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Jamila Rizvi
BComm 2010, LLB 2010
In the three years since graduating from ANU, Jamila has taken the Australian political and media world by storm. She is fast becoming the leading voice for young Australian women, breaking down barriers in the media to promote her own very modern brand of feminism and to advocate for a more harmonious and multicultural Australia.
While still studying at ANU Jamila worked in then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's media unit and as a youth policy adviser in Minister Kate Ellis's office, where she was the driving force behind Australia's first ever National Youth Strategy. She was soon promoted to the position of Media Adviser and then Deputy Chief of Staff to Minister Ellis. At the age of 25, Jamila was one of the youngest people ever to work as a Chief of Staff to a Federal Minister.
In 2012, Jamila made the difficult decision to leave working in a political office and make a move to the media industry. She has always had a deep passion for progressive causes and was thrilled to take the reins of progressive political opinion website Mamamia.com.au as the Managing Editor.
Jamila was soon promoted to the role of Editor of Mamamia and has recently been appointed Editor-in-Chief across Mamamia, parenting website iVillage Australia and the soon-to-be-launched beauty and health website, The Glow.
Under Jamila's management Mamamia has morphed from a small lifestyle blog into a truly active campaigning organisation that advocates for marriage equality, action on climate change, a more compassionate approach to refugee policy and a child-centred focus for policy making across the board.
Mamamia was named the 2013 Media Brand of the Year, becoming the pre-eminent voice of Australian women online. Its readership has grown from around 25,000 unique browsers per day, when Jamila was first appointed, to more than145,000 per day in 2014.
Jamila has used her new public profile as an ambassador for Care Australia's Educate a Girl campaign and for progressive asylum seeker advocacy group Welcome to Australia.
Under her leadership Mamamia Cares, the philanthropic arm of Mamamia, has grown to the extent that it now undertakes upwards of $1 million in pro bono assistance to charitable organisations.
Jamila was named one of Cosmopolitan magazine's 30 Most Influential Women Under 30 in 2013.