Ms Lydia Santoso (Board Chair)
Ms Santoso, a senior lawyer at Nicholas George Lawyers, brings a wealth of experience to support the objectives of the Institute. Ms Santoso is currently Chair of the Australia Indonesia Business Council (NSW) and also serves on the board of the Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’ Indonesian Studies. She was the Vice-President of the Australia-Indonesia Association and founding Chair of the Balai Bahasa dan Budaya Indonesia (NSW). A qualified lawyer and Public Notary, Ms Santoso possesses a unique blend of legal expertise and cultural fluency. With Indonesian-Australian heritage, she is proficient in Indonesian and has practiced law in both Sydney and Jakarta. Ms Santoso boasts extensive connections within the Indonesian business community in Sydney, spanning relationships with the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia, Indonesian property developers, Australian businesses with interests in Indonesia and a diverse network of Indonesians residing in Australia.
Dr Elena Williams
Dr Williams is a higher education consultant with over ten years' experience living and working in Indonesia. Between 2013 – 2017 she served as the Resident Director for The Australian Consortium for 'In-Country' Indonesian Studies (ACICIS). In 2025 she completed doctoral research at The Australian National University examining the long-term impact of DFAT's New Colombo Plan and other education initiatives on the Australia-Indonesia relationship.
Dr Williams holds a PhD and a Masters of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from The Australian National University, and an Honours degree in Indonesian Studies from The University of Sydney. She is a panel member on the selection committees of DFAT's Australia Awards Indonesia and The New Colombo Plan, a mentor to the Australia-Indonesia Youth Association, and is an alumnus of the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program. In 2022 Dr Williams was awarded ANU’s Sir Raymond Firth Research Prize and in 2021 ANU’s Ruth Daroesman Graduate Study Grant, in recognition of her research on the Australia-Indonesia relationship. She regularly publishes and
Professor Nicholas Anstey
Professor Anstey is a medical doctor and tropical disease researcher at Darwin’s Menzies School of Health Research. For over 25 years he has collaborated with partners across Indonesia and Malaysia on studies to improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of malaria and other tropical diseases. Professor Anstey is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the inaugural winner of the Nossal Medal in Global Health.
Ms Armina Rosenberg
Ms Rosenberg is Portfolio Manager and founder at Minotaur Capital, an AI-powered hedge fund. Prior to founding Minotour, she spent five years at Grok Ventures managing the global equities portfolio and assisting on analysis of derivatives, fixed income, infrastructure and venture capital investments. Prior to Grok, she was Senior Investment Director at Audant Investments and spent eight years at J.P. Morgan.
Ms Rosenberg was awarded the Co-op Scholarship at the University of New South Wales and undertook industry placements at ASX, Commsec, ABN Amro and UBS while completing her honours degree in Finance. Throughout her career, Ms Rosenberg has been an advocate for diversity and was a key member of the J.P. Morgan Women's Interactive Network and the J.P. Morgan Diversity Council. More recently, she founded ‘The FOLD’, a networking group for women in investment roles at family offices.
Ms Amanda Hodge
Ms Hodge is the Southeast Asia correspondent for The Australian newspaper. Ms Hodge has spent more than half of her 30-year journalism career as a foreign correspondent, living and working across Asia. She is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Ms Hodge has extensive experience covering news and current affairs across South and Southeast Asia, and has developed a deep knowledge of both regions. She is a regular media commentator on Southeast Asian affairs.
Ms Hodge is a Walkley Award winner for international reporting, winner of the 2021 Lowy Institute Media Award and a recipient of the UN Peace Award.
Ms Alfira O’Sullivan
Ms O’Sullivan is a dance artist and educator specialising in traditional and contemporary Indonesian dance. She studied at the Institute of the Arts in Central Java and in Aceh and holds degrees in International Studies (UNSW) and Indonesian Studies (University of Sydney). In 2001, she founded Suara Indonesia Dance and has since performed with her dance company and as a solo artist nationally and internationally. Ms O’Sullivan conducts traditional communal Acehnese body percussion workshops in regional and remote communities including Yirrkala, East Arnhem Land where historical connections between Indonesia and Yolngu communities predate European settlement through trade.
Ms O’Sullivan is frequently interviewed as a scholarly reference and has presented at international conferences in Singapore, Indonesia, The Philippines. She is passionate about bringing Asian - Australian arts practices to regional spaces and is a strong advocate for inclusion, cultural safety and social justice.
Dr Jemma Purdey
Dr Purdey is Adjunct Fellow at the Australia Indonesia Centre, Monash University. Her research interests include Indonesian politics and contemporary history and Australia-Indonesia interactions. She is author of Anti-Chinese Violence in Indonesia, 1996-1999 and the biography of Australia’s founding Indonesia scholar, From Vienna to Yogyakarta: The Life of Herb Feith. She is co-author of Indonesia: State and Society in Transition. She edited the volume Knowing Indonesia: Intersections of Self, Discipline and Nation and was co-editor of Linking People: Connections and encounters between Australians and Indonesians.
Dr Purdey is Chair of the board and Commissioning Editor of the magazine Inside Indonesia, co-host of the podcast Talking Indonesia and founding Director of ReelOzInd! Australia Indonesia Short Film Competition & Festival. She is passionate about expanding Australia’s people-to-people connections with Indonesia.
Mr Robert Law
Mr Law has worked on Indonesia for almost 20 years as a diplomat, intelligence analyst and strategy consultant. In his current role as Director of Advisory and Insights at Asialink Business he is a trusted advisor to Federal and State governments on trade and investment and advises businesses on Asia growth strategy and political and regulatory risk.
During his posting to the Australian Embassy in Jakarta he covered economics, trade and investment and played integral roles in crisis response, such as the 2009 Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotel bombings. He was later the first foreign diplomat to be seconded to the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, serving as a special advisor during Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN. His analysis has been published in The Australian, the Australian Financial Review, The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is an experienced non-executive director and a graduate of the AICD Company Directors Course.
Mr Robbie Gaspar
Mr Gaspar was the first Australian footballer to play professionally in Indonesia, where he competed for nearly eight years, including with one of Indonesia’s most prestigious clubs, Persib Bandung. Beyond the pitch, he became a strong proponent of sports and business diplomacy, actively promoting Australia-Indonesia connections. He was bestowed the honour of Life Membership of the Professional Footballers Australia for his dedication to supporting professional footballers across Southeast Asia.
Mr Gaspar, currently president of the Indonesia Institute, has served on the Board of the Australia Indonesia Business Council (Western Australia), including as Chair from 2020-21 and is committed to building a sustainable, long-term relationship between Australia and Indonesia. He works to inspire younger generations by sharing his knowledge at schools, highlighting the value of learning Indonesian and conducting soccer clinics for students of Indonesian, combining his love for football with cultural education.
Ms Michelle Chan (ex-officio)
Ms Chan is the Deputy Secretary, Southeast Asia and Global Partners Group, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She is Australia’s ASEAN, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum Senior Official.
Ms Chan has extensive experience in foreign policy, diplomacy, national security and intelligence, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region. Prior to assuming her current role, Ms Chan was the Deputy Secretary National Security and International Policy in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and was the National Security Adviser and Senior International Adviser to the Prime Minister.
From 2016 to 2018, she was Deputy Director-General of the Office of National Assessments (ONA, now ONI), Australia’s peak intelligence assessments agency. Ms Chan’s earlier roles include ONA’s Assistant Director-General for Southeast Asia (2011-13) and DFAT’s Assistant Secretary responsible for Indonesia, ASEAN and Timor-Leste (2006-07). She served overseas as Australian Ambassador to Myanmar (2008-11), with earlier postings in Indonesia (Counsellor (Political) then Minister-Counsellor (Political/Economic), 2002-05), Vietnam and Cambodia.
Ms Chan has a Bachelor of Arts (Juris) and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide, and a Master of Arts and a Master of Laws (International Law) from the Australian National University.