Born in Kenya, as a fifth generation of East African birth with Indian origins, but raised in country Victoria, Tasneem grew up experiencing life as the proverbial brown pea in a white pod. Fascinated with the world and its people from her early years, this country school girl followed her calling and today is a seasoned Cross Cultural Consultant.
Tasneem is a highly sought after emcee and keynote speaker, whose nuanced world view inform her stage presence of impeccable wit and deft understanding. She brings issues of diversity, identity and inclusion across frontiers of leadership, innovation and disruption. Tasneem has captivated audiences at local and global events, including for International Women’s Day, AGM’s, academic conferences, Writers Festivals, launches, and school events, for clients across a mix of government, corporate, arts, education and NGO arenas.
A TEDxMelbourne presenter and writer, Tasneem has featured on numerous platforms including The Guardian, SBS Life, BBC, The Project, Q&A, Compass, The Drum and hosts the podcast, Strengths Untold. Her written work has been widely published in journals, anthologies, print and online.
As a commentator, Tasneem’s expertise is frequently sought on topics related to cultural inclusion, gender equity, anti-racism, intersectionality, cultural representation and social justice.
Her governance experience has included roles with the Victorian Public Service Commission, Fire Rescue Victoria, The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) and Ambulance Victoria. She has also Co-Chaired the NSW Legal Aid External Anti Racism and Inclusion Committee and advised the Collingwood Football Club Expert Panel on Anti Racism.
Tasneem was appointed the inaugural Ambassador for Women of Colour Australia, is a previous ‘Anti Racism Champion’ for the Australian Human Rights Commission – and was awarded an Order of Australia.
Testimonials
“We are writing to express our sincere appreciation for Tasneem’s MCing skills our recent Conference. She was a delight to work with, going above and beyond to ensure the conference was a success. Tasneem was incredibly knowledgeable about topics being discussed, always asking insightful questions to facilitate discussions. She was also very engaging and kept the audience hooked throughout. Furthermore, Tasneem was accommodating to the needs of the organisers and the audiences. She was always willing to answer questions and make sure that everyone was comfortable. She also created a welcoming and inclusive environment. I would highly recommend Tasneem to anyone looking for an excellent MC for their event. She is a true professional who is dedicated to providing her clients with the best possible experience.”
“All of us here at the Office for Women, would like to express our deepest gratitude for Tasneem’s valuable contribution and participation at the Gender Equality Strategy launch as our MC. Her knowledge, insights and contributions on stage throughout the event were invaluable to everyone in the room and greatly appreciated. Her expertise as host ensured the event ran smoothly and set the perfect tone! We’d also like to thank Tasneem for her leadership moderating the panel and making sure everyone was comfortable and heard, while at the same time ensuring we didn’t run over time in what was a very full program. Thank you so much from all of us at the Office for Women. “
“The Safe and Equal Primary Prevention team engaged Tasneem to MC the national PreventX 2024 conference. Across the project, from the initial outreach to the conclusion of the event, Tasneem was the consummate professional; responsive, transparent and incredibly engaged in the content and theme of the event.
In her role as the MC of PreventX, Tasneem was a calming and encouraging presence for both audience and speakers alike. She held the space with composure, compassion and a deep cultural awareness, and expertise in intersectionality and primary prevention of gender-based violence as the core conference subject. Tasneem provided a continuous thread throughout the two days by articulately summarising each session and teasing out key points and reflective observations to help ground the conference theme.
We would happily and enthusiastically jump at the opportunity to work with Tasneem again, and would recommend her to all sector friends looking for a fabulous MC or speaker for their events.”
“I wanted to reach out and thank Tasneem for an excellent and engaging session. Her suggestions on how to set Networks for success was such a good one. Herr words have sparked so many excellent conversations at the Commission already and I really look forward to seeing where we go from here.”
“Tasneem is all around an amazing speaker. She is not only engaging and insightful, but the advice she provided to tackle workplace racism and unconscious bias was done in an impactful manner. We appreciated her ability to speak boldly on sensitive issues with such professionalism. We thank Tasneem for joining our panel event to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – such a perfect speaker for the Day!”
“Tasneem was a fantastic speaker, and a pleasure to work with. The day was a great success and I’ve had so much positive feedback about the Keynote and the Panel.”
“We truly appreciated the frank and wide-ranging conversation. We gained so much insight from hearing about Tasneem’s lived experience, were inspired by her passion as an activist for diversity, and will strive to take on the tangible actions she set as a challenge for us to keep doing better. We are thankful for her sharing her knowledge and experience with such candour.”
On behalf of the students and staff of Minaret College, I wish to thank you for visiting to our college and sharing your personal and professional stories. Students were left with an understanding of how moments from their lives and simple observations can lead to a wonderful story. Thank you so much for your excellent presentation. Your ability to work with a large group of students was very impressive and allowed a fun experience for the children to fully participate in sharing your ideas. I have received a lot of positive feedback from the students and teachers on your ability to reach out and capture such a diverse audience.
Tasneem was both engaging and funny! She had a great life story to tell and I was in awe of how much she is involved with and how much she does!
Tasneem, we really enjoyed your keynote speech on inclusive leadership, particularly around disrupting systems of privilege, making the most of multicultural talent and moving from tolerance to understanding. Thank you for also sharing your personal experiences.
And thank you for being part of the panel. We have heard glowing feedback about this discussion, and there was a genuine sense of engagement from the audience. Your advice and insights made for an extremely valuable discussion.
From myself and the team here at MAQ, thank you for making the second Speaker Series forum another successful event.