Leadership Team

Sheila Hie

Sheila grew up in Jakarta before arriving in Brisbane to study in 2011. Her love of Indonesia is and will always be part of her, and became the main reason for her involvement in NAILA and AIYA. Sheila is the founder of AIYA Queensland Chapter and served as AIYA’s National Treasurer between 2015-2019. 

Sheila thoroughly believes that language is a key to a successful relationship. She also believes that Indonesia is truly the land of opportunities. These two factors emphasise the importance of learning Indonesian language for Australians and NAILA aims to spread this message across Australia.

Sheila enjoys making Indonesian traditional desserts in her free time. Professionally, she currently works as a Senior Manager in their Trade Portfolio Management team within the Institutional Banking division of ANZ Banking Group.

Melanie Kilby

Melanie has engaged in the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship for over fifteen years and continues to learn Indonesian today. Her passion for Indonesian language and culture began in high school and continued through to university, where she completed an Honours degree in Indonesian Studies. Melanie is the Secretary on the board of AIYA and currently works at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in Canberra.

Melanie believes that language learning is a key tool in the development of strong Australia-Indonesia relations. She considers NAILA to be a vital platform for both promoting language learning and connecting future leaders in the relationship, and is excited to contribute her efforts to the competition.

Michael Anderson

Michael is completing a BA(Hons) at the University of Melbourne, writing his thesis on the intersection between Chinese Indonesian religious and political developments. He also works in administration at the Australia Indonesia Business Council.

Michael has previously interned with YCAB Foundation, an Indonesian not-for-profit and social enterprise specialising in microfinance and education, and has completed short courses at Udayana University, Denpasar and Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. He was president of the Melbourne University Indonesian Studies and Language Association for two years.

Michael is passionate about Indonesia, with particular interests in the fields of history, religion, literature and bilateral business/finance. He has volunteered for NAILA since 2015 and began coordinating partnerships in 2018.

Minh Bui

Minh is an undergraduate student in the School of Economics, University of Sydney. He is also a recipient of the prestigious Young Researcher Scholarship (YRS) instituted by the Social Science and Humanities Research Association (SSHRA). Under this scholarship, he presented his research paper “Neoclassical and Classical perspectives on Competition in the Australian banking sector” at the VIth International Conference on Business, Economics, Law, Language & Psychology (ICBELLP) in Jakarta. He is also a recipient of a mobility grant under the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s New Colombo Plan (NCP), where he undertook a semester exchange at Universitas Indonesia in the second half of 2018.

Minh is currently undertaking another semester exchange at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. Minh has represented Australia as a delegate at the 8th Australia-China Emerging Leader’s Summit (ACELS8), held in Shanghai, China, on the theme of Sino-Australian trade, the challenges surrounding it, and the future trajectory of the Chinese economy.

He has also been very active in AIYA since 2018. Minh believes that an in-depth understanding of Indonesian language and culture are cornerstones for stronger cultural and trade relations between Australia and Indonesia. It is Minh’s hope that his contribution to NAILA can help Australians of all ages to undertake study of Indonesian language and culture.

Jade Lee

Jade is completing a double degree in Business and Arts, majoring in Economics and Indonesian. She hopes to finish her degree in 2020 by completing an ACICIS Semester Program in Yogyakarta.

She is the Sociocultural Officer for AIYA Yogyakarta and presently interns with the Australia Indonesia Business Council (AIBC), which aims to strengthen business ties between Australia and Indonesia. Throughout 2019, Jade has organised cultural events that aim to encourage high school students to continue with their Indonesian language studies.

Since encountering Indonesian studies in high school, Jade’s passion to support the Australia-Indonesia relationship has continually expanded. She has participated in two ACICIS programs, including an intensive language learning program in Salatiga, Java, as well as the Business Professional Practicum in Jakarta. During her time in Jakarta in early 2019, she interned at Hill & Associates, a security risk firm active throughout South-East Asia. She also attended several AIYA Jakarta and professional networking events.

As she progresses through her degree and career, Jade hopes to be involved in the kind of work that is meaningful, significant and purposeful for both Australia and Indonesia.

Levina Risdya

As an Indonesian living in Australia, Levina is aware of the potential benefits of a strong bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Australia, as well as the shared interests and challenges. Joining AIYA has been a way of contributing to and strengthening the relationship and being a bridge between two countries. This is her second year as Engagement Coordinator for NAILA, and she also serves as AIYA QLD Chapter President.

Levina believes that language is a powerful tool that should be utilised to comprehend different cultures. NAILA’s goal to improve the study of Indonesian language in Australia fits her vision to enhance partnerships and networking between the two countries by encouraging communication and meaningful connections.

Levina holds a Bachelor degree in accounting from Universitas Gadjah Mada, and finished her Masters degree at UQ and Kaplan Business School. She is currently based in Brisbane and works as a financial analyst in a global credit ratings company.

Rebekah de Keijzer

Rebekah is a recent Law and International Studies graduate, majoring in Indonesian at Deakin University. Her love for Indonesia extends back to 2013, where she participated in the Indonesian Australian Association’s six-week high-school exchange to Bandung. Since then she has completed a language intensive at Universitas Negeri Padang and interned with the Victorian Trade and Investment Office in Jakarta. She is excited to join NAILA and advance Indonesian language studies across Australia.

Adeline Tinessia

Ade is currently pursuing an Honours degree in International Security Studies from the Australian National University focusing on health security and Indonesia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She lived in Indonesia until the end of primary school before moving to Canberra where she has lived for the past 10 years.

Ade’s interest is in non-traditional security in Southeast Asia and in particular the role of non-government organisations. She has interned at a women’s rights organisation in Singapore before returning on exchange to Yale-NUS with a Westpac Asian Exchange Scholarship. She then interned at the Human Rights Working Group in Jakarta conducting field research on refugees in Jakarta. She has also interned at the Australian Institute of International Affairs.

Ade has been involved in AIYA in ACT since 2017 and is the AIYA Links Officer. She is passionate about exploring the grassroots bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Australia and improving each other’s cultural understanding. She believes the study of Indonesian language in Australia is an integral part of improving the bilateral relations and NAILA is an important aspect in the encouragement to study Indonesian.

Lachlan Haycock

Lachlan is a freelance writer and reviewer living on the lands of the Gubbi Gubbi people. He is an Arts (Honours) graduate in foreign languages and creative writing, and his thesis examined the transgressive attitudes of young writers in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. Lachlan is a New Colombo Plan Scholar and an alumnus of AIYEP, ACICIS and RUILI, and has volunteered extensively for organisations such as CAUSINDY and AIYA at national and chapter levels. A highlight of his NAILA involvement has been sharing in the passion for language learning and observing the valuable connections forged between awardees, their families, NAILA committee members and judges.

Wisnu Trianugeraha

Wisnu has a BA in International Relations, specialising in International Political Economy and Development Studies, and Australian Studies, from Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He has been involved in Australia-Indonesia relations since 2011 and is currently the Operations Officer (Indonesia) for AIYA National. He previously worked at the Office of International Affairs at Universitas Gadjah Mada as Program Coordinator overseeing international partnership agreements, and is currently undertaking his postgraduate degree in Canberra, Australia.