Our staff

By . First posted . Content last reviewed

Please note that all our staff roles are paid part-time roles.

Morgan Carpenter, March 2023, Sydney World Pride human rights conference

Associate Professor Morgan Carpenter – Executive Director

Morgan Carpenter, PhD, is an intersex man, bioethicist and executive director of IHRA (a part-time role) who lives on Bundjalung Country in northern NSW. He is also an Associate Professor at Sydney Health Ethics in the University of Sydney School of Public Health, where he completed PhD studies in bioethics in 2023. In 2023, Morgan’s “tireless work” was singled out for particular recognition, by Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister Andrew Barr, in introducing Australian-first legislation to protect the rights of people with innate variations of sex characteristics in medical settings. He has been named as a significant contributor to a 2021 Australian Human Rights Commission report on the health and human rights of people born with variations in characteristics. Morgan has also changed the global and local face of intersex advocacy: in 2013 he designed and shared the intersex flag, now used across the world, framed around concepts of bodily integrity and autonomy. Morgan wrote our submissions to Senate inquiries on involuntary or coerced sterilisation, and anti-discrimination legislation, and also participated in hearings on those inquiries. He participated in the first intersex expert meeting, organised by the UN. He was an expert and drafting committee member for the Yogyakarta Principles plus 10 and has also consulted or been a reference group member for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the ACT government, Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, NSW Health, and other bodies. A director since IHRA registered as a not-for-profit company in 2010, Morgan Carpenter has served in numerous board positions, including president.

Bonnie Hart

Bonnie Hart – Deputy Executive Director

Bonnie Hart is an intersex woman, peer worker and systemic advocate working with and within the intersex community to advocate for legislative protections and improved access to affirmative, rights-based health and mental health services. Bonnie nurtures intersex community connections and a burgeoning intersex peer workforce. Bonnie lives on Gubbi Gubbi country. She is the designer of InterLink, a peer-led and community-based intersex psychosocial support program and is an original signatory of the Darlington Statement, an Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australian intersex community consensus statement. Bonnie has a long time relationship with Intersex Peer Support Australia, having held several leadership roles and drafted multiple submissions informing Australian legislative and human rights reform on behalf of the group. Bonnie has participated in expert multiple advisory groups informing government and NGOs on intersex issues and is an intersex educator, developing affirmative practice resources and regularly providing sector-specific training through the Yellow Tick initiative. Bonnie is a PhD candidate at the University of Southern Queensland, investigating affirmative healthcare.

Mauro Cabral Grinspan, in burgundy glasses and a black top, in front of an intersex flag

Mauro Cabral Grinspan – Principal Consultant and Project Coordinator

Mauro Cabral Grinspan is an Argentinian advocate, researcher, and writer who lives in Brussels. Following 15 years of involvement with diverse initiatives at the national, regional, and international level, Mauro co-founded GATE (Global Action for Trans Equality) in 2009. He served as its Co-Director until 2017, and as its Executive Director until the beginning of 2022. In that capacity, he coordinated international initiatives on trans and intersex depathologisation at the World Health Organization. In 2022 and 2023, Mauro served as Senior Officer for Gender Justice and Equity at the Global Philanthropy Project (GPP), and he’s currently collaborating with GPP as a Research Consultant. Mauro participated in the elaboration of the Yogyakarta Principles in 2006 and the Yogyakarta Principles plus 10 in 2017, and he is a signatory of both. He has also participated in the elaboration and revision of several international reports, including WHO’s “Sexual health, human rights, and the law”. Mauro serves as an Editorial Team member at Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, and as International Advisory Board member at the LGBT Program at Human Rights Watch. He also chairs the Advisory Board at the INIA (Intersex – New Interdisciplinary Approaches) Project. At the national level, Mauro contributed to the drafting and passing of the Argentine Gender Identity Law and co-authored the Argentine Bill on the Comprehensive Protection on Sex Characteristics. He coordinates Justicia Intersex, an initiative focused on intersex people’s access to truth and reparations. Mauro studied history at the National University of Córdoba and completed postgraduate studies in philosophy and gender studies. He has written, translated, and edited extensively on trans, intersex topics and other bodily diversity issues; every year, he teaches open seminars on intersex issues. He is an intersex and trans man, a survivor of psycho-medical abuse, and a passionate cook, gardener, and embroiderer.

Margie McCumstie

Margie McCumstie – Training and Communications Coordinator

Margie McCumstie, a proud intersex woman, has been an active advocate for the intersex community for over two years. She holds the position of Vice President at IPSA and serves as the co-state representative for both NSW and the ACT and has recently joined the NSW LGBTIQ+ Health Strategy Implementation Committee. Leveraging her background as a Preschool teacher and her passion for children’s literature, Margie authored an intersex-themed children’s book titled “I am Me… Naturally!” Her advocacy work has led to interviews on JoyFM’s “The I in Us” show and 4ZZZ. Margie has also appeared on the Today Show, featured in Cosmopolitan magazine and the Courier Mail, and Radio 4BC. She has also delivered speeches to diverse audiences, including QE2 Hospital, FMD Financial, and Uncarved Woman. Margie’s accomplishments extend beyond her advocacy work. She is a previous recipient of the Australian Small Business Champion award and the 2021 Altitude Award for the Purpose Driven Awards. Earlier this year, Margie travelled to India for the official opening of the Satya Marg Jeevan School which she has worked hard to help establish near Agra. Her rich experience in business and life allows her to share invaluable insights. Her professional journey is diverse, ranging from personal training to funeral celebrancy, with a touch of burlesque dancing for good measure. Margie is a dynamic, creative, and determined woman, embodying empathy, strength, and resilience. In her own words, “When Passion meets purpose, anything is possible!” This statement encapsulates her vibrant spirit and unwavering dedication to the causes close to her heart.

Gabriel Filpi

Gabriel Filpi – Senior Projects Officer (Health)

Gabriel is a queer, intersex advocate, educator and young professional who has been working in the ACT for the past five years. Originally from Sydney, Gabriel moved to Canberra to complete a Masters of biological anthropology at the ANU, later expanding his studies into medical anthropology. For the past four years Gabriel has worked in health education and health promotion at Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT and inclusive education environments as the project officer for the ACT Safe and Inclusive Schools (SAIS) Initiative, and over the last 12 months as the Intersex Project Co-ordinator at A Gender Agenda. Gabriel has also held a place on the ACT LGBTIQA+ Ministerial Advisory Council for the past 2 years as the sole member with intersex lived experience. Through his work, Gabriel has rich and diverse experience in resource development, policy, peer support, public speaking, training development and delivery, alongside cross-sectoral stakeholder engagement. One of Gabriel’s fondest achievements is the development and release of “Including Intersex“, a first of-its-kind education resource for school staff. Gabriel has strong professional, personal and academic interests in healthcare experiences, health education, and critical medical anthropology. With his passion for advocacy, education, and health Gabriel brings a unique skillset to the space as demonstrated by previous resource development and ongoing collaboration with the ACT legislative reform. Gabriel looks forward to contributing his part to the intersex human rights movement, and to improving the health and wellbeing of intersex Australians.

Natalie Hamam – InterLink Mental Health Practitioner

Natalie has been an occupational therapist for 20 years refining their counseling skills by years of specialising in the areas of sex and relationships. They have a graduate diploma in sexual health from the University of Sydney and have also completed a research masters focused on the intimate lives of people with disabilities. They love talking with people about topics that others find taboo and helping people find their voice for telling their own stories. Natalie is a signatory to the Darlington statement and is committed to anti-oppressive practice. Nat strives to be anti-racist, nuero-divergent affirming and trauma informed in their work.  They believe in the power of people telling their own stories and that their role is primarily to listen and support people as the experts in their own lives.  As a person who doesn’t have lived experience of being intersex, Natalie values learning from experiences of all kinds to build intersex competency into their practice.

Mira Bouchmouny

Mira Bouchmouny – Operations Coordinator

Mira is a Lebanese born, queer migrant who grew up in Western Sydney on Gadigal Country. She completed her Bachelors in Gender Studies and International Relations at UNSW before moving back to Lebanon where she spent 10 years working in the humanitarian and development sector, focusing on human rights for gender diverse persons and people experiencing displacement. She currently lives on Naarm and recently completed a Masters in Development Studies at the University of Melbourne. As a person who doesn’t have lived experience of being intersex, Mira values learning from persons who do as the experts, and hopes to bring her operations skills to support their work towards a world where people with innate variations of sex characteristics have full and complete bodily autonomy.

Cat!

Aro Daha – Administrator

Aro joined us in January 2023 as our new administrator. She has a Bachelors degree in accounting, and is undertaking studies in psychology and counselling.

Vacancies

Former staff members

Tony Briffa was a co-executive director from December 2016 to May 2021, and she continues as a director of the company. Cody Smith has worked with us as a senior projects officer, and in a training and communications role. Florin Douglas and Clare MacDonald joined us for an administration role, and Olympia Balopitos joined us for a legal role.

Thank you to all current and former staff for your work!