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Entrepreneurship Panel

Panel Overview - Ormond Dining Hall

Solving problems takes more than just a good idea, it requires people with the right mindset and a lot of passion. The Entrepreneurship Panel brings together a group of young people who have made a big impact in a short time, all motivated by the needs of their peers to found companies and get new initiatives off the ground. At NAAUC we believe your age doesn’t determine what you can achieve, and this panel will prove exactly that!

Speaker 1 Bio - Christian Bien

Coming from a boat refugee background, Christian is highly passionate about social change and giving back to Australia, a country that has given his family a second chance at life. Christian founded the ATAR Survival Guide platform in Year 12, which was eventually merged into Elucidate in 2022. His ambition is to create a change for all Australians to support their achievement at school. 

In 2023, Christian left his full time role in Corporate Development and Strategy to pursue Elucidate full time and make a change for all Australians. In 2023, Christian was awarded the Westpac Future Leaders scholarship to pursue a Master of Entrepreneurship at the University of Melbourne and expand Elucidate's reach in Melbourne. 

Speaker 2 Bio - Katie Plume

Growing up, it quickly came to Katie’s attention that the sexual health education and training she was receiving as a young person was not adequately preparing her or her peers for adolescence. In taking on a leadership position during her time at College, Katie attended a NAAUC conference and during her pitch developed the idea of a Safe and Sexy Week; a week of peer-led, positive, and educational programs about sexual health and consent. 

Katie took this pitch, and worked to turn it into a reality, which quickly grew and evolved. Today, Katie runs Safe and Sexy AU, an organisation which educates young people across Australia about consent and sexual health. 

Speaker 3 Bio - Wil Massara

Wil is a 20-year-old social entrepreneur dedicated to inspiring all those who cross his path to understand their true potential, regardless of their age. Wil is the CEO and founder of Youth Leadership Academy Australia. From a young age, Wil was embedded with a 'can do' attitude, believing that any problem could be solved. Beginning his entrepreneurial journey at just 11 years old with his first business, he became frustrated with the education system. 

Wil used his frustration as fuel, and founded Youth Leadership Academy Australia at 15, with the mission of building a positively sustainable future through youth empowerment and leadership. Today, Wil and his team are trusted by over 750 schools across Australia, and altogether have positively impacted over 20,000 young people.

Speaker 4 Bio - Alexis McDonald

Alexis created a mobile application called HerHelp when she was 17. Having struggled with bullying throughout her schooling, she wanted to create a safe space online to encourage, guide and support women and girls through daily challenges. She had no prior coding or app experience, but wanted to make a difference - so she hopped on to YouTube and searched “how to make an app”.

She launched the app in July 2019 and since then has had over 10,000 app downloads. Alexis has since used her platform to share this positive message about mental health to her community through high school presentations, keynote speeches and Women In Technology events.

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29 November

Lunch

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29 November

Afternoon Academic Session