FOUNDER

Rushani Epa is the founder and editor of Colournary, which she started to diversify the food media industry, both worldwide and closer to home in Australia. She also works as a consultant, public speaker and freelance food journalist and has penned pieces for some of Australia's leading publications, including Gourmet Traveller, SBS Food, Time Out, The Guardian, Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, The Age’s Good Food, Sydney Morning Herald and more. She has previously worked as a publisher in food and lifestyle at Hardie Grant Books, as the food and drink editor at Time Out Melbourne, as head of marketing for the Vue Group and in countless other corporate and hospitality roles. She is passionate about diversity (in all its forms), food, hospitality and words and is striving to create safe spaces and a platform for those who are otherwise overlooked.

VOLUNTEER

Sebastian Pasinetti is a seasoned hospitality expert, co-founder of OKO Restaurant and the Pasinetti Group and a queer Person of Colour. He is also the Head of Partnerships at Kelly's Cause Foundation, which trains Mental Health First Aiders in the hospitality industry across the UK, and an ambassador for men’s health charity, Movember. Having worked in the industry, Sebastian is dedicated to creating safe and mentally healthy environments everywhere he goes and is passionate about advocating for space for LGBTQIA+ individuals in hospitality.

VOLUNTEER

Hind Karim is a high school educator and local tour guide. She is passionate about finding ways to use our voices and work collectively to support pedagogical practices that decolonise and diversify the curriculum. Born to Iraqi parents, her global upbringing and background in linguistics have acted as a springboard for endless curiosity and exploration of the instrumental role food can play in its ability to connect, share and uplift.

VOLUNTEER

Quincy Malesovas is a journalist, copywriter, and creator of GRUEL – an experimental dining platform designed to amplify underrepresented voices in hospitality. She's passionate about fostering cultural exchange and education using food as a medium.

VOLUNTEER

Phoebe McIlwraith is a Bundjalung and Worimi Saltwater dubay/galbaan from coastal NSW, with Hebridean (West Scots) and Cantonese heritage. She is a paralegal, consultant and writer passionate about sovereignty and community storytelling, currently based between Awabakal and Gadigal Country. Phoebe's work attempts to reflect the fluid and interconnected nature of grassroots lived experience; where culture, law, politics and food occupy unique spaces in everyday life. She can be found spinning yarns on Instagram.

VOLUNTEER PHOTOGRAPHER

Learncy is a freelance photographer based in Melbourne. Her educational background in publishing, combined with her love for images has led her to this intersection of wanting to tell stories through her images. She owes a lot of this passion to the city she grew up in, New Delhi – a very populated but diverse and bustling city where every street tells a story. Now, she does the same but in a different city. Having fully given into the Melburnian lifestyle, you'll find her capturing the laneways of Melbourne or sipping coffee in local coffee shops with a book that is probably overdue at the library. You can find her work at www.learncypaul.com or her Instagram on @learncypaul.

VOLUNTEER

Brian Tam is a food photographer and occasional writer, with an insatiable appetite for hot chips. As a digital marketer, he has worked with leading restaurants and chefs in Wurrung (Sydney) and Ngambri (Canberra); and his career highlight is photographing an event at the Noma Australia residency that featured René Redzepi and a visiting school group. You can find Brian's work in publications including Broadsheet, Good Food and Gourmet Traveller, as well as his little corner of the internet at briantamfood.com.