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                    Ambassadors

                    We appointed six ambassadors to represent the community for the duration of the Future Melbourne 2026 refresh.

                    The role of the ambassadors was to ensure that Future Melbourne 2026 was developed and completed as a rich and authentic expression of the community's collective desires for the future of Melbourne, to ensure that the process of engagement was inclusive, widely accessible and interactive, and to represent and promote the process for developing the plan within community.

                    Chair: Professor G​lyn Davis

                    Professor Davis is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.

                    He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy from the Australian National University. He undertook postgraduate appointments as a Harkness Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, the Brookings Institution in Washington and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

                    He publishes on public policy and is co-author of The Australian Policy Handbook, now in its fifth edition.

                    Professor Kate Auty

                    Kate is widely known for her work on climate change, law and with Aboriginal communities.

                    Kate was Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, Victoria (2009-14), Chair Ministerial Reference Council Climate Change Adaptation from 2008 to 2010, Member of the Premier's Advisory Council on Climate Change Victoria 2009-10.

                    She was a former Magistrate in Victoria and in Western Australia. She is currently Chair Advisory Board for National Electronic Collaborative Tools and Research (NeCTAR) and Chair University of Melbourne Advisory Board Melbourne Sustainable Societies Institute (MSSI).

                    Marita Cheng

                    Marita is Founder of 2Mar Robotics and founder and board member of Robogals.

                    Robogals has grown to 31 chapters and taught robotics to over 40,000 girls. Robogals was internationally recognised in 2011 as a leading youth social initiative through the International Youth Foundation YouthActionNet Fellowship and as a leading program for encouraging young women into engineering and technology.

                    She was 2012 Young Australian of the Year. Marita is an experienced digital start-up entrepreneur.

                    Tracey Fellows

                    Tracey Fellows is Chief Executive Officer of ASX-listed REA Group, responsible for the Group's operations and investments in Australia and international markets.

                    REA Group is a digital advertising business specialising in property. It owns and operates Australia's leading residential and commercial property sites, realestate.com.au and realcommercial.com.au, as well as property sites in Italy, Luxembourg, France and China.

                    The Group also has strategic investments in Move Inc., a leading digital real estate advertising business in the United States, and iProperty Group, which operates real estate advertising portals across South-East Asia.

                    Prior to joining REA Group in August 2014, Tracey was Executive General Manager of Communication Management Services at Australia Post, responsible for the physical and digital mail business that encompassed 13,000 employees.

                    Previously, Tracey was based in Singapore as Microsoft Vice-President for the Asia-Pacific region, responsible for sales, services and marketing across 12 countries. Prior to this, Tracey was Managing Director of Microsoft Australia for four years and also served on the ninemsn board. Tracey has also held senior roles with Dell and IBM.

                    Born in Canada, Tracey holds a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University and a Postgraduate Diploma of Banking Management from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. She lives in Melbourne with her husband Ian and son Jake.

                    Maria Katsonis

                    Maria is the Director, Equality in the Department of Premier and Cabinet where she provides policy advice for the Minister for Equality and the Victorian Government.

                    She is experienced in strategy, policy development and public administration. She is a Public Policy Fellow at the Melbourne School of Government, University of Melbourne and a mental health advocate with beyondblue and Mental Health Australia.

                    She is the author of The Good Greek Girl and has been published in The Age and The Guardian.

                    Rob McGauran

                    Rob McGauran is the Founding Director of MGS Architects and Adjunct Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Monash University.

                    He serves as Vice President and Chapter and National Councillor of the Royal Australia Institute of Architects. He is also a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee for Fishermans Bend.

                    Mr McGauran serves as Chairperson for the Sullivans Cove Waterfront Authority Design Panel and has been a member of the State Government's Priority Development Panel, a sessional member of Planning Panels Victoria, and Chairman of the Architects Registration Board of Victoria. Mr. McGauran serves as a Director at Housing Choices Australia.

                    He has also been a member of numerous government advisory committees and review panels. Mr. McGauran was awarded a Life Fellowship to the RAIA in 1999 for contributions to the profession.


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