About us

WHAT WE DO: Citizen Tasmania is a cultural organisation creating a safer world for forcibly displaced people we partner with people from migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds to tackle human rights challenges facing their communities and overcome them through education, economic empowerment and social connection.

Our mission

Citizen Tasmania creates successful resettlement outcomes for refugees and forcibly displaced people by helping them shift from surviving to thriving.

Download our 2022 Annual Report

Our Board

• Grace Akosua Williams, Founder and Executive Director

  

  Grace is a human rights lawyer and social entrepreneur. She is internationally recognised for her advocacy work for forcibly displaced communities as a 2022 Echoing Green Global Fellow and a 2023 United Nations Human Rights Fellow. A global leader in social innovation, Grace is a founding member of the African Descendent Social Entrepreneurs Network supported by the US State Department and the Asia-Pacific Network for People of African Descent Supported by the United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights. A filmmaker and creative cultural practitioner, Grace works with the Australian Film,Television and Radio School to create innovative programs that build the capacity of young Tasmanians to share their stories. In 2024 Grace was featured in Mission Magazine’s twelfth issue, The New Order, edited by We Are Family Foundation Co-Founders, Nile Rodgers and Nancy Hunt.

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  Jon Grant, Chairperson

  Jon has a background in Horticulture and Agriculture and taught in this field in the Vocational Education system in Tasmania for over 20 years, later moving into leadership and management roles. In total Jon spent over 30 years working in education, the latter years of that period were in Senior and Executive roles. Jon has also worked for many years supporting young people to build leadership capabilities, some of which he has undertaken on behalf of Citizen Tasmania supporting young migrant women to grow as leaders in their fields of work and community. Jon’s passion for teaching and enabling others continues through his work running Handmade Matters Studio where he teaches Windsor Chair making. Jon brings his extensive experience in Senior Government Roles and his passion for mentoring and coaching young people to achieve their full potential to the role of Board Chair for Citizen Tasmania.

• Cameron Brown, Treasurer and Non-Executive Director

  

  Cameron is the Chief Executive Officer at the Tasmanian Council on AIDS, Hepatitis and Related Diseases Inc. (TasCAHRD), is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and he holds a Graduate Certificate in Business, majoring in Public Sector Management from Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Cameron is a Board Member, Treasurer, and Chair of the Finance and Risk Committee for Hepatitis Australia, and has previously held the role of Secretary, and Chair of the Executive Recruitment Committee. Cameron joined TasCAHRD in 2017 after a distinguished career as an executive across both public and private sectors. Combining strong operational leadership, ethics, policy and process development, Cameron has been able to achieve exceptional results for the Australian Public Service and several large national and multinational organisations, including General Motors, and the Hyundai Motor Company. Cameron has spent many years working in public policy and administration with Medicare Australia and the Department of Human Services, leading large scale project implementations and change management activities which have delivered exceptional public value and enhanced customer outcomes for the Medicare, Centrelink and Child Support agencies. Cameron is a member of the Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet, and Tasmanian Department of Health LGBTIQA+ reference groups, the Tasmanian Department of Health, BBV STI reference group, and the Tasmanian Sexual and Reproductive Health reference group.