Jacob Thomas | 2015 Speaker
The (r)evolution of gender; how we exist beyond female and male
Growing up in the regional town of Shepparton in Victoria's North, Jacob Thomas has put away the Driza-bone and has called Melbourne home for the last seven years. Jacob is a young change maker, social entrepreneur, performer, and disruptive public speaker. After moving to Melbourne in 2008 to study at Monash University, Jacob completed a B.A in 2014, graduating with a double major in Sociology and Gender Studies. For the past three years Jacob has focused their energies in the Australian not-for profit space, focusing on mental health and suicide prevention in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Jacob has worked and volunteered across numerous fields, including aid and development, advocacy, gender equality, and currently works in the higher education sector at Monash University. In May 2015, Jacob represented Australia at the inaugural Commonwealth Youth Gender and Equality Network in Malta. Ahead of the Chief Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November, Jacob was involved in developing and delivering The Gender Agenda - a contemporary recommendation of the Commonwealth's youth voice on the next steps in achieving global gender equality.
Jacob believes in the power of young people to achieve great things, and is easily wooed through their insatiable adoration for baked cheeses.