Our Team
Dion McCurdy
CEO and co-founder
Dion is an Adjunct Associate Lecturer at the School of Political Science at UQ. He is our democracy and politics expert and one of the main drivers of NewVote. He has degrees in political science, psychology and law. He has managed a small business and is a practising solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland.
Ron Levy
Research Director
Australian National University
Ron is an Associate Professor at the Australian National University and frequent advisor to local, state, national and international governments and NGOs.
Ron researches and writes on public law and political theory, especially informed referenda, the law of politics, and deliberative democracy.
Chris Saad
Strategic Advisor
Chris is the former Head of Product for Uber and is a builder of strategies, products, messages, brands, ecosystems, standards and startups.
Chris is interested in both the form and the function. He prefers streams over pages, liberal over conservative, open over closed. He is interested in helping others succeed so that we can all work and play in shared personal and professional success.
Hamish Pratt
Director and co-founder
Hamish is the public face of NewVote. He has degrees in journalism and acting. He also manages his family agricultural business in Georgetown, rural South Australia.
Tom Wensley
Director
Tom is our nonprofits expert. He has degrees in political science, sociology and law. He is also currently the Brisbane area manager of AIME (the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience).
Helen Stump
co-Founder
A dynamic thinker and talented artist, Helen created our NewVote brand. Helen is a practising, qualified graphic designer with Alleyoop Group but is not active with NewVote at the moment.
Tech
Rohan Richards
Chief Technology Officer
Rohan is a software developer with Quartermoon Designs where he has built countless apps. He built the majority of our prototype and will now oversee the development of NewVote's iOS and Android apps.
Jay Agrawal
TECH Advisor
Jay is an experienced software engineer. He was the early designer of our prototype and he provides high-level support for our tech team.
Sean Magin
UX / UI Lead
Sean is a front end web designer, passionate about designing Engaging Interactive User Experiences for the Web.
Harsh Pandya
Software Developer
Harsh is a software developer, passionate about open source projects that aim to improve the human condition through the use of technology. He is currently working for ThoughtWorks Australia.
Cristian Campos
Software developer
Cristian is a passionate entrepreneur who loves new technologies. He loves a bit of new code and enjoys keeping updated in this amazing connected world.
Research Committee
Nichola Cooper
Sunshine Coast University
Nichola is a practising psychotherapist and academic researcher, undertaking a PhD at the University of the Sunshine Coast on the future of trust in an advancing technological era.
Nichola has also been working in the digital democracies space for many years, having come to us from her work at MiVote.
Prof. John Flood
Griffith University
John is the Inaugural Director of the Law Futures Centre at Griffith University where he is also a Professor of Law and Society.
John is interested in the interaction of technology and law and has a special interest in the future of law, blockchain, smart contracts, and ICOs
Dr Jane Thomason
ABt Centre for Digital Transformation
Jane is the Chief Executive of Blockchain Quantum Impact and the
Global Ambassador of both the British Blockchain Association and the Abt Centre for Digital Transformation.
Jane is recognised in Forbes Magazine (2018) as Blockchain’s Leading Social Development Evangelist, Dr Jane is a passionate advocate for Blockchain & digital technologies for social impact, education and empowerment of women and Women in Blockchain.
Tim Cadman
Griffith University
Tim is a research Fellow at the Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law at Griffith University.
Tim has been closely engaged in environmental and sustainable trade-related activities around the Pacific Rim countries and beyond since 1992 and have travelled widely within the region. His main areas of expertise are in global environmental governance, responsible investment, sustainable forestry, and climate change.
Dr Marta Poblet
RMIT
Marta is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Business and Law at RMIT University and the Director of the Developing Research Leaders Program at the university’s College of Business.
Marta’s interests are the intersection of law, political sciences, and technology. Specifically the connections between technology developments (AI, blockchain, human computer interaction) and the different theories of democracy and citizenship.
Ambassadors
Patrick Orme
Ambassador
Pat has a wealth of experience from his time in nonprofits. He is currently a Senior Officer at Reconciliation Australia and NewVote's man on the ground in Canberra.
Alfonso Coronel
Ecuador Ambassador
Alfonso is an Ecuadorean and Brazilian entrepreneur. He has a degree in geography from the UQ and has his own start-up. Alfonso is most passionate about large scale projects with measurable impact.
John Hooke
ACT Ambassador
John has a degree in political science and philosophy from UQ and is passionate about getting young people to care about governance. He is currently in North America making connections with higher education institutions.
Holly Pearce
Ambassador
Holly is a graphic designer and marketing content creator pursuing a degree in Psychological Science. She is passionate about communication and social connection.
Andrew Omowaire
Ambassador
Andrew is a commerce and science student at UQ, majoring in business information systems. He is passionate about using technology to further include everyone in the democratic process
Lailah Sinclair
Ambassador and Politics Team
Lailah has a political studies background with focus on environmental policy and climate change. She is currently working on a masters focused on sustainable planning and infrastructure.