About us

Iman Sissay being interviewed about Growing Up African in Australia as part of the book launch event in Hobart in April 2019. Photo: Jacob Collings.

WHAT WE DO: Citizen Tasmania is a cultural organisation that partners 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 by helping them shift from surviving to thriving. Citizen mobilises community efforts to overcome human rights challenges for refugee, migrant, and asylum-seeking individuals in Australia by providing access to education, employment, and social connection.

Download our 2022 Annual Report

Our Board

  • Grace Akosua Williams, Founder and Director

    Grace Williams, Founder and Director. Photo: Gordon Harrison-Williams.
    Grace Williams

    Grace is an award-winning social entrepreneur, shaping grassroots capacity across Australian communities. A graduate of Law and Political Economy from the University of Tasmania, she was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s award for global leadership and is internationally recognised for her advocacy work 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. The network creates positive social and economic impact in communities all over the world. A passionate filmmaker, creative and cultural practitioner, Grace works with national and global organisations like the Australian Film, Television and Radio School to create innovative programs that build the capacity of young Tasmanians to share their own stories and participate in democracy.

  • Pratiti Amin, Deputy Director

    Pratiti Amin, Deputy Director. Photo: Gordon Harrison-Williams.
    Pratiti Amin

    Pratiti is a business administration specialist and a passionate human rights advocate who migrated to Australia in 2015. Pratiti combines her lived experience of migration, passion for arts and a background of scientific research in biotechnology, human services and project management to co-design and lead community projects which support people from culturally linguistically diverse backgrounds to thrive. She spearheads Moonah Bazaar, a monthly multicultural market empowering the microbusinesses of Tasmanians from migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking backgrounds which enables the stated-wide launch of Harmony Week and Refugee Week. In 2021, she was engaged as a project manager for the None a Week campaign, a primary prevention family violence initiative which established Tasmania’s first Health Justice Partnership. Pratiti recently produced an episode on refugee resettlement and culture for the Citizen Power Podcast which featured the migration stories of two young women from Nepal who re-settled in Tasmania.

  • Kerns Juan, Treasurer

    Kerns Juan, Treasurer.
    Kerns Juan

    Kerns is a certified public accountant, who has over ten years of experience both in finance and auditing work in the Philippines and Australia. Kerns is currently employed at Findex as an external auditor. Kerns is passionate about helping businesses and entrepreneurs maintain a healthy cash flow and long-term growth through effective accounting systems and procedures. She enjoys participating in the Tasmanian Filipino community cultural events and bushwalking in nature.

  • Trisha Joanne Striker, Public Officer

    Trisha Joanne Striker, Public Officer.
    Trisha Striker

    Trisha is a passionate social justice advocate who has worked in ethical supply chains over the last eight years, with a focus on community-led activism. Her advocacy is underpinned by the core belief that all human beings have the right to freely choose a life that they consider flourishing. She is currently working with universities and primary schools to identify and mitigate the risk of slavery and exploitation of people in textile supply chains. Trisha is also keenly interested in how the structure of work and life can be changed to bring more delight and joy into the way we live. Her business and economics background gives her the framework to question the structures and systems in place that perpetuate inequality and injustice. Watch Trisha’s TEDx Talk.

Donate