Our People

Karen is the Director at Deakin CREATE. She has worked, volunteered, researched and advocated in the refugee sector in Australia for the past 10 years and her research interests include progressing the field of refugee resettlement, principally focussing on career development and the impact access to tertiary education and training may have on the lives on refugees and people seeking asylum. Similarly, Karen’s research interests extend to investigating why some employers may or may not be actively including people with a refugee background, as part of their employment diversity and inclusion strategies.

Prior to her commencement with CREATE, Karen spent twenty years working in the tertiary education and corporate sectors, as well as running her own learning and development consultancy.  In addition to her day job, Karen consults and volunteers at several refugee and asylum seeker agencies in Melbourne, where among other things, she co-ordinates and provides food and material aid as well as supporting clients wishing to apply for tertiary education courses and scholarships.

Lucy Taksa is Professor of Management at Deakin Business School and Deputy Director of Deakin CREATE. She has undertaken research and published on various dimension of work, employment relations, employability and management of education, equity and diversity management, migrant employment and multiculturalism, labour and management history and tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Prior to her employment at Deakin, she fulfilled numerous leadership roles at UNSW and Macquarie University, including as Head of Department and Associate Dean Research.

Lucy was Director of the UNSW Industrial Relations Research Centre and the Centre for Workforce Futures at Macquarie University 1990-2009 and 2018-2021 respectively. Lucy was a part-time non-judicial member of the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal Equal Opportunity Division. She was a member of the NSW Ministerial Roundtable on Cultural Diversity in the Workplace and of the Australian Research Council’s College of Experts. From 2015 until November 2021, she was a Non-Executive Board Member of Settlement Services International (SSI), a leading not-for-profit organisation providing a range of services for migrants and refugees in NSW, QLD and Victoria.

Professor Taksa has been the recipient of 7 Australian Research Council (ARC) grants and numerous industry funded grants. She is currently leading an ARC project on migrant ageing and wellbeing in Australia, and she is a chief investigator on two other ARC funded projects addressing various dimensions of industrial and environmental transformations in the Blue Mountains and Port Kembla in NSW. Her recent publications have focused on migrant workers, humanitarian migrants and migrant businesses, and gender.

Anna Xavier is an Associate Research Fellow at Deakin CREATE. Anna’s PhD research explored the role of education in integration for refugee-background students in regional Australia. Anna has a number of years’ experience working alongside and researching with refugee communities from Sri Lanka and Rohingya in Malaysia, particularly in the area of education.

Anna’s broader research interests include socially just education, researching in fragile contexts and refugee integration. As an interdisciplinary researcher, Anna has worked and published in several areas, including; inclusive, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and higher education.

Dr Maria Rojas completed her PhD in Education at Monash University (2021–2025), following a Master of Education (Leadership and Policy). She also holds Honours degrees in Education and English Language Teaching, as well as Public Administration, reflecting her interdisciplinary expertise in education, policy, and leadership.

Maria’s work centres on supporting vulnerable, refugee, and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, with a strong focus on ethical practice, equity, and systemic inclusion. She has extensive experience working with students from refugee backgrounds, foregrounding their lived experiences, agency, and educational aspirations.

At Deakin CREATE, Maria contributes to the design and delivery of career development programs that support sustainable employment pathways for people with refugee backgrounds. Her approach is grounded in relational and participatory methodologies, ensuring that programs are responsive, culturally informed, and shaped by community voice.

Maria has received several recognitions for her academic and community-engaged work, including the Graduate Research Industry Partnership (GRIP) PhD Scholarship and the Thriving Communities Award. Her commitment to social justice and inclusive practice guides her contribution to CREATE’s mission of advancing equitable employment opportunities.

Dr Marilyn McMahon is a Professor in Deakin Law School. Her research interests are in the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, criminal responsibility and evidence. She is currently involved in three major research projects. The first project explores how victims and harms are constructed, both historically and in contemporary times, in the law relating to family violence. The second is an investigation of the rule against double jeopardy and its contemporary reform in Australia. The final project explores bail reform.

Marilyn previously worked at La Trobe University. She has published widely in the areas of criminal defences (self-defence and mental state defences) and criminal procedure. She currently is supervising graduate students who are exploring the criminalisation of the infliction of mental harm, domestic violence within the framework of human rights and the sentencing of women who have been victims of family violence. She is happy to supervise research students in any aspect of criminal law, criminal procedure and criminal justice.

In 2017, Marilyn was awarded a Victorian Parliamentary Library Fellowship for the project: Bail Reform and Risk Assessment. Also in the same year in November, she organised a Roundtable that brought together leading national and international scholars on domestic violence to consider whether a special, specific offence was required in order to effectively protect victims. The proceedings will be published in a book she edited along with Paul McGorrery, due to be released in 2019.

She has been appointed to three independent statutory bodies: the Mental Health Tribunal (appointed by the Minister for Health since 1995); the Forensic Leave Panel (appointed by the Minister of Justice and Regulation since 2017) and the Disciplinary Appeals Board (appointed by the Minister for Education since 2017).

Marilyn was previously a member of the Intellectual Disability Review Panel (appointed by the Minister for Health from 1988 to 2004) and was the designated Specialist Forensic Psychologist Member of the Panel from 2002 to 200

Shiri Krebs is a Professor of Law at Deakin University and Co-lead of the Law and Policy Theme at the Australian Government Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre (CSCRC). She is also an affiliated scholar at the Stanford University Center on International Security and cooperation (CISAC) and the Chair of the international Lieber Society on the Law of Armed Conflict. She is currently an Australian Research Council (ARC) DECRA fellow (Government of Germany), conducting a research project on the regulation of predictive technologies in preventive counterterrorism legal process.

Her research focuses on behavioural approaches to international law, including the effects of predictive and visual technologies on military decision-making processes, at the intersection of law, science and technology. 

Her scholarship has been published at leading law journals and has been supported by a number of research grants (including, most recently, from the ARC, the CSCRC and the Humboldt Foundation). Her recent international and national research awards include the David D. Caron Prize (American Society of International Law, 2021), the ‘Academic/Researcher of the Year’ Award (Australian Women in Law Awards, 2022), the Australian Legal Research Awards, Article/Chapter (ECR) Category (finalist, 2022), Vice-Chancellor’s Mid-Career Researcher Award for Career Excellence (Deakin University, 2022), the ‘New Voices in international Law’ recognition (American Society of International Law, 2016; 2022), and the Franklin Award in International Law (Stanford University, 2015). Dr Krebs has taught in a number of law schools, including at Stanford University, University of Santa Clara, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she won the Dean’s award recognizing exceptional junior faculty members.

Krebs earned her Doctorate and Master Degrees from Stanford Law School with Honours, as well as LL.B. and M.A., both magna cum laude, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Dr Yuen Lam (Fannie) Bavik is a Lecturer at Deakin Business School. Prior to joining the academia, Fannie worked as a management associate in the Development Bank of Singapore in Hong Kong. Fannie studies the role of emotions in explaining individuals’ behaviours and social relationships in response to interpersonal, intergroup, and AI-human interaction processes (such as leader-member interactions, social comparison, social support provision, intergroup contact, and AI adoption at work) in the employment and organizational contexts.

Her recent projects investigate factors that influence social integration, attitude, and employment prospect of migrant workers and refugees. Her work has appeared in top management journals including Academy of Management Annals and The Leadership Quarterly.

Dr Tebeje Molla is a Discovery Early Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellow in the School of Education at Deakin University, Australia. His research focuses on educational inequality and policy responses at systemic and institutional levels. Tebeje is currently leading a nationally funded project that explores higher education participation among African Australian youth from refugee backgrounds.

He has widely published on educational attainment and integration outcomes of refugee-background Africana youth. Theoretically, his work is informed by critical sociology and the capability approach to social justice and human development.

Associate Professor Amy Nethery is a political sociologist and public policy scholar at Deakin University. Her research is dedicated to strengthening democratic institutions and promoting inclusive, participatory governance.

Amy’s internationally recognised work in refugee studies examines the evolution and impact of asylum policies across Australia, Asia, and the Pacific. A central focus of her research is the analysis of immigration detention — its history, policy diffusion, legal status, consistency with democratic norms, and human impact. Her work critically evaluates refugee and asylum policy through the lens of democratic policymaking and institutional accountability.

In addition to refugee policy, Amy has developed expertise in parliamentary institutions, integrity systems, and political workplaces. Her research informs reform of parliamentary structures, processes, and cultures to enhance representation, safety, diversity, and democratic outcomes. In 2020, she led the world’s largest study of Members of Parliament transitioning out of office, contributing to parliamentary reform in Australia and internationally. She has also contributed to updating international standards for parliamentary codes of conduct and worked with regional parliaments on gender-sensitive institutional assessment.

Amy is a Co-Director of the Parliamentary Research Unit and is affiliated with POLIS Deakin, the Centre for Contemporary Histories, and the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation. She also serves as Course Director for the Master of Politics and Policy, supporting the development of future policy leaders.

Through her expertise in asylum policy, democratic governance, and institutional reform, Associate Professor Nethery contributes critical insight into the policy and structural contexts shaping refugee experiences and public institutions.

Dr Kim Robinson is a leading social work researcher with three decades of national and international expertise in working with asylum seekers and refugees. She works in collaboration with colleagues at both national and international levels that informs policy and practice in this field. Her publications and presentations at conferences advocate for ethical work with refugees and asylum seekers in health and social work settings.

Her research interests are human rights, strategies for community development and empowerment of CALD communities. She has published in the areas of asylum and refugee mental health, family violence, social justice issues with young unaccompanied minors facing deportation, refugee settlement, and refugee experiences of home and homemaking. Her publications are in Q1 journals in social work with a focus on practice and theory and ensure a wide readership.

Underpinning her work is a strong commitment to social justice, human rights, policy advocacy and practice leadership. Her research includes service users and services established to support new arrivals and people from refugee backgrounds, including mutual aid organisations.

Tana Penovic is an Associate Professor at Deakin University’s Law School. Her qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Melbourne, a Master of Studies in International Human Rights Law with Distinction from the University of Oxford and a PhD from Monash University on Australian refugee law.

Tania served for a decade as a deputy director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law and has worked as a volunteer lawyer in the refugee sector in Australia and the United Kingdom. She has provided numerous submissions and invited expert testimony to federal government inquiries concerning refugee law and policy. Her research is published in leading Australian and international journals, including the UNSW Law Review, Federal Law Review and Cambridge International Law Journal and focuses on advancing access to justice, rights and remedies for vulnerable individuals, exploring the extent to which common law principles and civil proceedings can vindicate human rights arguments.

Professor Sue Webb is a Professor of Education at Monash University, Australia (now adjunct) and was previously Professor and Director of Continuing Education at the University of Sheffield, UK. She has researched the policy effects and practices related to access and participation of students from under-represented groups in the field of further and higher education, including the experiences of migrants and refugees.

Currently, she is leading a project funded by the Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP170101885 entitled – Vocational institutions, undergraduate degrees: distinction or inequality? Additionally, she has been collaborating with others in Monash University and Deakin University on a longitudinal qualitative study of the higher education experiences of people from asylum seeking backgrounds. She is also Co-Editor of the International Journal of Lifelong Education.

Dr. Katja Wehrle is a Research Fellow at the department of Work and Organizational Psychology at the Justus-Liebig-University Giessen in Germany. In her work, she focuses on the intersection of career, migration, and identity research and particularly seeks to understand how people manage to adapt to challenging and/or involuntary career transitions. In doing so, she places a special emphasis on refugees’ vocational behavior, career re-establishment, and labour market integration.

Katja has published refugee research in the Journal of Vocational Behavior and is a contributing author to the Academy of Management Careers Division’s Best Symposium Award 2017 for the symposium “Refugees in Europe: Careers and Labor Market Integration”. She is currently a guest editor for the Special Issue on “Effective strategies for humanitarian migrants’ employment, inclusion and integration” in the Journal of International Management. Katja has several years of experiences working in the care of unaccompanied refugee minors and in the areas of the education and employment of migrants.

Shea Fan, Associate Professor in Human Resource Management at Deakin Business School.

Shea investigates how global mobility and cultural or ethnic diversity affect individuals, their interactions with others, and how organizations and society can help globally mobile individuals thrive and achieve their potential in new environments. Her research covers areas of international business, human resource management and business education. In particular, she has research expertise in a number of topics, including cross-cultural management, multinational corporation management, migrants, workplace loneliness diversity, implicit bias, social identity, bicultural identity and IT identity.

Shea’s research has appeared in top-tier international management journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, and Human Resource Management and has been featured in media outlets, such as the Conversation, Human Resource Director, HR Daily, Business News Australia and ABC radio.

She was the chief primary investigator of two competitive grants sponsored by Australia Department of Foreign Affairs investigating sister cities and international collaboration of local governments. She also received philanthropic grants from Telematics researching the work rights of international students.

Dr Zitong Sheng is an Associate Professor in the Management Discipline at Deakin Business School. She holds a PhD in Management (Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources) from Virginia Commonwealth University, United States.

Zitong’s research examines micro-level organisational phenomena, with a particular focus on prosocial and proactive behaviour among employees and newcomers. Her work explores how proactivity facilitates effective workforce transitions, including the integration of migrant workers and refugees into employment contexts. She combines substantive organisational research with a strong methodological focus, advancing optimal research practices through the integration of advanced quantitative techniques such as cross-lagged panel analysis, dynamic structural equation modelling (SEM), social network analysis, and interdisciplinary approaches including machine learning.

Her research has been published in leading international journals, including the Journal of Applied Psychology, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and the Journal of Vocational Behavior. She currently serves as an Associate Editor for Applied Psychology: An International Review and sits on the editorial boards of Journal of Business and Psychology and Management and Organization Review.

Through her expertise in organisational behaviour, proactivity, and advanced quantitative methods, Dr Sheng contributes valuable methodological and theoretical insight to CREATE’s research on employment transitions and workforce integration.

Professor Fara Azmat is Director of the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) at Deakin Business School. Her research is driven by a strong commitment to sustainability and social inclusion, focusing on social responsibility within the domains of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), migrant and disadvantaged communities, and social entrepreneurship.

Fara’s work examines how small businesses embed social responsibility practices, how social entrepreneurship can promote inclusion and sustainable development, and how SDGs can be integrated into business school curricula to foster responsible management education and climate literacy. Her research has been published extensively in leading international journals, including the Journal of Business Ethics, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Business Research, and Business & Society.

As PRME Director since 2016, Fara has led Deakin Business School’s sustainability initiatives, contributing to its recognition as a PRME Champion for multiple cycles and receipt of the UN Sharing of Information on Progress (SIP) Excellence Award. She plays an active leadership role in national and international networks, including the ANZ-PRME Chapter Steering Group and the ABDC-PRME Climate Working Group, and has delivered Carbon Literacy Training to academics and professionals globally.

Fara has secured approximately AU$300,000 in external funding from government and international agencies, including DFAT and the Department of Home Affairs, supporting sustainability and capacity-building initiatives. Through her research, leadership, and global engagement, she contributes significantly to advancing responsible management, climate action, and inclusive development.

Eva Hussain JP is the Founder and Executive Director of Polaron, a leading language and citizenship services organisation she established over 25 years ago. With lived experience as a former refugee, Eva has dedicated her career to improving access, clarity, and opportunity for individuals navigating complex multicultural systems.

Her leadership is grounded, collaborative, and human-centred. She brings extensive expertise in migration processes, credential recognition, translation and interpretation services, and cross-cultural engagement. Eva remains closely involved in frontline practice, ensuring her work stays connected to the lived realities of diverse communities.

In addition to her executive leadership role, Eva serves as the Honorary Consul General of Austria (Victoria) and contributes to multiple professional and community organisations, including NAATI. She is a regular speaker and published contributor in the fields of migration, language services, and multicultural engagement.

As a member of the Deakin CREATE Industry Advisory Board, Eva provides strategic insight into industry practice, multicultural workforce integration, and employment pathways for people with refugee backgrounds.

Susan Reece Jones is General Counsel at Ai Group, one of Australia’s leading industry associations representing employers across manufacturing, construction, engineering, and workforce sectors. She is a Legal Practitioner Director and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Susan brings extensive expertise in corporate governance, employment law, industrial relations, and regulatory compliance. She currently serves as Director and Company Secretary of Ai Group Legal Services and Ai Group Apprentice and Training Services, contributing to workforce development and apprenticeship pathways across Australia.

With a strong background in private legal practice and industry leadership, Susan provides strategic legal insight and governance expertise across complex organisational environments. As a member of the Deakin CREATE Industry Advisory Board, she offers guidance on regulatory frameworks, employer engagement, and sustainable employment systems that support workforce inclusion for people with refugee backgrounds.

Yasmin King FAICD is Chief Executive Officer of SkillsIQ and Director and Co-Founder of SkillsAware, with extensive experience in workforce development, education standards, governance, and industry collaboration. A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD) and Fellow Certified Practising Accountant (FCPA), Yasmin brings deep expertise in economics, governance, and strategic leadership.

Yasmin is recognised for her ability to balance purpose, people, and commercial sustainability. She has led large-scale initiatives to improve education and training standards across Australia and internationally, advocating for quality, innovation, and systems-level reform. Her leadership style combines strong commercial acumen with a people-centred approach, enabling collaboration across complex stakeholder environments.

As the daughter of a Polish refugee, Yasmin brings a personal understanding of resilience, migration, and opportunity creation. This perspective informs her commitment to ethical leadership, inclusive workforce systems, and equitable access to skills development.

As a member of the Deakin CREATE Industry Advisory Board, Yasmin provides strategic guidance on workforce pathways, skills recognition, industry alignment, and sustainable employment outcomes for people with refugee backgrounds.

Yuko Keicho is an internationally recognised leader in corporate governance, risk management, and institutional oversight. She most recently served as Auditor General of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where she led the internal audit function and provided independent assurance and strategic advisory services to the Board and executive leadership across the Asia-Pacific region.

Yuko has held senior leadership roles at the World Bank Group, including Internal Audit Director, and has contributed to governance oversight at major international organisations such as UNIDO and the Inter-American Development Bank. She currently serves on the International Internal Audit Standards Board and is a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Internal Auditors Japan, contributing to the development and implementation of Global Internal Audit Standards.

With more than three decades of global experience across multilateral development institutions, financial organisations, and governance bodies, Yuko brings deep expertise in accountability, transparency, risk oversight, and organisational transformation. As a member of the Deakin CREATE Industry Advisory Board, she provides strategic guidance on governance excellence, institutional sustainability, and systems-level impact to support CREATE’s mission in advancing employment pathways for people with refugee backgrounds.

Yung Ngo GAICD is Chief Customer Officer at OFX Group and a member of its Global Executive Team, with executive responsibility across the Asia Pacific region. He brings extensive experience in financial services, digital transformation, governance, and large-scale customer operations, having held senior executive roles across banking and global finance organisations.

Yung has full P&L leadership experience across complex, multi-market environments and has led strategic growth initiatives spanning consumer, corporate, enterprise, and partnership segments. His career includes executive roles at OFX, Westpac, St.George Bank, GE Capital, and Allianz Australia, with deep expertise in transformation, customer strategy, and governance.

He has also served as a Non-Executive Director of Settlement Services International (SSI), one of Australia’s largest refugee and migrant settlement organisations, and currently serves on the Board of Thrive Refugee Enterprise. Through these roles, Yung brings strong insight into employment pathways, financial inclusion, and sustainable integration outcomes for people with refugee backgrounds.

As a member of the Deakin CREATE Industry Advisory Board, Yung provides strategic guidance on industry engagement, workforce participation, financial systems, and sustainable employment ecosystems.

Alex Newman is Professor of Management and Associate Dean Faculty at Melbourne Business School. He is one of Australia’s leading researchers in the field of management. In the past two years he has been recognised by the Australian Research Magazine as Australia’s leading researcher across two sub-disciplines: human resources and organizations, and ethics. In 2022 he was also recognized by Clarivate as a highly cited researcher and in the same year was awarded the Mid-Career Award from the Careers Division of the Academy of Management.

Alex has published in leading journals including the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, the Leadership Quarterly and the Journal of International Business Studies. Alex has also obtained multiple awards for research impact for the work he has done to support the career reestablishment of people from a refugee background including a Green Gown Award, an Australian Business Dean’s Council Award, an Emerald Real Impact Award, and Australian Financial Review Higher Education Award.

In recent years he has developed a programme of research that examines how can we support the integration of refugees and asylum seekers into the Australian workforce. From 2014-2017 he led an Australian Research Council funded research project examining the factors that underlie successful refugee integration in the Australian workplace. This project examined how organizations can support refugee integration into the Australian workplace and developed a training programme that focused on developing resilience and other psychological resources of refugees. He was also editor of the first special issue on the vocational behaviour of refugees in the Journal of Vocational Behavior. The special issue containing 12 articles focused on how refugees seek employment, overcome work-related challenges and navigate their careers after leaving their home country.

Professor Julian Teicher is Adjunct Professor at Central Queensland University and Honorary Professor at Deakin University, with over three decades of experience in employment relations, public management, and governance. His academic career includes senior leadership roles at Monash University, where he progressed from Tutor to Head of Department, Director of the Graduate School of Management, and Deputy Head (Research) in the Department of Management. He has also served as Dean of Business at RMIT University Vietnam, Deputy Dean (Research) at Central Queensland University, and inaugural CEO of the Melbourne Institute of Higher Education.

Julian holds degrees in Economics and Law from Monash University and a PhD from the University of Melbourne. He has published extensively, including 15 books and numerous peer-reviewed journal articles in employment relations, human resource management, and public sector governance. His recent work includes research on employee voice and the impact of COVID-19 on work and workers internationally.

In addition to his academic contributions, Julian has practical experience in industrial relations, having served as an industrial officer for major professional and union organisations. He currently contributes to several professional and academic bodies, including the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association.

As a member of the Deakin CREATE Scholarly Advisory Board, Professor Teicher provides expertise in employment systems, industrial relations, governance, and labour market policy to support CREATE’s research and strategic direction.

Professor Andreas Diedrich is Professor of Management and Organisation Studies at the School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. His research focuses on organisational change, innovation, and the role of knowledge and technology in shaping organisational practices.

A significant strand of his work examines the integration of foreign-born individuals into labour markets and society, with particular attention to organisational processes, migration governance, and institutional responses to refugee employment. He has published extensively in leading international journals, including Organization Studies, Public Management Review, European Management Journal, and Scandinavian Journal of Management.

Professor Diedrich has also held senior academic leadership roles, including serving as Program Director of the Executive MBA program at the University of Gothenburg, where he led curriculum development and executive education initiatives for public and private sector organisations.

As a member of the Deakin CREATE Scholarly Advisory Board, Professor Diedrich provides academic oversight and research guidance, contributing expertise in organisational theory, labour market integration, and institutional change.

Professor Fei Guo is Professor at Macquarie University with extensive expertise in migration, labour markets, and demographic change. Professor Guo’s research spans demographic trends, fertility and life expectancy, skilled migration, diaspora and transnational communities, and the social and economic integration of migrants in Australia.

A significant focus of Professor Guo’s work examines labour market performance, migrant ageing and wellbeing, and the demographic dimensions of international migration. Her research provides critical insight into how migrant populations navigate employment systems, economic participation, and long-term integration outcomes.

As a member of the Deakin CREATE Scholarly Advisory Board, Professor Guo contributes expertise in migration research, labour market analysis, and demographic modelling to support CREATE’s evidence-based approach to improving sustainable employment outcomes for people with refugee backgrounds.

Professor Ingrid Piller is Humboldt Professor for Linguistic Diversity and Social Participation Across the Lifespan at the University of Hamburg and Distinguished Professor of Applied Linguistics at Macquarie University. She is an internationally recognised scholar in intercultural communication, multilingualism, language learning, and bilingual education in the context of migration and globalisation.

Her research examines how language shapes social participation, access to opportunity, and inclusion across diverse communities. She is the author of several influential books, including Linguistic Diversity and Social Justice (Oxford University Press, 2016), Life in a New Language (Oxford University Press, 2024), and Intercultural Communication (Edinburgh University Press, 3rd ed., 2025).

As a member of the Deakin CREATE Scholarly Advisory Board, Professor Piller contributes expertise in linguistic diversity, communication, and social participation to inform inclusive employment systems and equitable labour market access for people with refugee backgrounds.

Professor Gabrielle Wolf is a Professor of Law in the Faculty of Law at Monash University. She joined Monash in 2025 after a decade at Deakin University, where she held several senior academic leadership roles, including Director of Teaching, Deputy Director of Teaching, Course Director of the Bachelor of Laws, and Course Director of the Juris Doctor.

Gabrielle’s research spans health law, the regulation of health practitioners, public health law, sentencing law, legal history, and health records. Her work includes a particular focus on the registration and regulation of doctors from refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds in Australia, aligning closely with CREATE’s mission. She has published two books and more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters in leading Australian and international journals, including the University of New South Wales Law Journal, Sydney Law Review, and the American Journal of Legal History. She regularly presents her research at academic conferences and to professional and community audiences.

Her research has been recognised through several awards and grants, including funding from the Francis Forbes Society for Australian Legal History and the Sir Wilfred Brookes Charitable Foundation, as well as the Deakin University Faculty of Business and Law Award for Research and Innovation (2023) and the Vice-Chancellor’s Mid-Career Researcher Award for Career Excellence (2019).

Prior to her academic career, Gabrielle worked as a judge’s research associate in the Family Court of Australia and as a lawyer in private practice and in-house, practising primarily in the regulation of health practitioners. She holds degrees in Arts (Honours), Law, and a PhD in History from the University of Melbourne, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Learning and Teaching from Deakin University.