About us
The Equal Employment Opportunity Network (EEON) is a not-for-profit organisation established in 1988 to support Equal Employment Opportunity practitioners and employers in Victoria.
The EEON committee is comprised of experienced practitioners with diversity of perspectives, attributes, lived experience and industry experience.
For almost 30 years EEON’s work is about inspiring people to action. The EEON mantra is ‘Learn, think, do’. We know that together we can help create a fairer and more equitable society.
EEON is funded via annual subscription. Members support amplifying minority voices and gain access to events, webinars, information and networks.
what we do
EEON brings people together to network, share information, learn from each other and inspire action.
Our annual events and webinars link people into a supportive network, showcase best practice diversity equity and inclusion in the workplace and stay up to date of emerging diversity issues.
We serve our members by minimising fees and maximising benefits. EEON is passionate about making positive workplace change in diversity, equity and inclusion.
our mission
Our mission is to help all organisations prosper by employing and engaging a diverse workforce.
Office bearers
Jill Sears
president & Life Member
Jill is a human resources professional with expertise in strategy development, program design, management and implementation, diversity and inclusion, equal employment opportunity, change management and general human resource consultancy gained within a range of sectors including resources, telecommunications, education, health and emergency services.
Sophie Burzacott
Vice president
Sophie Burzacott is currently a HR business partner at Ford Motor Company and is passionate about all things diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Born and raised in Ballarat she learned from a young age the importance of DEI when her younger brother was diagnosed with a disability at a young age. Competing her higher education at Federation University Australia and RMIT she has become inspired to learn more in the DEI space and create workplaces where everyone feels valued, safe and most importantly loves their job!
In her spare time she loves going to the gym with her twin sister, hanging out with her cat Kevin and watching horror movies.
She is looking forward to having an open mind, listening to others experiences and taking real action on improving DEI for all.
Adrian Price
Secretary & Administrator
Debbie Marks
Treasure
Debbie has a background in commerce with many years’ experience in IT and Business Project Management. Working for large multi-national organisations and governments in both Australia and the UK, she excels at delivering and embedding change. Now an accredited and qualified coach, facilitator and partnership broker, Debbie loves working with people to improve their outcomes in work and life. Debbie has specialised her support of DEI into Gender Equity, spending the last 12 years coaching working parents and their leaders in how to manage return to works, flexibility and team coordination. She has written and facilitated programs for large universities and within the government sector around leading remote and flexible teams as a means of enhancing diversity, inclusion and equity in our work environments. She now leads the Capability, Development and DEI portfolios of a publicly listed company.
Committee Members
Rana Ebrahimi
Rana Ebrahimi is the National Director of the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network Australia (MYAN). She leads MYAN to advocate for young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds’ rights and best interests in policy and practice.
Rana is an expert in social inclusion and humanitarian ethics. Recently, she has been appointed as the reference group for this Multicultural Framework Review (The Review).
Rana is the first Iranian woman to be a National Head of Office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Iran. She is also Director on board of Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, and member of several advisory groups including Welcoming Australia.
Mat Lewis
As an out and proud gay man working in the university sector, Mat has a background in finance, recruitment, call centres and HR. Mat is an LGBTIQA+ Equality and mental health advocate, residing on the lands of the Wurundjeri people. His experience from the financial and corporate sectors, and his passionate involvement (both professionally and personally) in the LGBTQ+ and mental health communities allows him to bring a personalised enthusiasm to ensuring the continual growth and elevation of underrepresented communities across a number of areas.
Now working at RMIT University in Naarm (Melbourne), Mat is the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Lead and works across a number of focus areas such as gender equality, accessibility/disability, LGBTQ+ and cultural inclusion.
Fiona Rose
Gregory is passionate about cultivating safe, fair and more inclusive workplaces and communities, where human rights and equality principles are understood, and people can exercise their rights.
He has strong expertise in designing, delivering and evaluating change and capacity building programs and learning experiences, that build and embed equal opportunity and human rights best practice in organisational systems and team cultures.
He has held a variety of education, engagement and policy and research roles across settings including in the public sector, secondary and tertiary education, and the Arts.
Most recently he has been supporting agencies to better understand the issues and inequality that exist at the intersections of sexual orientation, gender identity, culture and faith.
Michelle de Lima
Michelle brings proven success and over 20 years’ experience leading diversity, equity and inclusion, organisational design and development, leadership development, executive coaching, change management, consulting, facilitation, coaching, instructional design and leading cultural change from a range of different industries. She has led and or program managed the diversity, equity and inclusion teams at CFA, Emberin, Kmart, Forest Fire Management Victoria, CGU Insurance and St Vincent de Paul Society.
Michelle‘s strong program and project management, consulting and systems thinking skills, bring a practical and structured approach to leading inclusion, behavioural, cultural and leadership transformation initiatives.
She has led the design, development and delivery of sector leading gender, diversity and inclusion programs designed to improve gender and disability representation and reduce barriers for marginalised groups applying an intersectional and psychosocial risk and psychologically safety lens.
Michelle’s previous industry experience includes State Government, Local Government, Professional Services, Higher Education, Construction, Retail, FMCG, Finance, Insurance, Banking, IT, and Not-for-Profit.
Shazia haider
Shazia is a board director of an organization that provides support services to people with disabilities, helping them access and fully participate in their community.
She is an advocate for the disability community and a voice for human rights. She is also a Senior Talent Acquisition Advisor at RMIT University.
Shazia has been an active member of the Indigenous Committee and the Disability Leadership Group in volunteer roles.
Holding a master’s degree in business management, specializing in human resources, and a bachelor’s degree in computer applications, Shazia is a human resources professional with over 20 years of experience. She has worked with global and local ASX-listed companies, including IBM, Telstra, Australia Post, RMIT University, and the Australian government.
A stroke survivor with physical and cognitive disabilities, Shazia is passionate about the role that people with disabilities can play in their communities. She believes that people with disabilities share the same desire to contribute to society, live fulfilling lives, and lead and drive positive outcomes for the businesses they work in.
Ahmet Keskin
Ahmet is the Executive Director of the Australian Intercultural Society (AIS), which is a not-for-profit organisation that has been operating in Melbourne since 2000 with the aim of promoting dialogue between diverse peoples in Victoria through various programs, such as our lecture series, institutional and home iftar dinners and study tours.
Life Members and Associates
Jill Sears
EEON Life Member
Roman Ruzbacky
EEON LIFE MEMBER
Roman is an experienced inclusion, diversity and equity practitioner, starting his career as an analytical chemist. He has extensive experience in designing and implementing strategies, facilitation and dispute resolution to raise consciousness and build competency.
At the core of the work is the belief that people should be treated with dignity and respect, have equitable access to employment opportunities and outcomes and have the ability to participate in all aspects of work and public life.
Karen Milward
EEON Associate