LinkedIn Top Voices in Social Impact: The 15 creators to follow in Australia and New Zealand

The inaugural LinkedIn Top Voices in Social Impact highlights 15 thought leaders across Australia and New Zealand whose work is dedicated to improving the lives of others. These honourees are posting insightful content and shaping conversations around food security, equal opportunity in education and work, human rights, animal welfare and sustainability.

This is a diverse group of leaders in the not-for-profit, charity and social enterprise sectors who strive to achieve better outcomes for all Australians and New Zealanders. Their efforts fight discrimination and hardship, empower and sustain disadvantaged people, offer economic opportunities to those in need and champion climate change action to protect future generations. Their professional experience covers sectors such as workplace inclusion, mental health, refugees, wildlife conservation, disaster prevention and disability.

This latest Top Voices list joins a family of features highlighting creators in areas such as gender equity (Australia and New Zealand), LGBTQIA+, First Nations Australians and sustainability.?

Top Voices is a series of lists that have been editorially curated by the LinkedIn News team. To compile each list, editors consider each individual’s content on LinkedIn. Specifically: Are they covering the topic at hand on a regular basis? Are their contributions insightful, conversational and timely? Have they built up a community with whom they engage? Do they seek to give and get help vs. being self-promotional? We aim to highlight a diverse set of voices, so that the list reflects the world we live and work in today. You can find more about who is eligible to be a Top Voice at the bottom of this article.

Check out this year’s #LinkedInTopVoices in Social Impact in Australia and New Zealand — and follow them to stay plugged into the conversation.

Honourees are listed in alphabetical order. Reporting by Cathy Anderson with?Cayla Dengate,?Natalie MacDonald?and?Capucine Yeomans

Country: Australia | What she talks about: As the founder of feminist tech startup She's A Crowd, Condliffe is working to close the gender data gap and address sexual assault and gender-based violence. She supports survivors to share their stories, and advocates for prevention, policy change and action. Her posts aim to develop a dialogue about assault in a way that dissolves shame, and also to be a role model for feminist leadership and women in tech.

?? See more of Zoe Condliffe’s content

Country: Australia | What he talks about: Dawkins’ mission is to “get more people involved in inventing the future we need” by inspiring and enabling more people with diverse experiences to become social entrepreneurs. He is passionate about fostering the talents of female and non-binary entrepeneurs, offers inspirational advice and free training for budding startups, and shares success stories of social impact innovators.

?? See more of Tom Dawkins’ content

Country: New Zealand | What she talks about: Dedicated to the protection of our wildlife and their natural habitats, Esterhazy believes collective action and education is needed for real and sustainable change. Follow her for details about major campaigns such as the ‘Whale Tales Project’, practical advice on how to take action on climate change as well as links to her own news opinion pieces about issues including sustainable fishing practices.

?? See more of Livia Esterhazy’s content

Country: New Zealand | What he talks about: Fakhruddin is passionate about helping and empowering vulnerable communities across the world to reduce risks of disasters and the effects of climate change. Fakhruddin shares details of early warning systems for major weather events, disaster risk reduction for global communities and climate change risk management. He is also passionate about strong leadership to enact positive change.

?? See more of Bapon Fakhruddin’s content

Country: Australia | What she talks about: Findlay uses her LinkedIn platform to share what it’s like to have a facial difference and skin condition, and to be disabled. Also a LinkedIn Changemaker, she is passionate about disability arts and accessible arts; and strives to improve media representation of disabled people. Follow her for posts about how to be an ally for people with skin conditions, as well as perspectives on accessibility and anti-bullying.

?? See more of Carly Findlay’s content

Country: Australia | What she talks about: As founder and CEO of Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, OzHarvest, Ronni Kahn is dedicated to halving food waste by 2030 and helping people in need. A self-confessed social disruptor, Kahn is dedicated to solving global food insecurity, empowering others to drive change and raising awareness of the environmental impact of food waste. She also posts about community collaboration, government policy and champions the power of a passionate volunteer workforce.

?? See more of Ronni Kahn’s content

Country: New Zealand | What she talks about: An advocate for the promotion of economic development, social and employment interests of marginalised groups — particularly women, Pacific people, learners and young people — Sumeo lobbies for greater pay transparency and speaks out on issues such as family violence. She also posts about human rights report cards, and calls for greater measures to prevent sexual harrassment and reduce the gender pay gap.

?? See more of Saunoamaali'i Karanina Sumeo’s content

Country: Australia | What he talks about: As Australia’s highest profile advocate for refugees in Australia, Karapanagiotidis says his responsibility is to “show the power we have to create real lasting systemic change”. He posts about the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s community training programs, Australia’s food crisis and its impact on vulnerable communities and leadership in the non-profit space, but also his commitment to gender equity and diversity.

?? See more of Kon Karapanagiotidis’ content

Country: Australia | What she talks about: A survivor of domestic and family violence, Mason co-founded WorkHaven to motivate and support workplaces to take a meaningful approach to reduce the impact of violence and to support staff affected by it. She kickstarts conversations about the challenges of being a working woman, offers advice for employers to assist victims, and shares perspectives of others to normalise discussion of these issues.

?? See more of Jo Mason’s content

Country: Australia | What he talks about: McCormack founded Upschool.co, an initiative to bring free education to the world in a way that engages communities in a positive and impactful way. He posts updates on his educational adventures — such as his most recent trip to Antarctica — about unconventional classrooms and how to teach kids to be good humans. He also offers ways to stem the exodus of burnt-out teachers from the profession and to achieve change through education.

?? See more of Gavin McCormack’s content

Country: New Zealand | What she talks about: Dedicated to improving the lives of those in need, Page encourages and inspires professionals to step outside their circle and do something kind for someone else. Follow her for heartwarming updates on the work of the Kindness Collective Foundation including its PJ Project for families, the impact of their initiatives, the evolution of a non-profit and professional partnerships.

?? See more of Sarah Page’s content

Country: New Zealand | What he talks about: By developing high-level regional strategies on climate change, liveability and wellbeing, Tang strives to raise awareness and effect change by sharing perspectives on carbon neutral housing, reducing construction waste, ‘greening’ urban environments and renewable energy opportunities. A passionate cyclist, he often posts videos of his commutes to allow others an insight into the opportunities to transform cities to be more sustainable and safe.??

?? See more of Alec Tang’s content

Country: Australia | What he talks about: Taylor says his whole professional and voluntary life has been focused on social impact. As leader of one of Australia’s most well known charities, he and his team support young people to change their world by offering education and economic opportunity. Follow him for inspiration posts of those who are overcoming great challenges, government policy wins, partnerships with schools to implement careers education and the charity’s work with First Nations Australians.

?? See more of Doug Taylor’s content

Country: Australia | What he talks about: Tutt’s mission is to “inspire the next generation of Deadly Scientists” by giving young First Nations children the opportunity to learn STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). Having risen to prominence when sponsors of F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo gave up their spot to promote his non-profit, Deadly Science, Tutt recently received the Order of Australia Medal for his commitment to education. He posts about STEM classes across the country, supportive partnerships with corporates and the importance of community.

?? See more of Corey Tutt’s content

Country: Australia | What he talks about: A passionate advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in all contexts, Wetherbee leads a corporate strategy at his ‘day job’ with national broadband provider provider nbn and advocates for LGBTQIA+ inclusion via his role as chair of non-profit Wear it Purple. He is passionate about the collaboration with Indigenous businesses, equality in sport and safe workplaces. An ally for marginalised communities, he shares personal stories such as this post about his brother Joel’s disability.

?? See more of Ross Wetherbee’s content

Join us on Thursday June 30 at 2pm for the first episode of Inclusion Matters — a LinkedIn News series exploring diversity, inclusion and belonging in Australia, New Zealand and across APAC — to hear from Top Voice honourees?OzHarvest CEO and Founder Ronni Kahn AO and Kon Karapanagiotidis OAM. Register here!

METHODOLOGY

How we compile the list

Top Voices is a series of lists that have been editorially curated by the LinkedIn News team, with the goal of highlighting creators to follow who are covering the chosen segments and/or topics. To compile each list, editors consider each individual’s content on LinkedIn. Specifically: Are they covering the topic at hand on a regular basis? Are their contributions insightful, conversational and timely? Have they built up and engaged with their communities? Do they seek to give and get help vs. being self-promotional? We aim to highlight a diverse set of voices, so that the list reflects the world we live and work in today.?

Who is eligible

Any LinkedIn member who shares content and drives professional conversations on the platform is eligible to be a Top Voice, with the exception of LinkedIn and Microsoft employees, members who have violated LinkedIn’s User Agreement, including our Professional Community Policies, or individuals currently running in an election for an executive, legislative or judicial position.

Top Voices may include individuals who are a part of the LinkedIn Influencer (invite-only) or the Creator Accelerator (application-based) programs. However, being a part of either does not automatically boost a member’s chance of being a Top Voice, nor is it a requirement or prerequisite for success on the platform.?

Interested in building your audience on LinkedIn??

New voices emerge every year — and there’s nothing stopping you from turning your own ideas into powerful conversations. Try creating a post to share your expertise or thoughts on the latest trending news, and you may be surprised at the community you find. If you’re struggling with where to start, follow our LinkedIn for Creators page (in English) for content inspiration, tips, news, education and more. And if you’d like to recommend someone for a future Top Voices list, let us know in the comments (just be sure to tag them and let us know why you love following them). We’re always looking for new individuals to highlight.?