Intersex Human Rights Australia

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

Morgan Carpenter – Executive Director

• Articles by Morgan
• Articles about Morgan
• Morgan’s website

Morgan is a bioethicist and executive director of IHRA (a part-time role) who lives on Bundjalung Country in northern NSW. A director since IHRA registered as a not-for-profit company in 2010, Morgan Carpenter has served in numerous board positions, including president. Morgan was diagnosed late, followed by multiple so-called “normalising” surgeries. Morgan wrote our submissions to Senate inquiries on anti-discrimination legislation, and involuntary or coerced sterilisation, 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 consulted or been a reference group member for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Health Organization, the ACT government, GATE, Australian Human Rights Commission, Australian Bureau of Statistics, NSW Health, and other bodies. He designed the intersex flag. Morgan is also a PhD candidate in bioethics at Sydney Health Ethics, University of Sydney. Photo: Mark Dickson.

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.

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.

Olympia Balopitos – Senior Projects Officer (Legal)

Olympia is a proud nonbinary, intersex person and advocate living on Kaurna Country (Adelaide, Australia). They have spent the last two years as a legal researcher, and as a peer support worker, being the sole peer worker with intersex lived experience at their place of work. Olympia has also recently undertaken a role as a peer educator, using education to advocate for intersex, trans and gender diverse people. They have a degree in law from Flinders University with a particular interest in human rights, legal theory, and international law. Their Honours dissertation, “Self-Determination, Autonomy and Consent: The Rights of Intersex Children under the Australian Legal System”, was completed at the end of 2022, and they hope to someday write a PhD on intersex human rights and law reform. Olympia is also a member of South Australia’s newly-appointed LGBTIQA+ Advisory Council. They are an experienced researcher with strong research and writing skills, and have a thorough and up-to-date understanding of the ways in which the law mismanages intersex bodily autonomy and coercion from parents, families and medical practitioners, as well as positive legislative changes happening internationally. Social justice advocacy has remained a fundamental aspect of Olympia’s values and they continue to demonstrate this through both their personal and professional life. As a former director of IHRA, they are aware of the varying and ongoing needs of the intersex community, beyond their own lived experience, and look forward to using their skills and knowledge through IHRA to uplift and promote the rights of the intersex community.

Cody Smith – Training and Communications Officer

Cody has been a Canberra based intersex educator and activist for the last eight years and joined us in August 2021. Starting off in grassroots community education, Cody has spent the last four years as Intersex Project Coordinator for A Gender Agenda. They’ve been involved in building organisational capacity, policy development, running peer support programs, as well as developing resources and training from a lived experience perspective. With a background in science communication and in library and information services, Cody brings a bright and sincere voice to the space and believes that visibility and conversation are the right way forward to improving the circumstances of people with innate variations of sex characteristics in Australia. As a signatory of the Darlington Statement and key collaborator on legislative work in the ACT, Cody looks forward to contributing further to the national discussion on intersex human rights.

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

• Administrator (part-time) November 2022.
• Senior projects officer (part-time) September 2022. Applications are closed.
• Administration officer (part-time) (July 2021). Applications are closed.
• Senior projects officer (part-time) (June 2021). Applications are closed.
• Administrator (part-time) (October 2019). Applications are closed.

Former staff members

Tony Briffa was a co-executive director from December 2016 to May 2021, and continues as a director of the company. She departs our staff team with immense gratitude.

Florin Douglas joined us on a one-year part-time contract in November 2019, funded by the Victorian government, and departed with our thanks in November 2020.

Clare MacDonald joined us for a one-year part-time administration role in 2021-2022 and leaves with our immense thanks in September 2022.