Multicultural Bay Ambassadors
About the Program
Our community is diverse and we need more diverse values and voices reflected in our industry and environmental action. The Multicultural Bay Ambassadors Program is a four-month volunteer internship program for emerging professionals to develop skills in community engagement and education, and share cultural knowledge for the EcoCentre to better understand and design our programs.
Meet our 2022/23 Bay Ambassadors!
This fantastic group was selected to undergo professional training and co-design culturally inclusive events for Jan/Feb 2023. We’re pleased to introduce:
Kacey Tada: Kacey’s background is Japanese, and she recently finished her Master of Sciences at Melbourne Uni. She is pursuing a career as an ecologist and has participated in citizen science projects surveying whale sharks and research projects in post-fire forest regeneration.
Parth Zaveri: Parth is originally from India, has a lot of experience in mass communication, and he leads Eco Essentials, an organisation he founded to support businesses to be more sustainable. He is in the second semester of the Master of Environment and Sustainability at Monash Uni.
Claudia Zarate: Claudia arrived recently from Peru, where she worked for three years supporting local communities to have sustainable eco-businesses in protected areas. Her favourite field is forestry, and she is keen to participate in conservation programs in Australia.
Arjumand Zhar: (not pictured) Arjumand is originally from India and has broad experience working in STEM programs with CALD communities. She is the founder of the STEM catalyst organisation, where she supports young generations to get involved with STEM through workshops and events.
Welcome to the team.
Program Alumni
Summer 2021/22: Catalina Mardones, Jiani Zhang, Justine Nikiciuk, Nethmi Nagahulla
Summer 2019/20: Jinhua Xue, Niharika Sharma, Noor Salman, Saniya Dsouza
Summer 2018/20: Elissa Howard, Katy Li, Yashoda Pathak
Summer 2017/18: Brisa Yonzon, Chenxin Tu, Oscar Chen
Awards
Finalist: Keep Victoria Beautiful Sustainable Cities Awards 2020, Young Legends
Partners & Funders
The Multicultural Bay Ambassadors Program is supported by the Victorian Government Port Phillip Bay Fund (2022-2024 and 2018 – 2020) and Coastcare Victoria (2017/18, 2021/22).
