Grace and Joanna

Grace is interested in humanitarian engineering and the need for sustainable development in the Pacific. She has become an integral part of the first-ever Pacific students club at Monash University, the Monash Association of Pacific students, and currently sits on three volunteer committees.

Grace believes that young people are Fiji’s greatest asset. She plans to motivate young people to pursue their dreams and further studies. She is looking forward to sharing her knowledge and skills in Fiji, specifically in the field of water engineering in rural areas. Through her participation in the Women’s Leadership Initiative, she hopes to encourage other Fijian women and men to step out of their comfort zones, take risks and pursue their passions.

Jose has worked in the development sector for 20 years, including in emergency and post-conflict settings. She has extensive experience contributing to policy development and programming across civil society organisations and government in Timor-Leste, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nicaragua, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands.

Jose has demonstrated expertise in gender equality, social and disability inclusion, peace building, action research and participatory monitoring and evaluation. She has advised on a number of DFAT initiatives in Timor-Leste, including the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (BESIK) program and the Partnership for Human Development. In her current role, she provides specialist support to the DFAT Water for Women Fund.