Patron and ambassadors

Magda Szubanski has been famous for making Australia laugh for over three decades. She has been named the “Most Talked about Person of 2017” following what many have called her ‘crucial role’ in the complex and difficult 2017 Same-Sex Marriage Survey. She is the patron of Twenty10, an ambassador for the Pinnacle Foundation and also volunteered for the Orlando Victims’ Fundraiser concerts in Melbourne and Sydney.

After early training with the ABC-TV cult show D-Generation, Magda shot to fame in 1989 in response to the huge variety of comic characters she created. For over thirty years Magda has survived and thrived at the top of the show business tree- a notoriously fickle and competitive industry. For three decades she has been a household name as one of Australia’s most loved and respected actors, writers and producers.

Magda has received many accolades over the course of her career, including a Mo Award, seven Logie Awards, three AWGIE Awards, two People’s Choice Awards, two Astra Awards and the AFI for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Australia’s favorite second-best friend, Sharon Strzelecki, a character she created herself. Including this, she was awarded the 2018 Victorian Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership by Women and Leadership Australia. She is also the 2018 recipient of the nation’s top free speech honour, the Voltaire Award, given by Australia’s oldest human rights organization, Liberty Victoria.

Cristyn Davies is a Research Fellow in the Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney Clinical School, and The Children’s Hospital Westmead, Australia.

She has published widely in the areas of gender and sexuality diversity in young people with a focus on health, wellbeing, and educational outcomes; health education including sexual health and relationships education for young people; qualitative research methods and design; HPV and HPV vaccination (including vaccine delivery systems); Implementation Science and Knowledge Translation; narrative and media studies; and innovative pedagogies and educational practice.

Supported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Cristyn represented Australian civil society at United Nations Human Rights Council 41 in Geneva, Switzerland, where she advocated for a human rights approach to data collection, health equity, and equity in education for people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identity. She worked in support of the renewal of a global mandate to protect people against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Cristyn also advocated for equity in access to HPV vaccination and screening for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Cristyn is the recipient of the Health and Wellbeing Award, Honour Awards, 2019.

She is co-author of the Growing up Queer report, which was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s research excellence award from Western Sydney University, Australia.

Mon Schafter is a Walkley Award-winning journalist, presenter and producer, and the founding editor of ABCQueer.

Mon has hosted the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade on ABC TV, the Innies + Outies podcast showcasing uniquely Australian coming-out stories, and has reported extensively for programs including 7.30 and the comedic current affairs show Hungry Beast.

Mon has interviewed Hollywood icons such as Jodie Foster and Margot Robbie, human rights pioneers including former High Court Justice Michael Kirby, and LGBTQIA+ trailblazers like Mercury Prize-winning artist Anohni — as well as hundreds of everyday Australians with extraordinary stories.

Mon created the ABC’s cross-generational series OK Boomer, OK Zoomer, and in 2020 was named one of Australia’s Outstanding 50 LGBTQI+ Leaders in the Out50 report.

Philip Busfield M.A. (Hons) Cambridge University (Mathematics) is a risk and finance consultant to the Private Equity and banking industry. He has three decades of experience in various senior executive roles in merchant banking and investment.

He is driven by his passion for Human Rights and particularly the rights of individuals to freedom of expression, speech, and life choices. To that end he has been an active Board member of Twenty10 incorporating GLCS for over 7 years, as Treasurer and as Co-Chair, as well as a number of other roles in the not-for-profit sector.

Born and raised in the UK, he now calls Australia home, and in March 2018 became an Australian citizen!

Benjamin is an Australian writer and broadcaster. He’s the author of The Family Law (2010), Gaysia (2013), the Quarterly Essay Moral Panic 101 (2017) and editor of Growing Up Queer in Australia (2019).

Benjamin is also a playwright and AWGIE Award-winning screenwriter. His current play for Melbourne Theatre Company is Dying: A Memoir (Oct–Nov 2025). He is the co-executive producer, co-creator and co-writer of the Netflix comedy-drama Wellmania (2023), playwright of Melbourne Theatre Company’s sold-out play Torch the Place (2020) and creator and co-writer of three seasons of the award-winning SBS/Hulu/Comedy Central Asia TV series The Family Law (2016–2019).

He is a board member of Story Factory and Co-Curious, and an ambassador for Plan International Australia, the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation, Victorian Pride Centre, Bridge for Asylum Seekers and the Pinnacle Foundation.

Benjamin has a PhD in creative writing and cultural studies from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). In 2019, he was voted one of the 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians, winning the Arts & Culture category of the Asian-Australian Leadership Awards.

He works and lives on Gadigal Country, part of the Eora Nation (Sydney, Australia).

Gary Bigeni pushes the limits of fashion as individual expression through his custom made-to-order fine art collections

Original designs are hand painted by Gary directly into ethically sourced eco-cotton, then made in very limited production runs using sustainable manufacturing practices. Intended to last a life-time, all pieces are gender neutral and designed to reflect the distinctive personality of the wearer.

Even as a young Maltese boy born with a hearing disability living in Sydney, Australia with his three siblings and mother, creativity was always present for Gary Bigeni. As a child he would sneak into his mother’s wardrobe and cut large circles out of the bottom of her dresses so he could create collections for his Barbies. Years later, following fashion training at East Sydney Tech, Gary Bigeni launched his eponymous label and secured himself as part of the Australian fashion cohort. With multi fashion weeks, presentations, artist collaborations and Celebrity muses, Bigeni has built a reputation for masterful drape, intelligent silhouette and artful use of colour.

Jordan Raskopoulos is an Australian comedian, sketch and stand-up artist, actress, singer, improviser, voice-over artist, writer, events host, panelist, commentator, video game streamer, world record holder, and advocate. She is best known as the frontwoman for comedy rockers The Axis of Awesome. Their YouTube channel has 315,000 subscribers and their music videos have over 200,000,000 hits. Two hundred million!

Jordan came out as a transgender woman in February 2016 with a funny yet touching video titled ‘What’s Happened to Jordan’s Beard?’ She has become an inspiration and Role Model to young LGBTQIA+ people by living her genuine life openly and publicly, and being an outspoken campaigner for progress and understanding. She has also spoken openly about her experiences with anxiety.

Jordan also boasts numerous television credits, including as a creator and star of The Ronnie Johns Half Hour. She has also appeared on Thank God You’re Here, Q&A, Good News Week, The Project, and Get Krack!n, and had a supporting role in Underground: The Julian Assange Story.

Kat is a queer identifying multidisciplinary arts practitioner, who is focused on building inclusive communities and engaged audiences.

Kat was the 2020 Creative Director of Sydney Mardi Gras, a 17-day LGBT+ multi arts festival and world-famous parade. In this role, Kat oversaw the creative direction and curation of all major events included in the festival and managed a team of LGBT specialists to realise an ambitious vision for an engaging and inclusive celebration of the many and varied identities that exist under the rainbow umbrella.

Kat is also the Creative Director and Founder of Heaps Gay, an award-winning arts and events organisation which creates outrageous and unforgettable events and experiences for the LGBT+ community and their allies. Some past highlights include the annual ROADWERK street parties, the opulent Qweens Ball at Sydney Town Hall during the VIVID Sydney program, among many others.

During the pandemic, Kat launched new ventures, Queer Agency a specialist creative and consultation service with a focus on lgbtqia+ audiences and voices & Summer Camp Festival, a new one day pride festival touring Australia in Oct 2022.

Michelle Heyman is an Australian soccer player and commentator who is passionate about sharing her story. She has played for the Matildas 11 seasons in the W- League. Outside of soccer, Michelle is coaching the next generation to hopefully share the same experiences. She is passionate about creating a safe environment that will help build leadership, positive attitude, and just to have some fun! Her main goal is empowering women in sport and whatever they set out to achieve, and to learn to love and smile when they are playing.

Heyman, having struggled with her own anxiety, aims to raise awareness around mental health. Almost quitting sport after the loss of her cousin who inspired her to get into soccer, she started to seek support and learn about her own mental health. She is grateful for the people around her that helped her to believe in herself and be true to herself.

Heyman is also a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community!

Nikita Majajas is an artist, designer, and community creative whose work spans wearable art, homewares, and socially engaged projects. Best known for her pop-art practice Doodad and Fandango, Nikita has collaborated with festivals, cultural organisations, and queer communities for over a decade. She has a long relationship with Twenty10, including designing their 2019 Mardi Gras float and running creative workshops with young people. She remains a passionate supporter of Twenty10 and the vital work they do.

Nikita is committed to celebrating queer joy, amplifying community voices, and creating spaces where LGBTQIA+ young people feel seen, supported, and safe. At a time when young identities continue to be debated and challenged, she believes the role of organisations like Twenty10 is essential. She is honoured to serve as an ambassador.

Patrick Abboud is an award winning documentary filmmaker and broadcaster. In 2016/17 alone as senior investigative reporter/ presenter on SBS VICELAND program, The Feed, he exposed unsolved gay hate crimes; discrimination against transgender people in the Australian Defence Force; and homophobia in the NSW Police force. His film on Australia’s underground Muslim LGBTQI communities helped secure funding for a national support group and community education program. Patrick comes from Palestinian/Lebanese parents, and was raised in Western Sydney and has worked extensively across community social services and the arts with a passion for working with young culturally diverse LGBTIQA+ folk. Patrick was just named one of the 50 most influential LGBTQI voices in Cosmopolitan’s 2017 rainbow list. In 2016 he won the LGBTQI Honour Award for outstanding broadcasting.