Vivienne Chew

Vivienne Chew has worked with the International Detention Coalition since 2012, coordinating its work across the Asia Pacific region and serving as Acting Co-Director in 2020.  She has over a decade of experience working with refugee and asylum seeking communities, predominantly in countries of first asylum. She successfully established and managed refugee legal aid programs for Asylum Access in Thailand and Tanzania. Vivienne has undertaken a number of research projects on children’s rights, birth registration, statelessness, and the inclusion of refugees in the formal labour market in Malaysia. Vivienne holds a Law degree from the University of Cardiff, Wales, and a Master’s degree in International Human Rights from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. Prior to joining the humanitarian sector, she practiced as a corporate finance lawyer for Clifford Chance LLP in London and Thailand. Vivienne is an Obama Foundation Asia Pacific Leader and is currently based in Melbourne, Australia.

Mitra Khakbaz

Mitra Khakbaz has over 20 years of experience working with humanitarian, settlement and displacement-focused organisations. Mitra is currently the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of HOST International and leads the organisation’s work across the Asia-Pacific region, including operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. With HOST International and in previous roles, she has developed and led projects centred on regional humanitarian settlement, economic participation, community wellbeing, youth engagement, case work, intensive support services and child protection. Mitra was recently awarded a Churchill Fellowship to review best practices regarding employment pathways and livelihoods in accessing economic independence, with a particular focus on women at risk, children and families. Mitra has also contributed to the boards and management committees of various organisations, including the Immigrant Women’s Support Service and National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters. Mitra has a Master of Social Administration, Postgraduate Diploma Social Policy and Community Development, Master of Applied Linguistics and Bachelor of Arts and Humanity. She is currently based in Brisbane, Australia.

Evan Jones

Evan is a refugee advocate with a BA in European Studies, and a Master of International Development Studies from the University of New South Wales in Australia. He has worked on human rights and refugee protection issues for almost a decade, with most of his work focused on the Asia-Pacific region. Evan is currently based in Kabul, Afghanistan, as the Asia Displacement Solutions Platform Coordinator. He has previously held leadership positions in other organizations including Asylum Access Malaysia, and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network. Evan has also previously worked in various policy development roles with the Australian Government in Canberra, primarily focusing on international social security policy. Evan has extensive policy and advocacy experience at national, regional, and international levels, and has been widely published in the media on refugee issues. He has been a member of the IDC's Governance and Finance Committee since 2018 and became the Vice-Chair in 2020.