IABCA YOUTH AMBASSADORS
Each year, IABCA works in conjunction with a team of ambassadors to ensure that the platform can continue to identify and celebrate the businesses, professionals and community leaders who are furthering the India-Australia relationship. Offering a familiar and friendly face for the IABCA platform, our IABCA ambassadors add tremendous value in keeping the IABCA community continually engaged with one another. Featured below are our IABCA Ambassadors from 2014 until date, so please feel free to reach out to any of our IABCA ambassadors or connect with them the next time you see them at an IABCA event!
IABCA YOUTH AMBASSADORS 2020
Arijit Banarji is an entrepreneur, digital marketer and a former journalist with over 14 years of experience across various fields. He was once the Editor of Sydney-based Indian diaspora news publication, ‘The Indian Telegraph’ while at the same time ran a start-up in Sydney in design and print media. Arijit became the name and face of his publication and was awarded the ‘Young Journalist Award’ in 2015 from the New South Wales Govt, Parliamentary Counsel’s Office. These days, Arijit can be found pitching for a greater collaboration between the Australian alumni based in India and the Australian government and businesses to move beyond the potentials between the two countries. He is also Director of Accelerator Ventures, which helps businesses grow sustainably, build strategic network and create partnerships in their respective fields.
Dr Astha Singh is a Science Communication and Marketing professional with over 14 years of experience specialising in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) and has shared her innovative ideas at TEDx Sydney. Astha led a nation-wide campaign in 2019 to raise awareness for Diversity in STEM with over 30 top scientists around Australia featured on the Australia's Science Channel. With her particular interest in diversity & equity, Astha has served as the advisory board member at Multicultural NSW, Australian Football League, NSW.
Currently Astha serves as the President for two not-for-profit bodies: the Australian Science Communicators, NSW and Yuva Australia and a mentor for commercial research at the CSIRO's ON Accelerator program
Dr. Devika Kamath is an Astrophysicist and Lecturer in Astronomy & Astrophysics at Macquarie University. She is internationally recognised for her work on observational studies of dying stars and their implications on the origin of elements in the Universe. During her postdoctoral research fellowship (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium), her discovery of a new class of stars proved that the evolution of stars in our Universe is more diverse and complex than what standard theories predicted.Dr. Kamath has recently been awarded the prestigious Australian Research Council DECRA fellowship to further develop her research. She has produced over 50 scientific publications and won competitive access to telescopes around the world, for an in-kind value of more than a million AUD.
With about 15 years of international experience in Accounting, Management and Strategic Leadership, Melvyn helps businesses design and achieve their vision through strategic planning and successful implementation of projects. A qualified CPA with two masters degree and several business awards under his belt, his strength lies in strategic positioning of businesses through management accounting, financial control & reporting and Branding advice. He is currently employed by Fortuna Advisory Group as Associate Director. Outside work, Melvyn is extremely philanthropic and runs programs for homeless and underprivileged people in Perth. His involvement in the space of charity is well recognized and acknowledged by Hon Mark McGowan MLA, Premier of WA among others. He also supports several projects in India, especially in the field of education. Melvyn is also a public speaker and has presented at several forums nationally and internationally
Natasha is IABCA's 2019 Young Professional of the Year. Her current role in Sydney at the Newland Global Group (NGG), focuses on India – Australia trade and investment ties. Natasha has 12 years of Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) experience, in analysis – communication – advocacy of federal government policies. She has been a delegate to SAARC, ASEAN, BRICS parliamentary conferences, invited participant at National Legislators Conference, Raisina Dialogue. She is an Influencer, Australia for Womennovator Global 2019, has been awarded by UNFPA and worked with UNIFEM. She is Deliberative Democratic Exchange Fellow 2019 (Kettering Foundation, Ohio, USA).Natasha is a regular commentator on India - Australia issues and aims for stronger, outcome-driven India - Australia bilateral ties
Pragya is a Gender Youth Activist with Plan International Australia where she advocates to make Australian cities more accessible and safer for women. She played a huge part in the organisation’s Free to Be campaign in 2018 and continues to engage with various campaigns. Having grown up in India she truly understood the deep roots of patriarchy that exist in our society and has always been passionate about fighting for gender equality. She has had the honour of speaking at the Women’s Day Breakfast organised by the Committee for Sydney and has been a guest speaker for the White Ribbon Day event organised by the Melton City Council in 2018. Pragya was the first recipient of the NDTV Deakin 100% Scholarship in 2015 and graduated with a Distinction. In the past, she has also been an Ambassador for One Girl Australia and the World Literacy Foundation. She is currently working at the McGrath Foundation and hopes to start her own social enterprise one day to support women and young girls from disadvantaged communities.
Reet has more than 10 years of experience in the Healthcare Industry as one of the Directors of Medsurge Healthcare. Medsurge Healthcare is one of the fastest growing & an award winning pharmaceutical companies in Australia. She is also founder of K.R Impex Pty Ltd , a gemstone wholesale & jewellery designing company. Reet is a qualified Gemmologist and Diamond grader registered with the National Council of Jewellery Valuers (NCJV) since 2013. Reet was a finalist in the "multicultural excellence category" at Ausmumpreneur awards in 2019. Under her management company has won many awards like Westpac "Top 200 Businesses of Tomorrow" 2017 & "SME of the Year" 2019 at IABCA Awards and Finalist in the "Medium to Large Business" Category at Ethnic Business Awards 2019. Reet is involve in conceptualizing and directing business development initiatives and streamlining operations, as well as managing sales, marketing and business augmentation. She is also member of "Women in Business" & "Make in India" chapters of Australia India Business Council (AIBC).
From Mrs India Australia First runner-up in 2016 to the winner of Mrs India Global 2018, Simran has demonstrated the drive and passion it takes to be an IABCA Ambassador. She is a well regarded in the world of fashion, as she walks the ramp for top designers globally. Simran has now turned her attention to Acting and has done several commercials, short films and a feature film due later this year. She represented Global Indian Talent at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, covered IFFM (Indian Film Festival Melbourne) and AACTA (Australian Academy Cinema Television Arts) Awards as a media personality.
In conjunction she also runs her own successful lifestyle consultant firm; simrangulati.com. As an effective leader she also is passionate about coaching & mentoring and works with non-profit organizations that continue to drive results.
Tarang is the founder of the Not One More Niki campaign to end violence against women, following the murder of his 23-year-old sister, Nikita, in 2015. Tarang advises the government, corporate and community sectors on human-centred responses to men’s violence against women. His work has increased Australia’s understanding of the judicial shortcomings, policy failings and cultural attitudes that have led to male violence being a leading cause of death and disability for Australian women under 45.. Tarang is a 2017 Young Australian of the Year Finalist, recipient of the University of Melbourne Rising Star Award for young alumni and named in the Top 25 Most Influential People working for social change by Pro Bono Australia. Tarang is a regular commentator on gender equality, racism, discrimination, Australia-India relations and political affairs.
IABCA YOUTH AMBASSADORS 2019

Akashika Mohla
Founder
Abhaya
Aanchal Shankar
Miss India Australia 2018
Jonathan Lees
Sydney Thunder
Jason Sangha
Australian cricketer
Cricket NSW

Khusaal Vyas
UNSW

Malika Singh
Business Development Manager
Accor Hotels

Rishi Kher
Chief Operations Officer
MetaliCoin

Shivali Nayak
Senior Content Producer
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Xavier Moloney
Diversity Manager
AFL
IABCA YOUTH AMBASSADORS 2018
Arka Das
Actor
Lion
Celina Lazarus
Co-Founder and Director
First Crop Coffee and Maillard Atelier

Mandeep Sodhi
Chief Executive Officer
HashChing
Michael Koss
CEO &Co-Founder
Netik Quick Clinic

Dr. Payal Mukherjee
Clinical Associate Professor
University of Sydney
Preeti Daga
Corporate Communications Manager
Community Housing Ltd

Prerna Pahwa
Founder & President
Simply Human

Sam Freeman
Director
First Impressions Resources
Sunil Menon
Multicultural Participation and Stakeholder Manager
Australian Football League
IABCA YOUTH AMBASSADOR 2017

Ash Nugent
Deputy CEO
CareerSeekers New Australian Internship Program

Ben Scott
Global trade and investment strategist
President
India Australia Exchange Forum (QLD/NT)
Deepti Sachdeva
Senior Manager - Future of Learning, Human Capital
Deloitte
Francesca McMillan
Managing Director
Fusion Events International
Indranil Halder
Sales Executive
Crown Group
Peter Doukas
Managing Director
Denison Toyer

Pritika Desai
Project Leader/Founder
ShoutOut! Youth Mental Health
Reena Augustine
Founder/Director
Redcarpet Functions

Simran Sapra
Actress/Model

Uppma Virdi
CEO
Chai Walli
IABCA YOUTH AMBASSADORS 2016
Ananya Soni
Miss India Australia International 2015
Deepa Mathew
Manager Deals Desk SA/NT region
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Kerry-Anne Peterson
Miss Colyton Galaxy Australia 2015-16
Indranil Halder
Sales Executive
Crown Group
Ky Chow
Associate Editor
The Australian Financial Review
Lisa Sthalekar
International Cricket Player
Navdeep Pasricha
Director
Institute of School Wellbeing
Sally Hetherington
Operations Manager
Human and Hope Association (HHA)

Shaun Star
Co-founder
Australia India Youth Dialogue
Dr Tanveer Ahmed
psychiatrist, local politician and author
IABCA YOUTH AMBASSADORS 2015
Adam Siddique
Head of Group Development
Dun & Bradstreet

Ajay Khandhar
IABCA 2014 Young Professional Winner

Dai Le
Director
DAWN

Del Irani
Presenter
ABC

Devpaal Singh
Advisory Board Member
Multicultural NSW

Divya Skene
Adviser, Trade and Investment
Austrade

Jasvinder Sidhu
Adviser to the Premier of Victoria

Karan Anand
Management Consultant
Deloitte

Natasha Malani
CEO
South Australian Leaders

Nigel Freitas
Chief of Staff
NSW Treasurer - Dominic Perrottet

Mohit Tolani
Clinical Lead and Associate Dentist
Dapto Dentists

L-FRESH The LION
Rising star in Australian hip hop

Paul McKenzie
AIBC & The Indian Telegraph

Priyanka Pri Pri
Singer, Composer, lyricist, Actor & Model

Rishi Desai
Semi-finalist on Masterchef Australia 2013

Rohan Singh
Head of Strategy & Major Projects
Australian Institute of Company Directors

Sam Almaliki
Senior Manager
Cricket Australia

Sanushka Seomangal
Senior Associate
HWL Ebsworth
IABCA YOUTH AMBASSADORS 2014
Esha Oberoi
Director
Afea
Aisha Amjad
Dr. Eman Sharobeem
Director
Immigrant Women's Health Service
Divya Dhingra
Farah Rizvi-Hammond
Managing Director
Medijobs Australia
Dr. Maala Lal
Clinical Psychologist