Collingwood Football Club has established the Expert Group on Anti-Racism to assist the club develop a framework for change and ultimately provide community leadership on addressing racism.

Twelve members have been appointed to the group, the establishment of which was a key recommendation of the recently released Do Better report. All members have accepted 18-month appointments. Further expertise will be sought as required.

The Expert Group will report directly to the Collingwood board to advise on the development of an improved framework for responding to incidents of racism, the creation and implementation of anti-racism policies and ways in which Collingwood can learn from its past to lead in the future. 

The Expert Group will convene for the first time in mid-March.

The 12 appointees are:

Eddie Cubillo, former Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination commissioner. Senior Fellow with University of Melbourne Law School. A descendant of the Larrakia, Wadjigan and Central Arrente peoples.

Tasneem Chopra, diversity, equity and inclusion consultant on issues of leadership, cultural competence and intersectional discrimination.

Melinda Cilento, company director, economist and experienced senior executive. Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia Board, CEO of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and non-executive director of Australian Unity.

Janine Coombs, a Wotjobaluk woman, currently Deputy Chair of Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. Member of Collingwood Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee.

Tanya Hosch, Torres Strait Islander woman, currently Executive General Manager of Inclusion and Social Policy at the AFL. Formerly joint campaign director of the Recognise movement for constitutional reform.

Rana Hussain, a diversity and inclusion leader and consultant, specialising in sport, corporate leadership and not for profit organisations. 

Andrew Jackomos, a Yorta Yorta/Gunditjmara man. Victorian Government Executive Director for Aboriginal Economic Development. Member of the Collingwood Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee.

Tony Lovett, a Gunditjmara man and Community Services Officer with the Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association. Member of Collingwood Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee.

Professor Yin Paradies, a Wakaya man who is Professor of Race Relations at Deakin University.

Jodie Sizer, a founding partner and co-CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers Indigenous Consulting. A Djab Wurrung/Gunditjmara woman and one of Australia’s foremost Indigenous leaders. Chair of Australian Institute of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Studies. Collingwood director.

Dr Helen Szoke (OA), former Australian Federal Race Discrimination Commissioner and Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner. Chief Executive of Oxfam from 2013 to 2019. 

Daniel Wells, former Collingwood and North Melbourne player currently working with Collingwood’s Indigenous community programs and AFL recruiting staff. A descendant of the Wangatha and Wirangu peoples.

“The work Collingwood must do is necessary and important. It ought to inspire and add weight to the need for change that has been building in our communities for decades. So it was as important to find people who are passionate, capable and willing to help the club meet its moment,” said Collingwood director and Expert Group member, Jodie Sizer.

“We are very pleased to have such rich experience and expertise to draw upon as we embark on a process that will modernise Collingwood and, hopefully, make a further contribution to our code and country.”  

The club has also appointed Taryn Lee to the position of strategic advisor to assist with the implementation across the club of all 18 recommendations in the Do Better report.

Lee, a Yawuru woman who has worked at executive level in roles with government and the private sector, is a board member of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.

Lee will report to Collingwood chief executive, Mark Anderson.

“We need to think differently about how we approach and deal with racism and to ensure that we have the right systems in place to provide a safe cultural environment for all,” Anderson said.

“We have the will to respond to each and every recommendation contained in the Do Better report. Taryn’s expertise and background in designing and delivering change will be of enormous assistance to us as we put these responses into place. We will be rightfully measured by these actions.”

Full member biographies

Eddie Cubillo: is an Aboriginal man with strong family links in both the urban and rural areas of the Northern Territory. A lawyer who was admitted to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, he is a descendant of the Larrakia, Wadjigan and Central Arrente peoples.

Appointed Anti-Discrimination Commissioner of the Northern Territory in 2010. Served the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (NATSILS) as Executive Officer and in 2017 worked on the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory as the Director of Community Engagement. Currently a Senior Fellow with the University of Melbourne Law School. 

Tasneem Chopra (OAM): Diversity, equity and inclusion consultant on issues of leadership, cultural competence and intersectional discrimination. Director of The Australian Centre for the Moving Image and Crescent Wealth and advisor to Fire Rescue Victoria, InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence and La Trobe University School of Humanities.

Melinda Cilento:  Co-chair of Reconciliation Australia Board since 2011 and CEO of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) and non-executive director of Australian Unity. Member of the Parliamentary Budget Office panel of expert advisors. Formerly commissioner with the Productivity Commission and Deputy CEO and Chief Economist with the Business Council of Australia. Established the Business Council’s Indigenous Engagement Taskforce and Business Indigenous Network.

Janine Coombs: a Wotjobaluk woman who has worked in the Traditional Owner, Native Title, and Treaty space for the past eight years. Currently Deputy Chair of Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. One of the first members of the Victorian Treaty Working Group and one of the 250 Aboriginal people who took part in the Uluru delegation and came together to create the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Member of the Uluru Statement Executive Committee, Collingwood Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee, Cricket Victoria Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee and Melbourne University Reconciliation Action Plan Traditional Owner and Elders Reference Group.

Tanya Hosch: a Torres Strait Islander woman who is Executive General Manager of Inclusion and Social policy at the AFL. 2021 South Australian – Australian of the Year. Former joint campaign director of Recognise movement for constitutional reform. Member of the Indigenous Advisory Group of NAB, director of Circus Oz and Australian Film, Television and Radio School. Member of the Referendum Council that led to the process and final recommendation that resulted in The Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2017.

Rana Hussain: broadcaster and writer who is an influential advocate for social inclusion and reducing discrimination through the vehicle of sports and media. Rana has most recently worked with Richmond FC on diversity and inclusion and has consulted to Cricket Australia and the Ben Simmons Family Foundation. Board member of the Victorian Women’s Trust.|

Andrew Jackomos: a Yorta Yorta/Gunditjmara man. Victorian Government Executive Director for Aboriginal Economic Development. Inaugural Victorian Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and young people. Member of the Collingwood Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee.

Tony Lovett: a Gunditjmara man and Community Services Officer with the Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association. Member of the Collingwood Reconciliation Action Plan Advisory Committee, Ballarat Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and Koorie Engagement Action Group. City of Ballarat Citizen of the Year 2013. Past president of the Sebastopol Football and Netball Club.

Professor Yin Paradies: a Wakaya man and Professor of Race Relations at Deakin University. Internationally recognised expert on the health, social and economic effects of racism as well as anti-racism theory, policy and practice.

Jodie Sizer: a founding partner and co-CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers Indigenous Consulting. A Djab Wurrung/Gunditjmara woman and one of Australia’s foremost Indigenous leaders.
Collingwood director and chair of the club’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) sub-committee.  Sizer has worked extensively with tertiary institutions, governments, sports codes and major businesses in creating meaningful change for Aboriginal people.

Dr Helen Szoke (OA): has had a career spanning community, health, education, regulation and international development.  Currently a non-executive Director sitting on the Council of the University of Melbourne and the Board of Life Without Barriers. Advisory Committee Member of the Climate Project Griffith University, member of the Expert Panel to Indigenous Business Australia and an independent member of the Judicial Commission of Victoria. 

Inaugural Chair of You Matter, an independent charity supporting women who are relocated following domestic violence. Chief Executive of Oxfam from 2013 to 2019.  Former Australian Federal Race Discrimination Commissioner and Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner. 

Daniel Wells: played 258 matches for Collingwood and North Melbourne across a 17 year AFL career which drew to a close in 2019.  Currently working with Collingwood’s Indigenous community programs and AFL recruiting staff. A descendant of the Wangatha and Wirangu peoples.

Strategic advisor

Taryn Lee: a Yawuru woman from Broome, Lee is a director of PricewaterhouseCoopers Indigenous Consulting who previously held executive roles with the Victorian government designing and delivering policy frameworks central to improving outcomes for Aboriginal communities. Board member of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.