The leadership team of Outloud is committed to ensuring the diversity of Outloud’s audience is reflected in the composition of the Management Committee, staff and project roles, and to integrate inclusive thinking and behaviours into the way the organisation operates. As part of its mission, Outloud is committed to addressing the barriers that make it harder for some communities to have their voices heard. We believe that championing diversity involves challenging the social inequalities and hierarchies that enable unfair treatment and discrimination. We recognise that promoting diversity involves challenging the social inequalities and hierarchies that enable unfair treatment, as well as celebrating the impact diversity makes in enriching the organisation and the communities it serves.
Management Committee
CHAIR | Zena Dabaja: Principal at Birrong Girls High School
Zena Dabaja is an experienced educational leader who has dedicated 25 years to promoting excellence in student outcomes. Born and bred in Bankstown, she has dedicated her career to promoting equity of opportunity for the ever-evolving diverse and complex student needs in South Western Sydney. As the proud Principal of Birrong Girls High School, she has experienced first-hand the life-force and empowerment that comes from involvement in creative expression and is committed to supporting promoting the mission an values of Outloud because of the transformational impact their programs and initiatives have on every individual involved.
MEMBER | Dr. Emma Mitchell: Research Fellow, Macquarie University
Emma Mitchell has been the Secretary of the Board since June 2018. She became involved with Outloud during her PhD research in 2014 and has stuck around ever since. Emma has researched care and social support in South and Central Western Sydney. Her current research uses creative methods to explore children’s caring activities in low-income families in Cumberland and Parramatta.
MEMBER | Christiane Statham: PhD Candidate, Western Sydney University.
Christiane Statham is a curator, researcher and writer whose work is grounded in inclusive methodologies and an openness to diverse ways of thinking and being. Currently a PhD candidate at the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University, her research examines the relationships between new museums, communities and place, with the Powerhouse Parramatta as its central case study.
Chris is dedicated to supporting artists in creating ambitious work and firmly believes in the potential for art to affect positive social and environmental change. Having personally experienced the transformative power of art as a teenager, she is committed to Outloud’s vision and proudly supports its work in empowering young people through creative expression.
SECRETARY | Dan Buhagiar: Media & Communications, ABC, Triple J, FBi Radio
Dan (Danielle) Buhagiar is a media and communications professional with 20+ years experience. She’s worked at organisations including triple j, Double J and Radio National at the ABC, FBi Radio, UTS, the office of NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong, and the Justice and Equity Centre. In 2025, she was admitted as a lawyer. Dan got involved in Outloud because she’s inspired by the creativity, skills and passion of young artists and activists, and sees Outloud as an incubator for the leaders, storytellers and arts professionals of the future.
