take care. As a result of her experiences, Rose is empathetic and compassionate disruptor.

In this episode, we sit down with the effervescent and fabulous, Sheetal Deo (she/her). She is passionate about leveraging platforms and privilege to connect ideas, people, and opportunities that amplify and empower underrepresented experiences. Sheetal is a lawyer by qualification and an advocate by choice. She is passionate about access to education and legal services. She occupies several roles which she uses to facilitate her passions and drive social impact.

Sheetal has a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and political science from the University of the Fraser Valley (Canada), and a Juris Doctor, Master of Laws and Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from Bond University (Australia). Sheetal incorporates her political and social science training in her advocacy forequity & accessibility within the legal profession and the community it serves.Sheetal is the Principal and Founder of Shakti Legal Solutions; an innovative, award winning low-bono law firm designed specifically to improve access to legal assistance for everyday people through a unique, ‘pay what you can’ model.

Outside of her legal practice, Sheetal runs a diversity and inclusion consultancy, is the Senior Project Manager for the RISE Project at the Diversity Council of Australia, an adjunct lecturer with the College of Law, and volunteers her time to various not-for-profit organisations and boards including the Centre of Legal Innovation’s Emerging Leaders Advisory Board and the Queensland Law Society where she is the first culturally and racially marginalised (CARM) woman elected to serve on its board in its 150-year history.

Digressions include her Indian heritage migration story to Fiji, having a life mission statement and Olly wants to steal a quokka. This episode is a goldie!

In this episode, we meet with the insightful and wonderful, Danielle Snell, an award-winning litigator and co-founder of Elit Lawyers by McGirr & Snell. Launching her own firm whilst seven months pregnant, Danielle is driven to support her team to also embrace the multiple roles they hold in their lives. Through creating and successfully implementing bespoke and future focussed IT solutions, Danielle empowers her diverse team to continue to provide outstanding client service whilst balancing personal and professional commitments.

Danielle’s firm challenges the traditional law firm model in order to provide a transparent and authentic legal service to clients. Danielle believes that people involved in litigation should be at the centre of solutions and it’s about the journey for them during the litigation process rather than only the outcome. It is for that reason that Danielle’s firm has superior efficiency in e-litigation and offers clients a web-enabled client portal to allow them to directly connect with their litigation file 24/7.

Danielle’s trailblazing leadership initiatives were recognised at the 2023 Australian Law Awards where she was named “Managing Partner of the Year”. At the same awards in 2022, Elit Lawyers was awarded “Boutique Law Firm of the Year”.

As of the time of this podcast, Danielle is a finalist in the Women in Law Awards under the category “Executive of the Year” - congratulations, Danielle!

Our conversation touches on many things, including a sweet anecdote about her family's pilgrimage to her grandmother's home in Sicily, how award ceremonies can promote diversity, the Law Institute of Victoria's Charter for the Advancement of Women, and her take on growing up in the law.

We meet with, Jahan Kalantar, a Sydney-based lawyer, university lecturer, and entrepreneur who describes himself as a ‘little guy lawyer’. He attributes his human rights leanings to his proud Persian heritage, a dislike of bullies and a genuine belief that one person can make a difference.

Leaving a successful career in finance in order to pursue law, he was admitted to the NSW Bar at the age of 25 before establishing the firm of Executive Law Group where as the managing partner he oversees some of Australia’s most complex criminal, family and commercial matters. He has been retained both domestically and internationally by individuals and organisations when everything is on the line.

His work in advocacy, evidence, criminal law and human rights as well as his subject matter expertise have seen him featured frequently on television and in media and have helped him grow his social media following to over 363,000 followers on TikTok and a highly regarded expert who is often quoted in professional publications. He was invited to speak on the Tedx main stage in 2018 and has since

When not in practice, Jahan is a sought after speaker and workshop facilitator who brings his practical skills from the courtroom to help people take their skills to the next level. He frequently speaks to groups of entrepreneurs, high performers, students and the community about storytelling, community building, mental health and the power of communication.

Jahan’s keynote work focuses primarily on the skills and expertise developed while working in the law and how to tailor your communication for the audience. His work was recognised by TedX Sydney who invited him to speak on the main stage and his talk has been viewed over 386k times.

Digressions in this episode include a discussion about Jahan's coming to terms with his neurodivergence, his journey into social media and some really great life advice.

You can see all of Jahan’s work and learn more about him at www.jahankalantar.com.

Our guest this week, Theresa Jennings, began her legal career as a student volunteer at Cancer Council Queensland, and after Admission, she was offered a role within the Legal Team. Theresa has been a member of the Legal Team since 2016 and provides advice broadly across the organisation including advice on contracts, intellectual property, deceased estates, and privacy compliance.

She is a founding member of the QLS Diverse Abilities Network, which is a network that champions equal opportunity and inclusion for people with disabilities within the legal profession and wider community. She discusses an Accessibility Guide for workplaces developed by this network.

Theresa has been a panellist speaker at events advocating for inclusivity of diverse abilities within the legal profession, including International Day for People with Disability and Global Accessibility Awareness Day. She has been invited to give presentations for LegalWise Seminars and to University students on the topic of diversity. In 2020 she contributed to the QLS submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disabilities Insurance Scheme about her experiences with applying for NDIS funding and the lack of reasonable accommodations available to people with hearing impairments.

Theresa is a manager and mentor to law students, and she is proud to encourage future lawyers to be understanding and open-minded about working with people with disabilities. In this episode, we canvass what allyship looks like to her, remember that disability is an important form of diversity, and a Proctor article, “Motherhood, disability and career” that she co-authored. Digressions include her adoration of author and disability advocate, Helen Keller, a funny but impressive MacGyver-esque moment and her delight making frozen delights.

Farzana Choudhury is a human rights lawyer, specialising in disability discrimination and homelessness law. Farzana is the Disability Law Supervising Solicitor at Canberra Community Law (CCL) and was previously the Program Manager and Senior Solicitor with CCL's Street Law program which provides free legal assistance to people experiencing homelessness. Farzana has channelled her passion for social justice through various initiatives, including establishing a legal education and advice clinic for women in prison, setting up a mental health justice clinic and investigating the application of poverty discrimination law frameworks as a 2019 Churchill Fellow.

At the time we met with Farzana in June 2023, she was the President of the ACT Law Society, and very recently became the Immediate Past President. She is the first community lawyer to have held these positions. Farzana is also a member of the Law Council of Australia's Access to Justice Committee and the ACT Law Society's Access to Justice and Inclusion Committee. In 2019, Farzana was named ACT Young Lawyer of the Year, in recognition of her professional and community engagement to support people facing barriers.

During our meeting, Farzana tells us about the 'Just Hearing' performance, put on by Rebus Theatre, Canberra Community Law and Canberra Legal Aid. Fortunately, there is an upcoming public performance on 20 October 2023 and you can purchase tickets here.

We also discuss the social scripts by Canberra Community Law and Autism Spectrum Australia, a resource of social scripts and templates for justice organisations.

Farzana also introduces us to the Canberra Lawyers for Diversity Network, which if you're based in Canberra, we encourage you to join.

Please enjoy our very informatve conversation!

In this episode, we meet with the Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall.

Scott McDougall commenced as Commissioner of the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland on 8 October 2018.  Immediately prior to his appointment he was the Director and Principal Solicitor at Caxton Legal Centre in Brisbane where he contributed to the successful campaign to introduce a Human Rights Act in Queensland.   Since 1 January 2020, as Queensland’s inaugural Human Rights Commissioner, Scott has overseen the implementation of a dedicated human rights complaints function with the objective of building a strong human rights culture within Queensland’s public sector. He holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Queensland University of Technology.

Digressions include working with Andrew Boe (and missing a trip to Greece), learning about resilience and compassion and modelling that for our children, and some highlights from his time at Caxton Legal Centre.

He also references the book Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, which we have added to our reading list. Tilé also mentions the Diversity training found on the QHRC website, which we have linked for anyone interested.

We really enjoyed our conversation with Scott and we hope to read the book he wishes to write about his dad one day!

In this episode, we sit down with the Honourable Chief Justice Helen Bowskill. What an amazing and humbling moment for us to share space with her Honour. Her honour was sworn in as Chief Justice of Queensland on 22 March 2022, having served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland from 10 July 2017, and as the Senior Judge Administrator of the Supreme Court of Queensland from 24 August 2021.

Her Honour previously served as a Judge of the District Court of Queensland from 10 November 2014, in that capacity also sitting as a Judge of the Children’s Court of Queensland and the Planning and Environment Court. Her Honour holds the degree of Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) from the Queensland University of Technology, and was awarded the University Medal in 1995. Her Honour served as the Associate to the Honourable Justice Drummond of the Federal Court of Australia in 1996, and completed articles of clerkship with Minter Ellison in 1997.

Her Honour was admitted as a solicitor in January 1998, and as a barrister in July 1998. She commenced practice at the private Bar in Brisbane in July 1998. Her Honour took silk in November 2013. As a barrister, she practised widely in public, administrative and commercial law areas, with a particular focus on native title law. Her Honour is the Chair of the Judicial Council on Diversity and Inclusion.

Digressions include a desire to have dinner with Colin Firth, Taylor Swift-inspired career/life advice and her Honour's surprising (and refreshing) biggest accomplishment.

AUDIO NOTE: The audio is not at the level we want it to be, and we are still investigating if there’s a way to improve it (if you’re a sound technician who can help, please reach out!) and we will re-publish at a later date if we can fix it. The Chief Justice’s episode was just too good not to publish! We are working on transcripts for all of our episodes if this is of any consolation, we have also invested in new mics and technology moving forward. Thank you for your support!

“There’s a difference in seeing a person in action, than seeing a person on a pamphlet” is just one of the many lessons, law student, Kunal Nimkar shares with us in this episode. Kunal Nimkar is a fifth year law and business student at QUT.
Being born with Cerebral Palsy and being a wheelchair user from a young age, Kunal felt like he was always stuck between two worlds. Even though he does everything a normal person does, it has felt like there is a pane of glass between him and my peers. A pane of glass that he feels he is yet to break through.

Growing up, Kunal tells us that he was always told that people with disabilities needed to be “inspirational” and “amazing”, something that he still does not necessarily agree with. He tells us that as a child, he just wanted to be “normal”, with a respectable 9 to 5 and a family of his own. While this dream of his is still largely the same as he grows older, he has also realised that he wants to be an example to others with a disability, that a “normal” life is still achievable despite the adversities that we may face.

Beyond my academic endeavours, he trains in swimming and in the gym daily, in order to minimise the effects of his Cerebral Palsy as he ages. Digressions in this episode include reference to the Diverse Abilities Network, being made to play dodgeball in primary school and Scottish Fold cats.

In this episode, we sit down with his Honour Deputy Chief Magistrate Anthony Gett. His Honour was appointed a Magistrate in January 2013 and then appointed as Deputy Chief Magistrate in March 2021. Prior to his appointment as a Magistrate, his Honour was called to the bar in 2001. Since 2004 he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian-based International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law. In 2006, his Honour was awarded that society’s John Kable QC award for Young Lawyer of the Year and in 2019 he was awarded the society’s Presidential Medal. Prior to becoming a Magistrate, his Honour spent thirteen years at the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions as a prosecutor, where he appeared as counsel in various matters in all courts from the High Court of Australia to the Magistrates Court of Queensland.

As a prosecutor he was a member of the Interpol Experts Group for Online Child Sexual Offences and a lecturer at the Management of Serious and Organised Crime Program. His Honour has presented papers at numerous international and domestic conferences, including as a keynote speaker to Council of the European Union where he presented on Australia’s online child exploitation laws. Deputy Chief Magistrate Gett is currently based in the Brisbane Magistrates Court after initially serving in far North Queensland.

In 2014 and 2015 his Honour travelled to Indonesia as part of a judicial assistance program with the Indonesian judiciary. In April 2021, he was appointed an Acting Judge of the Local Court of the Northern Territory. He belongs to a number of judicial committees, including the national Cultural Diversity Justice Network.

Digressions include honey soy chicken and fried rice, and his favourite books/films, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, and the English Patient by Anthony Minghella.

In this episode, we sit down with the reserved but savvy Simon Playford. His country charm, sense of community, and enthusiasm have allowed him to stand out and build a unique profile for himself and his career. He speaks honestly with us about fixed moments in his life that have shaped him, such as losing his dad at a young age, coming out in his early 20s to pivotal career moments.

Simon is an accomplished legal professional and revered community leader. With a Bachelor of Law and Business from UniSQ, graduating in 2017, Simon has cultivated a remarkable reputation. Currently serving as the Legal Counsel at the National Heart Foundation of Australia, he brings his wealth of knowledge and experience from private law firms to one of the largest charities in the nation.

Simon's influence extends beyond his professional role. As a leader in multiple legal organisations, including the Law Council of Australia's Young Lawyers Committee (as Deputy Chair) and the Queensland Law Society's Future Leaders Committee, he actively shapes the future of the legal profession. In recognition of his outstanding contributions, Simon was awarded UniSQ's Young Alumnus of the Year in 2022. He remains deeply committed to volunteering and community work, exemplified by his role as the Independent Chair for the Toowoomba Headspace Consortium.

Simon subscribes to the Greek proverb that society flourishes when you plant trees for shade you will never sit in. He stresses the importance of paying it forward for the next generation and impressed on us the importance of protecting one’s time and mental health as key cornerstones of success

In this episode, we sit down with the fabulous Kara Cook GAICD. Kara has been an advocate and voice for those who need it most throughout her career, which has spanned across law, politics, and community services.

Her skill set is unique, with expertise in community campaigning and advocacy, domestic violence, women’s issues, law reform, policy, fundraising, communication, and media. She is a former (or reformed!) politician, founded Australia’s first expert Domestic Violence law firm, has worked as the Principal Lawyer at Women’s Legal Service Queensland, is a former Vice President of Queensland Law Society, and more recently has taken on a range of board and advisory positions.

Kara has been recognised locally and nationally as the Australian Young Lawyer of the Year, one of the 50 Best and Brightest in Queensland, one of the 125 Leading Women in Queensland, and the Emergent Woman Lawyer of the Year by the Women Lawyers Association of Queensland.

Kara, in partnership with her husband Joshua Creamer, a First Nations barrister, established the Joshua Creamer and Kara Cook Excellence in Law Award through Griffith University. The recipient of this award receives a scholarship that aims to increase the number of female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander barristers practicing at the Queensland Bar by promoting and encouraging excellence in the study of law. The scholarship is awarded to an eligible First Nations female student enrolled in their final year of law at Griffith University. Presently, and if you’ve been following our podcast, you will know there is only one of two female First Nations barristers in Queensland. This scholarship aims to increase this number!

Kara was recently appointed as the CEO of Basic Rights (and Working Women) Queensland (BRQ). BRQ is a state-wide specialist community legal centre, providing Free advice, advocacy and legal services.

In this episode, we sit down with Avelina Tarrago, one of two female First Nation's barristers in Queensland (and one of six female First Nation's barristers in Australia) at the time of writing this profile. Avelina shares beautifully about the impact her mum, and her First Nation's fighting spirit, has had on her career and desire to advocate and support First Nations and human rights causes.

Avelina has held senior roles in various organisations, including senior legal officer for the Office of the Health Ombudsman Queensland and counsel assisting in the Coroners Court of Queensland. She has been a Federal prosecutor with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and has also worked for the Australian Securities and Investment Commission and as a sessional lecturer at QUT for the Legal Practice Course on the topic of Cross-Cultural Communication.

In 2014 she was selected as an Indigenous Fellow by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to undertake a two-month fellowship in Geneva.

Avelina was the President of the Indigenous Lawyers Association of Queensland from 2018-2022. She continues to mentor and support early career and aspiring First Nations lawyers, mirroring and paying forward the mentorship she received in her early career. She shares eloquently with us her ideas on the ways that the legal profession can improve action towards improving diversity and inclusion within the profession.

In 2020, Avelina was appointed as a part-time Legal Member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal and in 2023 she was appointed to the Legal Aid Queensland board.

During our conversation, Avelina references the work of American educator, Jane Elliott, and her book "A collar in my pocket: The blue eyes and brown eyes experiment". She also references the autobiography of Mariah Carey titled "The Meaning of Mariah Carey".

We are excited to see where the future takes Avelina. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.

This week’s bonus episode is with Trina Faaiuaso. Faith and family are the guiding lights for Trina in everything she does and are the foundation on which she stands.

Trina graduated with a Bachelor of Justice Studies (Critical Criminology) in 2003 and a Bachelor of Laws in 2010 from the Queensland University of Technology (“QUT”). While working as a public servant, Trina obtained her Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from QUT in 2011. Trina has extensive legal experience in advocacy and litigation, predominately in human rights and legal matters relating to children and young people in the child protection system and adults with impaired capacity.

Trina’s Christian faith and passion for serving others includes volunteering as a youth leader and Sunday School teacher for the Logan City Congregational Christian Church of Samoa in Australia Inc. Trina is also one of the founding members for the Pasifika Lawyers Association of Queensland Inc (“PLAQ”), which is a multicultural Association of Pacific Island lawyers, law students, legal or justice professionals in Queensland. Trina was previously the PLAQ’s treasurer for several years and was recently appointed as President for PLAQ late last year. A key initiative of PLAQ in 2023, is co-delivering the inaugural international Pasefika Collective Conference in Samoa in July 2023.

Trina is also a co-founder of Pasifika Autism Village Support Group (PAVSG) which is currently operating in Queensland (Qld) and New South Wales (NSW) with the goal of expanding across Australia. Trina is blessed with two amazing autistic blessings. Her nine year old nephew, Leviticus, an autistic non verbal amazing little human who inspires her to do better because he can, and his four year old sister, Hadassah, who inspires her to not allow the world to define how loud she can be.

In this week’s episode, we speak to the delightful Chinyere Kalu, affectionately known as Chi.

There is an African proverb that says, “When sleeping women wake, mountains move.” That is, when a woman becomes aware of her own power and potential, she will be able to accomplish great things. This perfectly describes our guest, Chi, from Nigeria in West Africa who belongs to the Ibo tribe, one of the three main tribes in Nigeria. She is a woman with inner strength and resilience, with a witty sense of humour whom did not allow the naysayers to have the last say on the trajectory of her career and passions.

Chi is a family lawyer and author with a particular passion for helping people experiencing family violence. She arrived in Australia in 2007 having qualified as barrister and solicitor in Nigeria. Despite the obstacles, she continued to pursue her legal career when she moved to Australia and has carved out a niche as a successful family and domestic violence lawyer. She was admitted to practice as a solicitor in Queensland in 2010 and obtained her Masters of Law in 2012.

She has worked in Community Corrections, with legal roles in Legal Aid Queensland, private practice, and Community Legal Services. She is a two-time Finalist in the Not-for-Profit Lawyer of the Year category - Women in Law Awards and an inductee in the Queensland Government Domestic and Family Violence Honour Roll.

During the podcast, we discuss that she is a published children’s book author. Her debut book is titled ‘Africa Day’ and can be purchased from Little steps publishing. https://www.littlesteps.com.au/books/africa-day. When Chi is not working, she is a mother of two boys and loves spending time with her family. She is an avid reader, singer and says her best memories were formed as a child when she explored classic storybooks and diverse African literature as a pupil. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Chi.

This week we surprise you with a special bonus episode of ‘Tilé and Olly Meets’ podcast where we meet Terry Stedman, or Uncle Terry to his mob and family. Terry is a First Nations and Kamilaroi award winning lawyer who wears many hats in his community and in the legal sector. In this episode, he shares about some of his work, his previous life as a plumber and in corrective services where he also served as a commissioner for a period of time. Terry has an atypical entry point into law, in fact he had multiple entry points into the law, all of which are a great reminder of how law intersects with various parts of our everyday lives and that the study or practice of law should be accessible for all whom want to partake in our great profession.

Terry has enjoyed a wide range of life experiences, simultaneously devoting enormous time and energy to the community. Terry has served on numerous boards throughout his career, including time with Welfare Rights Qld (now Basic Rights) and the Stolen Wages committee with DATSIP. Terry was awarded twice at the 2018 Queensland Law Society Awards, and received both the Community Legal Centre Member of the Year and the Equity Advocate Award for his service to the community. Terry currently works as a seniors legal advice service solicitor and serves as duty lawyer in the domestic violence and family Courts.

We could have talked to Terry for hours – and this was reflected in that we continued to chat for another hour or so after we turned off our microphones.

In this episode of the ‘Tilé and Olly Meets’ podcasts, we meet with her Honour Magistrate Dzenita Balic. Her Honour shares some of her experiences escaping Bosnia and Herzegovina as a refugee, her early childhood experiences navigating life in Australia to her career in law. Digressions include raising an Australian child, her Honour's love of dictionaries as she learned English, and also her love of Turkish cuisine. This was a very heart-filled and very informative conversation.

Her Honour Magistrate Balic finished Law and Business in 2005 when she commenced with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in the same year as a clerk. She was admitted in 2006 and became counsel for the Crown in 2008. Prior to that, she was a lawyer between 2006 and 2008. Her Honour prosecuted jury trials and sentences. She became the head of a chamber in Ipswich and then Brisbane where she prosecuted mainly Supreme Court trials and sentences and appeals. She was lead appellate counsel for 18 months where her Honour did most of the appellate work on behalf of the ODPP. She was appointed a Queensland Magistrate in January 2022.

Her Honour arrived in Australia in 1996 as a refugee, who had fled war torn Bosnia and Herzegovina. She studied English, like many other refugees and migrants, upon her arrival in Brisbane. She is also a mother to a seven year old boy. She shares frankly about some of these experiences during our discussion and for that, we are grateful. We know that her story will resonate with many of our listeners.

During our conversation, her Honour discusses the Equal Treatment Benchbook located on the Queensland Courts website: https://www.courts.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/94054/s-etbb.pdf.

In this episode of 'Tilé and Olly Meets', your hosts meet with Linda Cho. A Brisbane based criminal defense lawyer. She shares some of her story of growing up in Brisbane after migrating here from South Korea. Digressions include mangosteens, the best eats in Cairns and some beautiful advice she received from a mentor. This was our first ever interview and Linda was such a gracious guest. We hope you enjoy our conversation as much as we did.

About Linda Originally from South Korea, Linda graduated from the University of Queensland with a double degree in Law (Honours) and Arts majoring in Political Science and international relations. She was president of Grace College whilst at university. Linda has worked in many different roles in her career including with the Salvation Army in Papua New Guinea, World Vision, and also as a University of Queensland Advantage Ambassador. In her early career Linda interned at Reconciliation Australia, Caxton Legal Centre and Queensland Advocacy Incorporated. She also studied on exchange at Yonsei in South Korea, and attended summer school at Oxford University. Linda was an Associate to a District Court Judge. She has worked in private practice, then Legal Aid Queensland for a few years before commencing in her current role with Robertson O’Gorman Solicitors. Some of her other work has included being a council member with the ABC Advisory Council and being the present Vice President of the Queensland Chapter of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association.

During the episode, Linda discusses the Office of the Special Commissioner, Equity and Diversity. More information about this can be found here.

We introduce ourselves, our podcast and our 'why'. In particular, we discuss why we wanted to explore the topic of 'diversity'. Digressions include not knowing the national anthem, our pacific connection and more. This was our first ever recording. Off-line, we wrestled about whether to publish this episode or re-record it. We decided to publish it, warts and all, because we want to look back on this journey one day and laugh at how much we talk too fast or had no idea about how microphones work. These were the immediate lessons we learned after hearing this episode back.