On giving while living and protecting the facts

I grew up in Melbourne, in a suburb with a very strong migrant community. I'm of Italian cultural heritage, and giving was absolutely spoken about a lot in my home. My parents were small business owners, and their acts of kindness and giving were on display all the time, especially anything to do with social justice and giving people a leg up who hadn’t been born into opportunity. 

At school, I enjoyed all the classic fundraising events like the 40 Hour Famine and MS Readathon. In my twenties, I gave a disproportionate amount of my free time to youth groups and to promoting cultural diversity by organising community events.  

But I’d say that my strongest reflections are related to my interest in supporting women in politics. From any early age, it felt wrong to me that there wasn’t a strong representation of women in either state or federal parliament. I couldn't see me there. I couldn't see women there. I couldn't see diversity there. I was very attracted to initiatives that assisted women to build the capability and confidence needed to participate in a competitive and male dominated environment.

I think the thing that drives my giving now, is the betterment of society and enabling others who don't have opportunities. The greatest gift my parents gave me, was education and I’ve felt an enormous responsibility to harness the opportunity that they did not have. Mum would have given anything to attend university, but her family circumstances meant that she didn't have the opportunity. My dad was born in Italy and his education stopped in World War Two when his school was bombed. 

When I was 23 years old, my sister passed away and my drive to give only increased after that. It really influenced my journey and my desire to leave something behind and enable opportunities for others. 

The other thing that drives me is a strong sense of social justice and a need to have all voices heard – our society is richer and our decisions are more sound when we have input from people of different backgrounds. This was clear to me from a young age, when I worked in multicultural research laboratory. And it is still the case - the collaborations I participate in globally offer an extraordinary depth of insight into how our society works, or doesn’t!

I give in lots of ways – through donations and predominantly through my time. I always wish I could give more, but I suspect that's a feeling a lot of people share. Advocacy and mentorship are also important parts of how I give. I’m an enormous advocate for science and for diversity in politics, and I formally and informally mentor many people, mostly young women. 

My closest friends would call me a natural advocate, because when I see problems, I immediately think about who can be part of the solution, what resources can we pull together and how can we influence change? Collective action is very powerful.

The other area I give to is science. There's no doubt in my mind that the work our scientists do, and the knowledge they generate, entirely shapes our lives. Supporting them – in whatever way I can - is something I feel very strongly about.  

Journalist Maria Ressa, the Nobel Peace Prize winner of 2021, said that if you want to weaken democracy, you go after the facts. In our current world, evidence-based institutions like academies of science and universities are being threatened by large scale and rapid disinformation efforts. These are the places that we rely on to generate knowledge, to improve literacy and the decision-making ability of our society. So, it’s never been more important to strengthen the foundations of institutions that provide verified information and evidence. We need to make a collective and large-scale effort to prevent or at the very least mitigate disinformation, because it can degenerate the society we know and love. 

My biggest lesson is that giving always pays back in spades, and often in ways that you don't expect. Through my own advocacy I’ve seen how it empowers others and gives them agency. I’ve seen women elected and supported by others. And I’ve learned how to leverage my efforts through others. When I share the story of my giving, I know it encourages others to do the same and suddenly my small amount has the potential to grow through the contributions of others. 

No matter what you give, it’s never wasted energy or money. In fact, I think we need to talk about it more. We need more women to share their journeys of giving and what it means, because the more we talk about it, the more it can inspire others to think about sharing their story or to grow their giving.

We often talk with our donors at the Australian Academy of Science about giving while you're living. These are extraordinarily generous individuals who share a desire to see the next generation of scientists prosper.  They often think about what they can contribute beyond life. We ask them to consider making a small contribution while they are living so they can meet the recipients of their generosity. 

Often that sparks a family conversation, and I’d say more often than not they realise that doing so doesn’t erode their financial legacy or security in old age. And the smile on their face when they meet the recipient of an award that they’ve enabled, or a research grant is priceless. It’s an absolute joy to watch. 

I hope to be in a position one day where my financial contribution can be greater. We all know how important volunteering and mentorship is in our society and the enormous contribution that's made by individuals especially to for-purpose causes – it should never be taken for granted, underestimated or undervalued. My ambition is to advocate for giving so more people can contribute and experience the enormous satisfaction and the outweighed benefit that you derive from giving to a person or a cause you really believe in.