Leadership Team

Sally Hill

Sally works at the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department.

She holds Bachelors of Laws and International Relations and two diplomas of languages in Arabic and Indonesian. In 2013 Sally was awarded the Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Award for her first class research examining the effects of corruption on trade and aid in the Australia-Indonesia relationship.

Sally has worked as a solicitor, paralegal and seasonal clerk, at commercial law firms over the past five years, including at MinterEllison, Herbert Smith Freehills, Baker & McKenzie and Ashurst’s Melbourne and Jakarta offices.

During her most recent stay in Indonesia from 2013-2015 Sally worked as a consultant providing executive advice and training to staff at the Centre for World Trade Studies in Yogyakarta, as well as held the role of First Secretary to the Indonesian Ambassador to the WTO at the Ninth Ministerial Conference in Bali.

Prior to this Sally lived in Tunisia, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka where she interned at Colombo University’s Centre for the Study of Human Rights and won an Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce Language Award for her proficiency in Arabic.

Sally has spent 12 years traveling between Australia and Indonesia for work, study and pleasure and maintains technical proficiency in Indonesian/Malay, evidenced by her first-place award at the International Malay Speaking Competition: Prime Minister’s Championship (PABM).

As a co-founding member of the Australia-Indonesia Youth Association (AIYA), Sally is passionate about strengthening the bilateral relationship through people-to-people links. Sally believes that trust and mutual understanding are essential to maintaining Australia’s place in the world and that communication (and foreign language skills) is key to achieving this.

Sheila Hie

Sheila grew up in Jakarta before arriving in Australia to study in 2011. Her love of Indonesia is and will always be part of her, and became the reason for her involvement in both AIYA and NAILA.

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

Professionally, she currently works for ANZ Banking Group as a Senior Manager in their Trade and Supply Chain Finance division.

Sheila had the privilege of attending the NAILA Awards Night in 2018, where she was deeply touched by the experience and thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many people passionate about the Indonesian language. She is excited to contribute to another successful year of NAILA.

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.

Maighdlin Doyle

Maighdlin is a public servant. She recently completed a year-long assignment as an Australian Volunteer for International Development working as a Communications Consultant at The Asia Foundation’s Jakarta Office.

Maighdlin holds a double degree in International Relations and Asia-Pacific Studies (Honours), with majors in Indonesian Language and Indonesian Studies, from the Australian National University. In 2015, Maighdlin completed a semester-long exchange program at Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung with the Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’ Indonesian Studies (ACICIS). In 2015-2016, she was the ACT Chapter President of the Australia-Indonesia Youth Association.

Nurfitra Asa

Asa currently works for the Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’ Indonesian Studies (ACICIS) as Stakeholder Relations and Internships Manager. Beside NAILA, he was previously active in AIYA’s Victoria Chapter as the Creative Officer in 2014-2015. As well as his interest in Australia-Indonesia relations, Asa is a passionate environmentalist. He graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Geoscience. Prior to joining ACICIS, Asa was involved in sustainable development research, with a particular focus on sustainable natural resource management in Kalimantan. Based in Yogyakarta, Asa is determined to strengthen Australia-Indonesia relations through building partnerships between Australian organisations and their Indonesian counterparts. Asa was an integral part of NAILA’s development in its inaugural year and looks forward to growing NAILA in subsequent years.

Lachlan Haycock

Lachlan is a writer and editor with experience in interpreting, social media management and partnerships. He is an Arts (Honours) graduate in Indonesian language and literature, completed via exchange in Java and West Nusa Tenggara. Lachlan is a New Colombo Plan Scholar 2016, an alumnus of both RUILI and ACICIS, and was chosen as a participant in the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP) 2018-2019. He has dedicated much of recent years volunteering for AIYA chapters in Queensland and Yogyakarta. A highlight of his involvement in NAILA has been sharing in the passion for language learning and observing the forging of valuable connections between awardees and their families, team members and judges.

Stephen Sebastian Tedja

Stephen recently completed his Australian education and currently works for retail and ecommerce as an accountant.

Stephen is passionate about community development through P2P cultural exchange and language learning. He therefore believes that the work of NAILA and AIYA is crucial to develop the relationships between the two nations. This has driven Stephen to be involved extensively in the Australia-Indonesia sphere since he arrived in Australia.

Stephen has been involved with NAILA’s Finance portfolio since 2016. He is also the former AIYA Victoria Chapter President (2017/2018).

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.

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 Secretary for AIYA Victoria 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 who lives in Australia, Levina is aware of the potential benefits that could grow from a strong bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Australia, as well as the shared interests and challenges. Joining AIYA has been one of her ways of contributing to strengthen the relationship and being a bridge between the two countries. She began as AIYA National’s Finance Officer in 2017 and this year joined the NAILA committee as Engagement Coordinator.

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 UGM and received her Masters degree in finance from UQ. Having just finished her MBA, she currently works as a financial controller for a franchising company in East Brisbane.

Rebekah de Keijzer

Rebekah is a fifth year Law and International Studies student, 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.

Adhie Putra Perwira

Adhie is a certified translator of Indonesia and English. He is the CEO of a professional translation startup company named Transletin, leading hundreds of translators in Indonesia.

He believes that language is very important and the learning process should be fun. He co-founded English Fun Club, a community that teaches English to thousands of children in Indonesia.

He has a BA in international relations from Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. Having majored in diplomacy, he understands the importance of Indonesia-Australia relations. With international relations as his academic background and translation as his professional expertise, Adhie has found that NAILA is the best place for him to accommodate his passions.

Wisnu Trianugraha

Wisnu has a BA in International Relations, majoring in International Political Economy and Development Studies and Australian Studies, from Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta. He has been involved in Australia-Indonesia relations since 2011 and is currently the Communications Officer for AIYA Jakarta.

He previously worked in the Office of International Affairs at Universitas Gadjah Mada as Program Coordinator overseeing partnership agreements in North and South America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Additionally, he has worked as a Communications Officer at Neliti, an Australian-based company digitising Indonesian researches, and is currently freelancing as a translator.

Wisnu believes in the importance of people-to-people diplomacy between Australian and Indonesian youth as a strong base of the countries’ mutual partnership and hopes that his contribution to NAILA can foster these relationships.

Meta Azalia

Meta is currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Commerce at Griffith University in Queensland, majoring in accounting. She loves to learn and develop her analytical thinking and creativity. Beside accounting and finance, she is also interested in business and data. During her studies, she worked as a Business Development Intern at Garuda Indonesia Airlines and an Accounting and Finance Intern at Elnusa Petrofin. Outside her academic and work life, she is active in a running community called IndoRunners, and various other sports communities.

As she is passionate about Indonesian traditional dance and the diverse ethnicity of Indonesia, she enjoys promoting the country to everyone, especially her friends in Australia. She believes Australia and Indonesia have much potential to empower a strong relationship and collaboration between them. The bilateral relationship has inspired her to become actively involved in several relevant organisations. She is part of AIYA’s Queensland Chapter and is a volunteer for Balai Bahasa dan Budaya Indonesia- Queensland (BBIQ).

In order to advance her contribution to Indonesian language and culture, to meet new faces of inspiring people, and to advance her accounting and finance knowledge and skills, she is pleased to join NAILA in 2019 as a Finance Officer.

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.

Muhammad Hakim

Hakim currently works as a Student Leader at the Graduate Student Learning Hub in the Faculty of Education, Monash University.

Hakim is a student at Monash University completing a Master of TESOL (Teaching English to Speaker of Other Languages) through LPDP Scholarship (Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education) scheme. He holds a Bachelor of Education majoring in English Education from IAIN Salatiga (State Institute of Islamic Studies), which he completed in 2015. Hakim was a member of the International Class Program and worked as an assistant lecturer while he completed his undergraduate study. As a postgraduate student, Hakim actively engages in the Campus Community Division as an International Student Ambassador. He is also involved in the Melbourne-based Krakatoas, a football community club.

Hakim is passionate about language education. He believes education and language study can strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Wilson Chandra

Wilson graduated from Binus University in 2017 with a double degree in Information Systems and Industrial Engineering. He began his career as a Management Trainee at Danone Indonesia, during which time he was assigned to the Sales Strategic and Planning Department. As a Project Manager, he handled projects across Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, East Java, Sumatra. The projects were concerned with sales intelligence, route to market and business development, and worked to drive profit for Danone Indonesia and distributor businesses.

Experienced handling different challenging project, already create my capability to have managerial mindset such as negotiation,  communication, critical, dynamic and opportunities thinking. This success meant he graduated from Danone’s Management Trainee Program with honours, and he continued his journey at Danone in a permanent role as Assistant Manager Associate, Business Development, Channel and Category Strategy for Sumatra, Jakarta, and West Java.

While at university, Wilson participated in activities both academic (study case competition, laboratory assistant) and non-academic (youth organisation, student exchange), and was awarded scholarships from the Asia-Europe Foundation and South Korea’s Duksung University. Wilson believes learning something new and sharing in something great improves one’s self-development, an opportunity which he sees in NAILA. His interest in people-to-people networking, project management and multicultural partnerships motivates him to further collaboration between Indonesian and Australian youth.

Danica Vania Limawan

Danica is a final year student at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, Indonesia, studying a Bachelor of Business Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Science. In 2016, she was a delegate for a leadership program in Youth Excursion Japan 2016 “History of The Nation and Technologies for Future Generations in The World.”

Having a passion for art, Danica works as a freelance editor and graphic designer. She is currently a General Manager in Information and Technology Department at Association of Business Administration Students Padjadjaran University. She is also the Head of Media in Advocacy Department in her faculty organization.

Danica loves travelling around Indonesia and overseas. She also has an interest in studying other cultures and building relationships. Through NAILA Danica hopes to contribute to developing and strengthening the Australia-Indonesia relationship.

Destania Ika Putri

Destania graduated from Parahyangan Catholic University with a Bachelor of Political Science. She enjoys being actively involved in volunteer activities that support youth leadership. She also loves to work with children and started a project to teach child prisoners in Bandung for two years. Destania believes in the value of “living beyond ourselves,” that life is not always about yourself but also others. Working for UNICEF is one of her dreams.

Destania’s involvement in the Australia-Indonesia relationship grew from involvement in a youth leadership homestay program in Australia by Gerakan Mari Berbagi in 2016, as well as her prior experience working at Australia Awards in Indonesia.

By volunteering with NAILA, Destania is excited by the prospects of future collaboration between Australia and Indonesian youth.

Agus Firman

Agus is an alumnus of the English Department of Syiah Kuala University in Aceh. He currently works as a freelance English tutor, interpreter, and translator. He has been teaching English since 2012 for both private and state schools, including private courses. In 2013, he focused on enhancing his skills in translation and interpreting, and has since worked in a variety of local and international institutions such as Green Doctor from South Korea in 2015 and the International Center for Aceh and Indian Ocean Studies (ICAIOS) from 2014 to 2017.

Agus is an active volunteer at the Office of International Affairs at Syiah Kuala University where he plays a role in organising numerous international and local events conducted by the institution. Previously, Agus had a chance to participate in a student exchange program at Scotch College in Perth in 2007. The four-week experience made him realize how much Indonesia and Australia shares a mutual interest in improving the prosperity of both countries.

Agus realises that language plays a paramount role in reinforcing the bilateral relationship. Thus, he hopes joining NAILA as a translator will provide him an opportunity to have direct access to promoting the Indonesian language in Australia.

Anggi Nurqonita

Anggi obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Universitas Indonesia, with a major in Eastern European Literature. She is passionate about journalism and foreign languages and keen on fostering the Australia and Indonesia relationship.

In addition to acting as a Social Media Officer for AIYA National, Anggi is currently the Supervisor of the Film Department at SAE Education in Jakarta. She believes having the ability to speak foreign languages is one of the essential methods of fostering diplomatic relations. Her interest in foreign languages motivated her to participate in and emerge as the 1st Winner of the UNESCO Multimedia Contest 2018. Anggi hopes by taking part in NAILA as a Language Officer, she can contribute to supporting the Australia-Indonesia relationship.

Darcy Murphy

Darcy is currently completing a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Informatics alongside a Diploma of Indonesian Language at the University of Melbourne.

Since beginning Indonesian language studies in Primary school, Darcy has developed a keen interest in the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship. Darcy is an avid participant in AIYA and has spent time volunteering with both the Victoria and Yogyakarta chapters. He is also a member of the Krakatoas football club, a team made up of Indonesians living in Australia and Australians with a strong connection to Indonesia.

He has completed a semester abroad through ACICIS at Universitas Gadjah Mada completing his Diploma of Languages. He has also spent time studying at Universtias Udayana.

Looking towards the future as he completes his degree, Darcy wishes to further involve himself in the Australia-Indonesia relationship.

Hillari Dita

Hillari earned her BSc in Public Health with a focus on Public Health Nutrition from Universitas Diponegoro. During her time as a student, she actively engaged in student organizations and became a research assistant. Currently she is assisting patient safety and quality committee at a hospital and freelancing as a translator.

Having a passion for community development, Hillari encourages herself to be involved in community services. Hillari has been involved in numerous volunteer and field work activities across Java. She is an active volunteer for Leprosy Care Community and previously volunteered for Nganget International Work Camp (NIWC) in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, she was the Indonesian delegate for the World Village Conference.

Hillai is also interested in research, project management and language learning. Hillari realises that not only are languages beneficial in communicating and connecting, but they can also help foster bilateral relationships. Through NAILA she hopes to contribute to developing and strengthening the Australia-Indonesia relationship.

Indra Pujianto

Indra is studying a Master Degree in International Relations at the University of Indonesia. He is originally from Bandar Lampung. Prior to his Master Degree, he studied at English Department, Diponegoro University in Semarang where he studied translation for two years from a basic to an advanced level. He found that learning translation is both challenging and fun. Currently, Indra is starting a translation service business in his hometown.

Indra is also actively involved in social and volunteering activities, such as Earth Hour Bandar Lampung, Berbagi Nasi Lampung, and Taman Baca Masyarakat Kampung Merdeka. He is also running an initiative named Social Synergy Lampung which aims to empower Lampung youth and engage them in social development processes.

In April 2017, Indra was selected as Lampung delegate for YSEALI Youth4Dev Academy Bootcamp in Semarang. In May 2017, he became the delegate of Indonesia to participate in Tech Camp in Bangkok, Thailand.

Indra hopes that by volunteering as a translator in NAILA, he can promote Indonesian language study in Australia and strengthen the bilateral relationship.

Jack Johnstone

Jack is currently undertaking a Masters degree in Interpreting and Translation Studies at Monash University, specialising in Indonesian. He graduated this year with a Bachelor degree in Global Studies, majoring in Indonesian, from Monash University.

Other than his native English language, Jack speaks fluent Indonesian and Malay as well as conversational German. He had the opportunity to study as an ACICIS student under the New Colombo Plan at Gadjah Mada University, where he studied Javanese culture and history, Indonesian history and general literature with local Indonesian students, as well as improved his Indonesian with INCULS (Indonesian Language Program for International Students).

Jack was inspired to learn Indonesian in high school because of his mum, who is a Malaysian Chinese from Penang, as well as the similarities between Indonesian and Malaysian. He travels regularly around Asia, especially back to Penang to visit his family and relatives and be immersed in the culture.

Jack has been a private Indonesian tutor for the past four years. He tutors different age groups from children to adults. He has found tutoring Indonesian a passion as he loves meeting new people and sharing knowledge of Indonesia and its language.

Jack believes that there is a vital need to create awareness of the growing importance of Indonesia to Australia. This is not only through the geographical closeness but also due to both nations sharing similar understanding and economic opportunities via trade, finance and investment. As one of the Language Officers at NAILA in 2019, he is excited to open doors in the future to live and work in Indonesia as a translator and contribute to the prosperity of the Australian-Indonesian relationship.

Joey Gildas

Joey completed his Master degree in Asia-Pacific Studies at ANU in 2017 with an Endeavour Scholarship from the Australian Department of Education and Training. He holds a Bachelor degree in International Relations from Pelita Harapan University (UPH) in Tangerang, Indonesia.

While studying in Australia, Joey acted as Delegates Coordinator at the 2016 Asia-Pacific Week committee. He also had the opportunity to tutor an Australian friend who was taking a university Indonesian course. Through the tutoring experience, he became interested in teaching Indonesian as a way of connecting Indonesians and Australians. He hopes by being a part of NAILA, he will be able to use the platform to improve Australia-Indonesia relations by promoting the language and Indonesia’s diverse cultures to Australians. He believes that by teaching Indonesian to Australians, Australians will be one step closer to understanding Indonesia as its closest neighbour.

Joey currently works in Bangkok in the field of client service. His interests are geography, language, travel and YouTube.

Kristel Cahyadi Tjandra

Kristel is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the School of Chemistry at UNSW. She moved to Sydney after completing her High School Certificate in Jakarta. Kristel completed a Bachelor of Medicinal Chemistry with first class Honours in 2014 and then received an international student Postgraduate Scholarship from UNSW to pursue her doctoral studies.

Kristel is interested in cross-cultural exchange between Australian and Indonesian students. As an undergraduate she was a member of PPIA and thoroughly enjoyed working with others to bring about events to promote Indonesia in the wider society.

Laura Reinwald

Based in Melbourne, Laura works in business development as a tender writer for a national NGO that works to combat homelessness and disadvantage across Australia. Alongside this, she is also currently undertaking a Master of Translation and Interpreting (Indonesian>English) at RMIT. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma in Languages (Indonesian) from the University of Melbourne, and during her undergraduate studies undertook a semester abroad at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta through the ACICIS program in 2012.

Her experience abroad, her interest in contemporary Asia issues and Australia’s engagement with Indonesia have motivated her to become part of the community dedicated to strengthening the bilateral relationship. Laura is a member of AIYA (acting as Treasurer of the Victoria Chapter in 2016), and is a dancer for Sanggar Lestari Melbourne, an Indonesian dance and theatre group. Though Sanggar Lestari, Laura has made lifelong friends and developed a strong understanding of how Indonesian culture is expressed through music and dance. Key highlights include dancing at her friend’s wedding in Yogyakarta, and traveling to Indonesia with Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism – Wonderful Indonesia, for a week of cultural immersion activities.  

Through her experiences, Laura feels positive about the future of the Australia-Indonesia relationship. Laura hopes to see continued and long-term investment in language learning, which she sees as being a key part of the future success for our two county’s bilateral relations.

Maria Amabilis Lolita Viviana

Lolita received her BA in English Literature from Universitas Sanata Dharma in Yogyakarta. Interested in learning English since young age, she is passionate about teaching English as foreign language and teaching Indonesian to foreign speakers.

Previously, Lolita worked as an English tutor, including for an Indonesian Language and Culture Intensive Course for foreign students at her university’s language centre. Beside teaching, Lolita also loves to learn foreign languages. In 2018, she was awarded a Huayu Enrichment Scholarship from Taiwan’s Ministry of Education and recently completed her study at the Mandarin Training Center run by the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.

Lolita has a high appreciation for anyone who is willing to learn and develop themselves. She believes that a strong and lifelong relationship between Indonesia and Australia is in the hands of youth, a belief which motivated her to volunteer for NAILA as a Language Officer.

Siti Nurhalimah

Siti currently works as a freelance translator for various local and international agencies. She has extensive experience in the translation. She completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English Linguistics and Literature at the State University of Malang. She is interested in studying international business and linguistics as well as learning Swedish and Korean. She understands that it is important to promote Indonesian language studies in Australia to maintain a stronger bond.