The 2025 Legal Laneway Breakfast

Before entering Parliament, Sonya was a lawyer in commercial litigation and banking and finance. She also worked for the Kimberley Land Council in Broome and was on the Board of The National Theatre and Back to Back Theatre.

Sonya believes that Victorians have much to be proud of, and an extraordinary opportunity to cement our state as a world leader in many areas. This is what prompted her to run for Parliament.

The priorities Sonya has for her community are to ensure equal and fair access to services close to home. She wants her community to be proud of the local area, and work together to create a vibrant, engaging, inclusive and welcoming place for everyone.

Sonya’s vision for Victoria’s future is that it is an outstanding place to live and work. She wants to see an inclusive state with a strong emphasis on technological innovation, local manufacturing, educational pathways, and a continuing commitment to equality.

The areas of public policy that she is most passionate about are all about creating jobs for the future. This includes education and training, transitioning our energy sector to renewables, and unlocking opportunities for women in the workforce.

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Vincent is a Program Manager in the Youth Law Program at Westjustice Community Legal Centre. In 2015, Vincent was employed as Australia’s first School Lawyer to provide students with legal advice, representation and legal education. He now manages the School Lawyer Program that is operating across 4 schools. Prior to his employment with Westjustice, Vincent worked as a solicitor in a small suburban firm in the areas of family law and family violence. Vincent also worked as a carer in residential care homes for young people removed by child protection.

Vincent has lived experience of family violence as a child and in 2017 his story and unique role as a School Lawyer was featured on an episode of ABC’s Australian Story. In January 2024, he was one of 12 people appointed to sit on the inaugural National Lived Experience Advisory Council within the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission.

Vincent completed a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from Victoria University and completed his Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice at Leo Cussen.

Vincent was the recipient of the Minister’s Award for Excellence in Protecting Children from the Minister of Children, Lizzie Blandthorn in 2023, Modelling a Generous Community Award from the Commission for Children and Young People in 2016 and a finalist for the Law Award from the Australian Human Rights Commission at the 2017 Human Rights Awards. Photo provided by Eko Hermawan, Victoria University.

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Dr Castan is a Professor and Associate Dean (Staffing) in the Law Faculty at Monash University. She has over 25 years’ experience teaching, researching and publishing in Australian Public Law, Constitutional law, Human Rights Law, Indigenous Legal Issues and Legal Education. She is the National Editorial Convenor of the Alternative Law Journal.

She is also Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, and sits on a number of university and faculty committees and she has a number of publications in these areas. Her most recent book is Time to Listen - An Indigenous Voice to Parliament with Professor Lynette Russell (2023, Monash University Press).

Melissa is the Chair of our Research Subgroup providing invaluable support on research methodologies and practice.

Lynne leads the Victoria Law Foundation team. She brings with her a wealth of experience in the fields of communications, journalism and management.

For 16 years, she worked with ABC Radio, including a stint hosting The Law Report on Radio National. She has also worked at the ACCC, the City of Melbourne, the Victorian Ombudsman and as a consultant. She has degrees in Law and English from the University of Western Australia and holds qualifications from the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Institute of Community Directors Australia and has attended the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership.

Shauntai Sherree is a Wiradjuri woman with a degree in Music from Melbourne University. A singer, songwriter, composer, writer and vocal coach, Shauntai has decades of experience in all things music.  

Beginning as a singer songwriter in Inspirational Soul & Gospel, Shauntai has now embarked on a career in the world of opera, classical music and composition and theatre making. She featured as a principal artist with Short Black Opera, studied in New York, and has performed with The Victorian Opera, the MSO and Black Swan Theatre to name a few. We look forward to her performance of the Australian National Anthem and an Acknowledgment to Country in a Wiradjuri language.

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