Meet the Fellowship team

Max Smith

Max is a facilitator and director of the Community Organising Fellowship, with a decade of experience volunteering and working as a community organiser, campaign strategist, and facilitator in a range of contexts from local action groups to parliaments and the United Nations Climate Negotiations. Max was previously a Clean Air Campaigner at Environmental Justice Australia, a community organiser with the Australian Conservation Foundation, a training facilitator with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, and an advisor to a federal Senator. Max also holds a graduate qualification in Community Advocacy. Aside from training, learning, and building the collective power to win positive social change, Max enjoys dancing, playing tennis, and performing stand-up comedy. Max lives on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. Max is a proud unionist and delegate of the Australian Services Union. Max is a COF 2016 graduate.

Edie Shepherd

Edie Shepherd is a proud Wiradjuri and Noongar activist. She's a youth worker turned trade union organiser, and has spent the past 6 years working across labour, climate and land rights movements. She led Blackfullas for Marriage Equality, revived the Aboriginal organising portfolio for the Victorian Trades Hall Council, and worked with communities from Djab Warrung in Victoria, to communities across the Northern Territory to protect and defend country from harm, and now works in the First Nations Justice team at GetUp. Edie is passionate about building the strength, skills and capacity of mob to challenge and contest for power in this colonial state. Edie is a COF 2020 graduate.

Kaz Uy

Kaz is the lead community organiser at national campaigning organisation, GetUp. Previously, Kaz organised at Tipping Point, building the leadership capacity and skills of student leaders in the #ClimateStrike movement to take action and build local power in their communities to help move Australia beyond the mining and burning of fossil fuels to 100% clean, renewable energy. Kaz has been an Organiser at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and Oxfam Australia, and a Training Officer at Democracy in Colour - a national racial and economic justice organisation led by people of colour. With roots in the Philippines, Kaz is passionate about decolonisation and integrating intersectional feminist leadership and community care practices from her home culture in her activist education work. Kaz also loves surfing and currently lives on the unceded lands of the Wadawurrung People of the Kulin Nation on the Surf Coast. Kaz is a COF 2019 graduate.

Isabella Morand

Isabella is a community organiser and activist trainer who’s been involved in the climate movement for many years. She’s currently the Program Manager of Changemakers Organising School and is passionate about creating leadership and development opportunities for organisers. Isabella also works as the Lead Digital Campaigner at the Australian Democracy Network. Isabella is a COF 2016 graduate.

Lauren Frost

Lauren is the Government Relations Manager at the Human Rights Law Centre, where she designs and manages political strategy on a range of human rights issues, including: First Nations justice, prison abolition, the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum, democratic freedoms, business and human rights, and reproductive rights. Lauren has previously worked as a community organiser and campaigner across the union movement and in climate justice organisations. Lauren specialises in facilitating diverse coalitions and alliances. She previously coordinated the Hands Off Our Charities alliance and is currently working on the national Raise the Age campaign.

Will Potter

Will is a proud Gundungurra man who started organising at school and in the broader community when he was 16, founding a local climate justice advocacy group. Will is now a graduate of the School Strike movement, an organiser at SEED Indigenous Youth Climate Network, a co-founder of the Macquarie Alliance, and a coordinator of the ChangeMakers Organising School. Will is also a 2021 COF Graduate.

Imo Kuah