“Amnesty believes everyone is entitled to live in a world where their human rights are recognised, realised and protected.”WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? I’ve always loved the ocean and I dreamed of being a marine biologist. During my teenage years, I developed an inconvenient fear of sharks (albeit a very rational fear when swimming in Gadigal waters!), which subsequently made my dream far less appealing!
HOW DID YOU GET INTO NONPROFITS? Save the Children’s ‘No Child Born to Die’ television ad made me want to support people impacted by inequality and injustice and, serendipitously, my first NFP role was with Save the Children UK. Since then, I have worked in individual giving leadership roles at Save the Children Australia, Act for Peace, Australian Red Cross and Amnesty International Australia, supporting teams to raise over $100 million for international development and human rights.
PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROLE I’ve had the privilege of working for Amnesty International Australia on Gadigal land for 4.5 years. Amnesty believes everyone is entitled to live in a world where their human rights are recognised, realised and protected. Our global teams bring torturers to justice, change oppressive laws and free people jailed just for voicing their opinion. We protect human rights by searching out the facts, exposing what’s happening and rallying people to pressure governments and others to respect human rights.
My role at Amnesty is to provide strategic vision and leadership to the Acquisition and Loyalty team of seven. We are responsible for inspiring support from new audiences, raising $17 million for human rights work and developing allyship resources to affect societal change.
WHO HAS BEEN AN INSPIRATION IN YOUR CAREER AND WHY? Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to have worked with inspirational women leaders. Dominique Beck and Vanessa Fudge from Leading Well have been the driving force behind my leadership growth over the last year. Vanessa taught me about systems leadership, leading with purpose and creating a sense of belonging for teams. Dominique shared the importance of wellbeing – teaching me you can only be optimal in the workplace if your wellbeing is optimal.
I’ve also been mentored by leaders such as Lizzie Borwick, Amnesty’s former Director of Fundraising and Philanthropy, who led with authenticity, empathy and courage. These women have shaped who I am as a fundraiser and leader.
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE A) BEST AND B) THE MOST CHALLENGING THINGS AT WORK IN THE PAST YEAR? The best was having the honour of working with my colleagues to develop Amnesty International Australia’s allyship program and I’m immensely proud to have contributed to the development of our How to Raise an Anti-racism Ally guide.
At Amnesty, we had a vision to develop meaningful allyship resources, which would empower and inspire people to join the movement as anti-racism allies, supporting Amnesty’s work by actively challenging racism in their communities and donating much-needed funds, which in turn helps Amnesty challenge the underlying issue that results in the detention of people seeking safe refuge and the over-incarceration of First Nations people: racism.
People with lived experience of racism were at the forefront of developing the guide. Amnesty staff bravely shared their experiences to help others in the community understand the human impacts of racism. 27,000 people have requested to download the guide – that’s thousands of people supported to become better allies.
In contrast, the worst thing has been the rising cost of living and seeing the direct impact it has had on individuals, communities and charitable giving. Despite this, our supporters have continued to champion our human rights work, and I am in awe of their generosity and kindness.
The impact of inflation has been the biggest challenge. A decline in income is concerning but it does offer an opportunity for innovation – Amnesty is developing new products and testing new channels, and I’m proud of my team for being the first NFP to market on Reddit.
WHAT HAS CAUGHT YOUR EYE AS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF FUNDRAISING? My team recently shared with me UNICEF’s regular giving Paddington Bear product for families. The subtext of Paddington Bear’s story about anti-racism and encouraging understanding towards people seeking safe refuge resonates with me. UNICEF’s product is a unique regular giving subscription that gives families a way to engage their children in conversations about different cultures, diversity and inclusivity — all through the magic of a character from children’s literature.
Aleysha will be presenting a session with her colleague Frances Lee on ‘Fundraising to drive societal change. How Amnesty International Australia moved from a traditional fundraising model to co-designing campaigns with people with lived experience’ at Fundraising Forum in Sydney, 29-31 August.
This article is a sneak peak from the Winter issue of the F&P magazine, available soon online and in print. If you are not already a member and you’d like to get behind the paywall to access all the great F&P articles, join now!
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