Rita Nehme is a Lebanese, Naarm-based leader in not-for-profit governance, sustainability, social impact, and community building. She has worked across sport, arts, and culture with a strong focus on sustainability, diversity, and inclusion. Rita is currently the Head of Sustainability at the AFL (Australian Football League), and her previous roles include work with the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™, Richmond Football Club, and a board director of Midsumma Festival. She was also appointed a Change Our Game ambassador by the Victorian Office for Women, championing culturally diverse and LGBTQIA+ women in sport.

Born and raised in Lebanon, Rita has lived and worked in Lebanon, the US, India, and Australia, contributing to not-for-profits, social impact projects, and grassroots community initiatives. A dancer for over 15 years, she has performed salsa and dabke in every city she’s lived in, and is currently an aspiring percussionist. Rita is passionate about connecting culture, movement, people, and social impact.

Jean Bachoura is a Naarm/Melbourne-based artist working across performance, writing, and experimental media. Born in Damascus and raised between Syria, Lebanon, and Australia, his practice explores diasporic narratives and cross-cultural collaboration.

Formerly a member of grassroots collective Mahalla Melbourne, Jean has partnered with councils, arts organisations, and community groups to curate club nights, open mics, fundraisers, and meetups. Passionate about connecting people, he fosters collaborations that bridge artistic and cultural boundaries. His work often centres on Arab diaspora collaboration, including Zaffè (2023), an award-winning immersive theatre piece created with Stéphanie Ghajar and a transnational team. He continues this partnership with Yè Ma (2025), exploring migrant memory, and is devising and performing in Crisis Actor (Arts House, 2025) for the Now or Never Festival.

On screen, he has appeared in works by Taika Waititi, Vanessa Gazy, and Goran Stolevski. A Wheeler Centre Next Chapter alumnus, his writing has appeared in Liminal and Kill Your Darlings, with his project TRETINOIN winning The Lifted Brow Prize.

Dani Moham is a Lebanese-Syrian singer-songwriter and visual artist residing in Naarm (Melbourne), Australia. Born in Tartous, Syria, and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, she moved to Melbourne in 2015. Her practice primarily focuses on music, with a growing body of work in visual art, exploring themes of identity, home, and love.

Dani is a co-founder of Watar Ensemble and one of its vocalists. The ensemble has quickly built a following through performances of original works and reinterpretations of songs from the broader Arab region. Since its formation, Watar has performed to diverse audiences, creating spaces of connection, joy, and belonging.

Dani is currently working on original compositions that preserve themes of memory and tradition, while also leaning into the identities and intersections of the multicultural worlds and people she continues to meet and expand through.

Nahed Elrayes is a Palestinian composer and writer. Named one of Arab America’s 30 Under 30 (2023) and featured in Essays That Changed Australia (2024), Nahed’s output blends artistic innovation with political insight.

Nahed’s compositions, like the Darwish-inspired “A Lover from Palestine,” have sparked global collaborations and received acclaim from SBS, 24FM, and Palestine News Network. As a writer, he is known for his deeply reflective and provocative essays exploring Palestinian identity, diaspora, and resistance — earning the Ghassan Kanafani Resistance Arts Scholarship and the WM Ball Prize for Best Essay in International Relations for his thesis on sectarianism as a colonial construct.

Previously the Development Manager at UNRWA USA, Nahed engaged over 116,000 supporters to uplift Palestinian refugee communities across the Middle East. Now based in Melbourne, he continues to compose, write, and organize events that honor Arab cultural heritage while forging bold, creative futures.

Nahed brings to the board a rare blend of artistry, political thought, and community-building, rooted in a deep love for Arab music, language, and liberation.

Ahmad Atawneh is a Palestinian product and payments leader with 23+ years of experience building systems that have reshaped economies and transformed real-time banking across the globe. Raised across the Middle East and now based in Naarm (Melbourne), He brings a truly global perspective to everything they do.

In music, DJ Matab hosts The Dounya Show on PBS FM in Melbourne Australia and Al Zaytouna on Radio Al Hara in Palestine, and founded Dounya el Disco, a party series bridging global beats with Middle Eastern rhythms. Matab has DJed in Tokyo, Ibiza, NYC and beyond, and has led numerous events and fundraisers — bringing people together through sound, solidarity, and shared experience.

Ahmad is also part of You live to Travel (YouLi), a travel tech company, created by his partner Jen, reflecting their passion for discovery and connection. A seasoned world traveller and food enthusiast, He has lived across continents and continues to explore cultures through both work and play.